Keeping up with the news can be tricky. Even the most eagle-eyed observer can miss a vital news story. We think being up-to-date on economic developments is key to the success of your startup. Every Wednesday we provide the top 10 key bits of business news from the past week.
Small firms’ confidence at four-year low
According to a new survey from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), confidence among small firms has hit a four-year low before the EU referendum. FSB claimed this was the result of uncertainty and the ‘paralysis’ in government. Furthermore, the FSB stated that there has been a notable number of companies planning job cuts.
UK’s construction performance weakest for seven years
According to a new Markit/CIPS survey released this week, The UK’s construction industry experienced its weakest performance for seven years last month. The index fell to 46.0 in June. Any figure above 50 indicates an expansion and any figure below 50 indicates a contraction.
George Osborne pledges to cut corporation tax
In an interview with the Financial Times, the chancellor announced plans to reduce the corporation tax rate from 20% to somewhere below 15%.
If these plans are to go ahead, the change will see the UK having the lowest corporation tax of any major economy.
UK credit rating falls
Moody’s, one of the big three credit ratings agencies, has cut its outlook for the UK economy from “stable” to “negative”. A few other private credit rating companies have also warned that they may lower the UK’s credit rating.
A credit rating affects how much it costs governments to borrow money in the international financial markets. In theory, a high credit rating means a lower interest rate.
EU Trade Commissioner: No trade talks until the UK has left the European Union
The European Union’s top trade official, Cecilla Malmstrom, has said the UK cannot begin negotiating terms for doing business with the European Union bloc until after it has left.
She said that after Brexit, the UK would become a “third country” in EU terms, meaning trade would be carried under World Trade Organisation rules until a new deal was complete.
Grounds laid for UK interest rate cut
Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, has announced that due to economic stress on the UK economy that the Bank of England has laid the ground for interest rates cuts. This could see interest cut further from the already record low of 0.5%.
Pound slid to a 31-year low against the dollar
This week the pound hit a fresh 31-year low against the dollar. It’s stated that this has occurred due to the uncertainty that markets have faced in the wake of the Brexit vote.
At one point during the week, the pound hit $1.3058 against the dollar, the lowest level since September 1985.
Creative industries launch fight for a seat at the Brexit negotiation table
Facebook’s European chief is calling for creative industries like tech, TV, advertising, and music to be “at the heart” of Britain’s Brexit negotiations.
Bank of England releases £150bn of lending
In Mark has announced that the Bank of England will be relaxing banking sector rules to free up lending to households and businesses. He suggests that this is a significant step to release £150 billion worth of lending to households and businesses.
Firms plan to quit UK as City braces for more post-Brexit losses
British businesses have claimed that Brexit will trigger investment cuts, hiring freezes and redundancies. Recent data by the Institute of Directors (IoD) has said a quarter of businesses have put hiring plans on hold, while 5% are set to make workers redundant. Additionally, nearly two-thirds of businesses believe the outcome of the referendum was negative for their business and one in five businesses were considering moving some of their operations outside of the UK.
