Business News Articles

Government to monitor SME lending
The government has announced plans to create a new panel to monitor the extent to which banks are lending money to small firms. At the first meeting of the Small Business Finance Forum, the five main high street banks agreed to provide data on the availability, risk and cost of finance to small companies. ... more

Retail sales show yearly fall
UK retail sales fell by 0.1% over the past 12 months, figures from the British Retail Consortium revealed. Total sales in October were down 0.1% on the figure for the same month in 2007 – the first yearly drop since April 2005 – while like-for-like sales, which do not include new outlets, fell by 2.2%. ... more

Pound hits record low against Euro
Sterling has fallen to its lowest rate against the Euro since the creation of the European single currency in 1999. This is unwelcome news for any small UK firms that import from within the eurozone, as it puts them at a disadvantage against firms that use the euro. The euro briefly reached 82.09p against the pound, meaning that £1 bought just 1.22 euros. The European currency's third recor... more

Small firms on edge of bankruptcy
Many viable small companies could be forced out of business by Christmas if they do not receive financial support from the banks, the British Chambers of Commerce has warned. “The BCC has serious concerns about the availability of credit, and the tightening of credit conditions for small businesses,” said David Frost, director general. ... more

Demand for temporary staff at lowest level since '97
Temporary workers are being dismissed as small businesses look to cut costs, according to research by KPMG. The number of temporary workers has increased in recent years as firms looked to become more flexible, but in the current climate their jobs are more vulnerable than permanent employees. The survey found that demand for temporary staff in the UK has fallen to its lowest levels since 19... more

Duncan Bannatyne to host new investment programme
Serial entrepreneur and television dragon Duncan Bannatyne is fronting a new TV show called Beat The Bank. In the programme a newly wed couple looking to raise money to purchase a home are introduced to three experts - who all offer unconventional investments. The couple invest £10,000 of their own money into one scheme and Duncan Bannatyne invests in the other two. After three months th... more

Cost of TV advertising will fall to 'lowest level for a decade'
Prices for television adverts will fall to their lowest rates for over a decade, according to forecasts from media agency Zenith Optimedia. The agency predicts that -in real terms- by 2009 television advertising will be 40% cheaper than in 1987 and that revenue generated by TV advertising will fall by 3% next year. This survey follows a report by PwC that in over 65% of cases a business tha... more

More small firms moving to cash accounting
An increasing amount of small businesses are switching from ledger accounting to cash accounting to help boost their businesses cash flow. Small firms that have an annual turnover of less than £1.35m can move to from ledger to cash accounting. This switch means businesses only pay VAT on receiving payment from a customer, instead of every quarter, regardless of whether the customer has paid or... more

Online sales predicted to jump 15%
Online sales for the final three months of the year in the UK are expected to be worth over £13bn, according to research by IMRG and Capgemini. This figure would represent £215 per person in the UK, and would represent a 15% rise from online sales figures last year. These sales would provide a boost to the internet shopping sector, which recently recorded its first monthly traffic fall sin... more

UK pension funds in £100bn deficit
Salary pension schemes in the UK have fallen further into negative value, according to reserch by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). After examining the finances of just fewer than 8,000 private sector schemes the PPF discovered that in October their collective debt was £97bn. At the same time last year the schemes had a surplus of £80bn. "During the month of October 2008 there was a 6.... more