Hi °C | Lo °C Factfile: Funding for Lending Scheme
The Funding for Lending Scheme was established last August to provide banks with cheap funding on the condition they pass on the money to hard-pressed small businesses and households.
Tycoon: bin extra charges for shops
A NORTHERN Ireland retail entrepreneur with 40 shops around the UK has said he is opposed to the introduction of a business improvement district (BID) in Belfast.
Two new outlets open as Kennedy Centre enjoys growth
TWO new businesses have opened in a west Belfast shopping centre, creating 15 new jobs.
Farm wizards export herd management system to Oz
A NORTHERN Ireland agri-IT company has said it is now selling its cloud-based herd management system in four continents.
Courses for bourses with 100% pass rate
Northern Ireland's growing reputation as a financial services hub has led to the development of a specialist training course to feed the growing demand to train professionals for a career in the industry.
Animator paints rosy future for creative sector
AN animator whose film credits include James Cameron's 3D spectacular Avatar will share his knowledge at an event in Londonderry celebrating the commercial opportunities springing from creativity and technology.
Ulster banks sign up to funds scheme
MOST banks in Northern Ireland have signed up, or are signing up to, the Bank of England's Funding For Lending Scheme.
Fibre broadband 'could help companies make extra £750m'
NORTHERN Ireland firms could make over £750m of additional revenue and save around £45m in operating costs within five years through exploiting fibre broadband, according to a new study.
Lending set to increase while 'write-offs' drop
BANK lending to businesses across the UK is set to rise for the first time in four years as risk appetite starts to recover, handing a potential lifeline to smaller firms and the UK's growth prospects, experts have claimed.
Lloyds profits soar as bad debts fall
Taxpayer-backed Lloyds Banking Group saw a threefold rise in profits in the first three months of the year as bad debts fell and it continued to cut costs.
Time, and GDP, will tell if project proves a success
The Bank of England's Funding for Lending scheme has come in for plenty of criticism over the last couple of months but now seems to be making some tangible headway.
Whitbread expansion drive set to create 12,000 jobs
Whitbread has cranked up expansion plans for its budget hotel chain Premier Inn in the UK and Costa Coffee globally, as the leisure group delivered annual profits ahead of City expectations.
Oil giant BP heads right way as profits increase
BP chief executive Bob Dudley has offered some evidence that his turnaround of the beleaguered oil giant is heading the right way.
New name for mobile company
Mobile technology firm Consilium Technologies Ltd is to change its name to TotalMobile Ltd. The company started in Belfast as TASK Software in 1985 and became Consilium Technologies in 2001. It recently moved to new offices in Belfast's Clarendon Dock to accommodate the growing workforce and to support the other operations in the UK and North America.
ASOS on track to hit £1bn target
ASOS reported a double-digit hike in profits as the online fashion retailer said it remained on track to reach a £1bn sales target. Its customers in the UK splashed out £30m more on fashion in the six months to the end of February than they did the year before, according to the firm's latest results. The sales boost helped profits leap by 11% to £25.6m.
Hospitality firms backing VAT cut
Hundreds of thousands of new jobs could be created if VAT was cut by 5%, according to a report by pub, restaurant and hotel firms. A survey by the Jacques Borel VAT Club, which represents 43 pub, hotel and restaurant operators, found that firms would pass on more than half of any VAT reduction in lowering prices.
Money freedom a seven-year itch
Young workers reach financial independence seven years later in life than their parents did, according to a new study. A survey of more than 1,000 workers aged between 18 and 27 found that they were or expected to be financially sound by the time they reached 25. A separate poll of 900 parents revealed that they were financially independent when they were 18.
Owners regret start-up ventures
ONE in four small business owners have regretted starting their own venture and wouldn't go through the "pain" of doing it again, a new study has shown.
Northern Ireland's 20 richest people - from car dealers to the Virgin Mary
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Investors ‘snub west of the Bann for Belfast’
Fewer than 10% of potential foreign investors check out the west of Northern Ireland.
Latest Business News
We've paid Treasury billions, says angry Vodafone boss
Vodafone has hit back over accusations of tax avoidance, insisting that it made an "absolutely huge" contribution to the UK Treasury, as the mobile giant unveiled a big slump in annual pre-tax profits.
Gordons deal takes health biscuit
NORTHERN Ireland pharmacy business Gordons Chemists has teamed up with Co Down firm Calerrific to supply its innovative high energy biscuits.
Profits hike won't prevent Royal Mail move to privatisation
Royal Mail has unveiled a big jump in profits to £440m as it took another step towards a possible stock market flotation later this year.
Lenders in conference to help with home loan shortfalls
MORTGAGE lenders are stepping up action to help up to 1.3 million interest-only customers who do not have enough cash to pay their loans back.
G8 'should clamp down on tax avoidance'
Business groups from each of the G8 countries have urged leaders to use next month's meeting in Fermanagh to clamp down on tax avoidance in member countries.
Apple 'avoided' paying $1m to US every hour
Apple "avoided" more than $1m (£650,000) in US taxes every hour last year, a senior Washington lawmaker said yesterday as the tech giant found itself the centre of the debate over loopholes in international tax laws.
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