Business News Articles

Tour firm in administration
The XL Leisure Group has become the second travel company in recent weeks to enter administration. All of XL's planes have been grounded, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded abroad. "We've made every effort, myself and my fellow directors, to find new funding for the business," commented chairman Phil Wyatt. A statement on the firm's website blamed the company's administratio... more

Third Heathrow runway wins backing
A collection of businesses has backed plans for a third runway to be built at Heathrow on condition it meets strict environmental standards. The group, which contains the British Chambers of Commerce, argued the runway was essential for the UK to continue to offer direct access to economic strongholds such as China and India. ... more

CBI warning over recession
The CBI has predicted that the UK will fall into recession later this year, adding to similar warnings from the European Commission and British Chambers of Commerce. The group forecasts the economy will shrink by 0.2% in the third quarter of 2008 and a further 0.1% in the final quarter. ... more

Personal data clogs up servers
Small business servers are clogged up with employee personal data and non-business related files, according to IT services company Connect. The organisation carried out an audit of small businesses’ servers and discovered that in some cases up to 30% was taken up with personal data. ... more

Guide tackles equal pay claims
Employment relations service Acas has launched a new guide designed to help small businesses avoid equal pay claims. The guide focuses on ‘job evaluation’, which provides a framework for determining the importance of a number of different jobs independent of prejudice or discrimination. ... more

Recession set to hit UK
The UK will slip into recession this year along with Germany and Spain, according to the European Commission. The body predicts the UK economy will shrink by 0.2% in each of the next two quarters, enough for it to meet the technical definition of recession of two consecutive quarters of negative growth. ... more

Small firms reduce road use
Small businesses are cutting down on face-to-face meetings in a bid to reduce costs as a result of the credit crunch, according to a survey by Enterprise Rent-A-Car. The company’s small business thermometer suggests rising fuel costs are impacting on the amount of time businesses spend on the road. ... more

No rescue for Zoom
The collapsed airline Zoom is unlikely to be resurrected, according to administrators PKF. PKF is assessing Zoom's debts and assets and stated that a re-financing deal had not been completed because of the "overwhelming" demands of creditors and suppliers. "As administrators we will examine every possible avenue to resurrect the business," said Anne Buchanan, a senior partner at PKF. However... more

Pensions deficit grows again
The collective deficit of the UK’s final salary pension funds grew by over £12bn in August. According to figures released by the Pension Protection Fund, the total deficit now stands at £36.7bn, up from £24.1bn. In July 2007 there was a surplus of £59.1bn. ... more

Move to restrict foreign hiring
The government has unveiled plans aimed at cutting the number of skilled foreign workers entering the UK from outside the EU. The measures include a list of job types for which foreign workers can be recruited in areas that currently suffer from skills shortages, such as maths or science teachers, chefs, veterinary surgeons, quantity surveyors and ship and hovercraft officers. ... more