Small firms get green light
A £3m plan to help small firms commercialise sustainable business ideas has been launched in Co Fermanagh.
A £3m plan to help small firms commercialise sustainable business ideas has been launched in Co Fermanagh.
Stephen Hester was born in 1960 and grew up in North Yorkshire.
UNEMPLOYMENT has fallen in Northern Ireland over the last few months, adding some good economic cheer ahead of next week's G8 summit.
An influential parliamentary committee has called on HM Revenue & Customs to "fully investigate" Google, after finding that the internet giant uses "highly contrived" tax schemes with the purpose of avoiding corporation tax on its multibillion-pound UK revenues.
Lloyds Banking Group bosses are to be grilled by MPs over the collapse of the lender's deal to sell more than 630 branches to The Co-operative Bank.
The number of those jobless in Northern Ireland has dropped once again, according to the latest figures.
Businesses have been urged to examine why none is led by a senior executive who is openly gay. A new network for gay and lesbian executives said no firms in the FTSE 100 had gay people in the top jobs. Suki Sandhu, the founder of OUTstanding in Business, said: "I want to enable lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender business leaders to be themselves both inside and outside work."
The cash-strapped Greek government is to temporarily shut down state-runTV and radio to save money, despite fierce objections from unions. A government spokesman said the TV and radio signals of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, ERT, would go dead early tomorrow. Its 2,500 employees will be suspended until the company reopens "as soon as possible."
A scheme that will allow bank and building society customers to switch current accounts within seven days moved a step closer with a customer guarantee. The pledge, with a kitemark to be used by all participants when the scheme is launched in September, was made public by the Payments Council. The current account switching process at present can take up to 30 days.
Chart stars Rizzle Kicks are offering work placements to up to 150 young people to work on their new video. The group will offer places to 16- to 24-year-olds to help them get a break. The duo teamed up with GoThinkBig to give recruits a chance to work on the promo for new single Lost Generation. They can be stage hands, make-up artists, extras, camera crew and other positions.
The outlook for jobs remains "firmly positive", with firms in some areas the most optimistic for five years, a study showed. Manpower said more employers were planning to recruit staff than lay workers off. Hiring intentions in London were said to be the best for five years, stated the survey of more than 2,000 employers. The report predicted that construction might start to dig itself out of the recession.
A Co Antrim firm has added a touch of Northern Ireland to the iconic Savoy Hotel in London.
Google is said to be nearing a deal worth more than $1bn to buy Waze, a traffic and navigation app that harnesses GPS data and feedback from a community of tens of thousands of users to generate driving routes.
A BANBRIDGE building firm has been awarded a construction contract worth more than £500,000 by children's cancer charity, CLIC Sargent.
Northern Ireland can attract investment from South America by focusing on the province's low labour costs as a selling point, it's been claimed.
George Osborne's march of the makers is still stuttering, according to official figures showing that manufacturing output contracted by 0.2% in April on the previous month, following gains of 1.1% in March and 0.7% in February.
PHARMACEUTICAL company Almac, one of Northern Ireland's most prominent homegrown successes, employs nearly 3,000 people in Craigavon and the US.
A Craigavon company's reputation as the drug manufacturing centre of choice for the world's pharceutical industry has added another feather to its cap with the announcement of 229 new jobs as part a £14m investment.
THE focus for rejuvenating Northern Ireland's economy should move away from the debate over lower corporation tax, according to one of Ireland's most senior business advisers.
A Co Armagh-based pharmaceutical firm is to expand its business with the creation of 229 new jobs.
Retailer JD Sports Fashion has warned its Blacks and Millets outdoor division is set for another "substantial" loss, despite a return to sales growth.
GOLF tourism brings around £14m per year to the local economy, with the average spend per golf visitor coming in at £300-£450 – significantly higher than the average visitor spend, according to the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
Outgoing Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King tasted defeat in his last bid to spur on the UK economy but successor Mark Carney may yet win support for a return to the printing presses, it has emerged.
ANOTHER airline has signed a deal to buy planes part-made in Belfast at the Paris Air Show.
WHILE world leaders met this week to discuss taxpaying protocols at Lough Erne Resort and golf course, it's emerged there are disparities in the taxes paid by golf clubs in Northern Ireland.
Low-fare airline Ryanair has confirmed it will be buying around £10bn of new planes in a move which will create more than 3,000 jobs.