Business News Articles

Retail sales slump during April
A combination of the economic downturn, an early Easter and poor weather meant April was the worst month on the high street since November 2005, according to the CBI. The Distributives Trades Survey revealed that sales of house-related products such as DIY materials and electrical items fell from the same month last year, although those figures were boosted by the Easter bank holiday and bette... more

Norwich Union brand to disappear
Insurance giant Aviva has announced it is to scrap the Norwich Union brand in a bid to create a single identity across international markets. The move will spell the end for the brand, which was created in 1797 when the company was set up in Norwich.... more

BT seeks firms for hotspots
Organisations using BT Business Total Broadband are now able to turn their BT Business hub into a BT Openzone wireless hotspot at no extra cost, meaning anyone visiting their premises can now log onto a separate secure channel to check email, use the internet and make VoIP calls. “This is something totally new for UK businesses of any size, from the smallest start-up to larger multi-site bus... more

Annual house price growth falls
The annual rate of house price growth has fallen for the seventh month in a row, figures from the Land Registry have revealed. The annual increase in March was just 3.6%, compared to 5.3% in February, while prices fell by 0.4% in month-on-month figures. ... more

Credit crunch hits top entrepreneurs
Britain’s wealthiest entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes dip due to the recent economic downturn, according to The Sunday Times Rich List. The list revealed that Sir Richard Branson’s wealth had dropped by £400m to £2.7bn as the value of his Virgin empire decreased, while retail magnate Sir Philip Green’s fortune fell by more than 10% to £4.3bn. ... more

Simpler system for train tickets
A new rail ticketing system designed to make it simple for travellers to understand the types of ticket on offer is due to come into force from May. The new system, brought in by the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), will feature only three ticket options: Advance, Off-peak and Anytime. ... more

FSB launches VoIP initiative
The Federation of Small Businesses has launched an initiative to provide its members with a business-class VoIP (voice over internet protocol) telephony service free of charge. In a partnership with telecoms company Coms, all 210,000 FSB members will receive a VoIP telecoms account where they will be able to contact each other free of charge. ... more

Banks warned on identity fraud
The Financial Services Authority has called on banks and other financial institutions to do more to tackle the threat of identity fraud. The organisation’s research found that nearly half of the 39 companies polled failed to give staff training in data security, with small and medium-sized firms the worst culprits. ... more

Bosses warned on pregnancy stance
The majority of company bosses make an assessment on whether an employee is likely to get pregnant before deciding whether to offer them a job, according to a survey by Employment Law Advisory Services (ELAS). Over half (52%) said they took factors such as age and whether a candidate had just got married into account when recruiting and 76% of managers said they would not hire someone if they ... more

BBC exposes card fraud scam
The level of cardholder-not-present fraud is far greater than had previously been thought, according to an investigation by the BBC. The organisation quotes banking industry data which suggests card fraud from the internet, phone or mail order accounted for £290.5m in 2007. ... more