SME Business News

The Federation Of Small Businesses (FSB) has launched a new financial helpline to it’s members, the new service became available on 23 October.
FSB refers to the new service as a ‘vital lifeline’ for small business owners. The Federation already offers it’s members access to it’s 24 hour legal helpline, insurance services, business banking and finance [...]

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Groups representing small retailers have attacked Mastercard over plans to increase membership charges and the introduction of a new ‘development’ fee.
Lobby groups including the British Shops And Stores Association (bssa) and British Retail Consortium (BRC) have taken on the fight for their members, calling for the increases to be withdrawn.
In a climate where high street [...]

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The Federation Of Small Businesses (FSB) have issued the following release of their proposal for a new £1bn Small Business Survival Fund To Save The UK Economy.
The FSB is calling on the Government to take emergency measures to save the millions of small businesses that drive the UK economy in the next two weeks as [...]

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Proposals by the government to help small businesses weather the financial crisis have been applauded by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) who consider the measures to “be along the right lines.”
The package unveiled yesterday includes an investment of £350million towards staff training for small businesses and new rules to make training grants more easily [...]

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Labours new Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has put all other issues and future legislation on hold and issued a brief to his department to focus on helping the survival of small business through the financial crisis.
The postponement of new legislation, that may further burden small business with more red tape, job cuts, reduced investment or bankruptcy, [...]

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Conservative leader David Cameron has continued the barrage of attacks mounted by the Tories over the way that Gordon Brown’s Labour Party have handled the current credit crisis.
In an article in the Observer, Cameron has called upon the government to offer help to small businesses by deferring payment of VAT for six months. The VAT [...]

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A survey carried out on behalf of BT and Enterprise Nation reports that the number of small businesses being started from home have soared in the last twelve months, with start ups in the period up by 16%.
Home businesses in the UK are said to now number 2.5million, with many owners seeing no alternative than [...]

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Gordon Brown has led the cavalry charge to help out Britain’s cash strapped banks, on behalf of the country and the tax payer of course, helping out high street banks Royal Bank Of Scotland, HBOS and LLoyds TSB to ease the financial crisis.
Brown seems to have taken notice of recent polls that showed the nation [...]

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The department headed by new Business Secretary Peter Mandelson  has had some impact for small business owners already.
Mandelson has changed the title of the role held by Shriti Vadera in the Department For Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, to include a role helping small business in the UK.
Shriti Vandera will now have the title of Minister [...]

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The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has sent results to the Bank of England of a snap poll demonstrating the devastating impact of the credit crunch, and is calling on its Monetary Policy Committee to cut interest rates this Thursday.
Figures released today from the FSB poll reveal that a majority of small businesses have seen [...]

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