Business News Articles

Record number of employers contact legal advice line
Insurance group Allianz has reported record numbers of calls from employers to their legal hotline to ask for advice on redundancy issues. The helpline, Lawphone, is receiving 70 to 80 calls a day from employers seeking advice on what they can legally do to cut costs in the current economic climate. "Some 60% of calls during the three months to the end of September were about employment issu... more

FSB calls for interest rate cut
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling for an interest rate cut to help the 1.5m small businesses at risk of closure. In a recent FSB poll of almost 5,000 small business owners over 75% backed interest rate cuts. The poll also revealed that over 50% recorded a decrease in trade in the last two months and nearly 70% of small businesses had either put a freeze on hiring or were co... more

BAA announces Crossrail funding
The operator of Heathrow has agreed to invest £230m in the £16bn Crossrail project, which will link east and west London with the airport. BAA stands to benefit from the new rail link by offering business travellers from the centre of London – including Canary Wharf and the City – a faster route to the airport than is currently possible, making it a more attractive destination for intern... more

Small firms may lose foreign staff
Small businesses face the prospect of huge gaps in their workforces as migrant workers return home, according to research by accounting and business service Tenon. The research showed that the number of SMEs employing workers from abroad has more than doubled in the past two years. In 2006 21% of small companies employed staff who were not from the UK, a figure that has now risen to 48% - me... more

Small businesses in Midlands ‘will drive recovery’
The economic recovery will be driven by small businesses in the Midlands, according to a study by data analyst company KDB. The study mapped the concentration of shareholder-directors as an indicator of high-net-worth hot spots. KBB studied the records of 2.5m companies and found that Birmingham had the highest density of shareholder-directors, followed by West London and Brighton, an indica... more

Salary scheme for business car buyers
A new salary sacrifice scheme has been launched which could see thousands of motorists eligible for a company car. The scheme, run by Tuskerdirect, allows employees to surrender part of their salary in return for a non-cash benefit. The benefit cost is deducted from an employee's gross salary - before statutory deductions - so the workers are able to save on income tax and National Insurance... more

Business angels offering new ventures less money
Due to the current economic climate the valuations offered by business angel networks for stakes in new businesses has decreased in recent months. The Angels also have a wider range of opportunties to choose from, with the number of pitches being heard increasing 31% in the last month. This jump has been put down to the credit squeeze, as more entrepreneurs and SMEs approach angel networks f... more

Eurozone set for recession
The eurozone is on the edge of recession after economic growth fell by 0.2% in the second quarter of 2008. The European Commission predicted further falls of 0.1% in the third and fourth quarters of this year, which would take the zone into its first recession since the single currency was introduced in 1999. ... more

Rise in online tax returns
HMRC’s decision to introduce an earlier deadline for those wanting to complete paper self-assessment tax returns has led to a rise in the number of people filing online. The organisation reports that the number of online applications has risen by a third already this year, despite the deadline for internet returns being 31 January 2009. ... more

First drop for UK online sales
Britain's online retailers have suffered a monthly traffic fall for the first time since records began three years ago, according to research conducted by Experian. UK internet traffic fell 0.5% in October compared to the same period in 2007, indicating that the credit crunch is beginning to affect the previously expanding online sector.... more