SME Business News

The Bank of England has kept interest rates at their record low level of 0.5% as it continues to inject life into the economy.
The Monetary Policy Committee also opted not to alter the £200bn it has spent so far on quantitative easing (QE) to boost the money supply.
Its decision comes in the wake of recent [...]

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For small businesses the priority, as always, will be to carry on creating wealth and jobs – and the FSB is calling on government to create the right conditions for growth by providing an economic stimulus for small business.
One key concern over the past 18 months is that of affordable finance for small business. The [...]

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Experian, the global information services company, has released its latest mergers and acquisitions and equity capital market (ECM - flotation, rights issue and placement) data covering quarter Q1 2010.
The data reveals that while the number of transactions fell during Q1, the total value of them increased. By comparison, the total number and value of deals [...]

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Richard Lambert, the director general of the CBI, described the Budget as “clever and political” but added that “anxiety remains on how the deficit is going to be paid down” and that “growth forecasts for 2011 and beyond are still on the optimistic side”.
Mr Lambert found several of the measures positive.
He said: “There was more [...]

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The Institute of Directors thought that the Budget contained many positive initiatives to help small and medium-sized businesses but regretted that it did not reverse the increases in the top rate of income tax and national insurance contributions.
The organisation also expressed concern that the proposed reductions in the budget deficit do not go far enough, [...]

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Steve Radley, director of policy at the manufacturing employers’ group, EEF,  emphasised the urgency for formulating a plan to fix the public finances.
Acknowledging that the Green Investment Bank shows that the government has kept its eye on the medium-term needs of the economy, Mr Radley nevertheless lamented the frequent changes to taxes, citing the example [...]

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The British Chambers of Commerce applauded measures by the Chancellor to place the needs of business at the centre of the Budget.
“Doubling the annual investment allowance, help with business rates, and allowing entrepreneurs to keep more of their gains will prove especially popular,” said David Frost, the BCC’s director general.
On a downbeat note, the BCC was [...]

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The Federation of Small Businesses was pleased with the announcement to take 345,000 small businesses in England out of the business rates system, is looking forward to the introduction of the new credit adjudicator giving small businesses the opportunity to appeal against a decision by the bank to reject a loan application, welcomed the Chancellor’s [...]

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It has been reported this week that interest rates will remain at a record low for a 12th consecutive month.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has come to the decision to hold the base rate at 0.5 per cent, whilst freezing its quantitative easing programme.
Interest rates have stayed at 0.5 per cent since last [...]

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New research published by CreditPal, a free online service for SMEs, reveals that over the last two years almost half (43%) of UK SMEs have been left with monies owed to them as a result of their trading partners or customers going bust. The total amount owed to SMEs is estimated to be around 5.3 [...]

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