'UK Borrowing hits record £163 billion'
Article from the BBC news website, April 2010
Government borrowing hit a record high of £163.4bn in the last financial year, official figures have shown.
The borrowing figure for the 2009-10 financial year is lower than the £166.5bn predicted by Chancellor Alistair Darling in April's Budget.
Including financial intervention measures, borrowing totalled £152.8bn - lower than the £155.9bn forecast.
It is the biggest annual borrowing figure for a UK government in peacetime.
A total of £23.5bn was borrowed in March, the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.
Borrowing in March is typically high as civil servants seek to spend the remainder of their annual budgets
Total government debt now stands at £890bn - equivalent to 62% of GDP.
The £163.4bn borrowed is equivalent to 11.6% of GDP.
Although the annual figure came in below the Budget prediction, City analysts reacted cautiously.
"The big picture is that this is still the biggest budget deficit since World War II," said Jonathan Loynes, economist at Capital Economics.
Tax receipts rise
"With all parties' fiscal plans based on extremely optimistic economic assumptions and unspecified spending cuts, a further sizeable fiscal squeeze will still be needed after the election, whoever is in charge."
All major political parties have pledged to tackle the growing budget deficit following the next election.
But their plans rely in part on the recovery of the economy boosting tax income and therefore reducing borrowing.
Many view the Treasury's current predictions of between 3% and 3.5% growth in the 2011 calendar year as too optimistic, with an average of City forecasters suggests growth of around 2.25%.
However, the slow recovery so far already appears to have helped cut borrowing. In March, tax income rose by 3.8% according to the ONS.
Income from VAT also rose following the return to the 17.5% rate at the start of the year, and corporation tax receipts were up by more than 50%.
Article ends...
'PM Vows economic upturn by 2010'
Article from the BBC news website, October 2009
Gordon Brown has promised the economy will return to growth by the turn of the year, in his first reaction to news that the UK is still in recession.
His podcast was released on the Number 10 website after official figures showed the economy was still shrinking.
The prime minister accepted times were tough but said the battle to stop "a second Great Depression" was being won.
But the Tories said the recovery was set to be "feeble" and the UK was lagging behind other leading countries.
In his message, Mr Brown pledged to take action against excessive bank bonuses and end "sharp practices" by credit card operators.
The prime minister said they should stop raising interest rates on existing debts without explanation and issuing unsolicited credit card cheques.
BBC political correspondent Gary O'Donoghue said there were no details of how the issue would be tackled ahead of an expected announcement on Tuesday.
Previously ministers have suggested banning credit card cheques.
Wall Street Crash
Mr Brown said: "We are announcing measures to make the credit and store card companies clean up their act to get you a fairer deal.
"Sharp practices by lenders - such as hiking interest rates on existing debts without explanation, sending out unsolicited credit card cheques and raising credit card limits without being asked - these sharp practices should end."
The podcast was released on the 80th anniversary of the Wall Street Crash and came after news that the UK economy shrank by 0.4% in the third quarter of 2009 - making the recession the longest since records began.
"My pledge to you is to make reform of the financial sector a reality and to see Britain's economy return to growth by the turn of the year," Mr Brown said.
He said it would be "suicidal" to start cutting spending, as the Conservatives have suggested.
"Although there are signs that confidence is beginning to return in some areas, we need to be cautious," he said.
"Now, more than ever, is the time for steady and clear policies. That is why it would be suicidal to put recovery at risk by suddenly cutting off the funding and investment that is supporting young people, families and businesses through the most challenging times in a generation."
He also insisted the fight to prevent "a second Great Depression" was being won as a result of international co-operation.
'Feeble recovery'
Shadow Business Secretary Ken Clarke said he could not say when the UK would come out of recession but that the prospects for growth in 2010 were not encouraging.
"Sooner or later we are going to start getting a very feeble recovery but it is going to be feeble and fragile," he told Sky News.
"We are worse affected than pretty well anybody else in the Western world, for some perfectly practical reasons, part of which is the colossal scale of the public debt."
Substantial measures were needed to get banks lending again and to help young people find work, Mr Clarke added, but he said he feared nothing would happen before the next election as the government was "inactive" and Mr Brown "burnt-out".
Article ends...
'Recession in Britain at an end'
Article from the BBC news website, August 2009
Confidence among business professionals has surged, suggesting the recession is at an end, a survey has said.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants' index of business confidence rose to 4.8 at the end of June, from -28.2 in March, the biggest rise for two years.
However, chief executive Michael Izza warned against "underestimating" the challenges ahead for businesses.
The institute predicts the UK economy will grow by 0.5% in the third quarter of 2009.
Its forecast comes after the economy shrank by 0.8% in the second quarter of the year.
More than 1,000 chartered accountants were surveyed across England, Wales and Scotland.
Investor confidence about the UK economy also appears to be growing, with the UK's main FTSE 100 share index ending Monday trading at a 10-month high of 4,896, up 0.9% on the day.
More optimism
"This quarter's Business Confidence Monitor suggests that the UK recession is at an end," said Mr Izza.
Many are now more optimistic that the global recession is ending.
Japan, France and Germany have all recently emerged from recession in the second quarter between April and June, as have Asian economies like Thailand and Hong Kong.
US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has also said that the US, the world's largest economy, is approaching recovery.
While initial figures showed that neither the US or UK grew in the second quarter, many expect economic output to return to positive territory in the three months to September.
"The considerable stimulus from the easing of monetary and fiscal policy and the past depreciation of sterling should lead to a recovery in economic activity," the Bank of England said earlier this month.
'Challenge'
The confidence survey said that 41% of senior professionals were more confident about their business prospects in the next year, but only 6% were much more confident, indicating that some caution remains.
"While there is no doubt that the UK economy is on its way to recovery, we shouldn't underestimate the challenges ahead for businesses," said Mr Izza.
IT was the most optimistic sector, followed by banking, finance and insurance. The institute said the banking sector in particular had shown "a remarkable upturn given the turmoil of the last two years".
The least confident professions were health and education, as fears of cuts in the public sector grow.
Reservations
Policymakers have been wary of stoking expectations that the UK's economic woes are over.
"The pace of recovery over the next few years is highly uncertain," said Bank Governor Mervyn King.
The Bank surprised the financial markets by injecting £50bn of new money into the economy earlier this month, more than the £25bn that had been expected.
The move, which took the total to £175bn, is viewed as a sign of how divided the Bank committee members that set interests rates are over the recovery in the UK economy.
In addition, the number of jobless in the UK is now at its highest level since 1995, with 2.4 million people out of work
Article ends...
September 2008
Make your website work for you - Generate new work and sales from the internet
Article by Karl Jones, KN Design website design, ecommerce website design and internet marketing company
UK SHOPPERS SPENT 17 PENCE IN EVERY POUND ONLINE - 1st half 2008
According to the BBC Business website, total internet spend was £26.5 BILLION, up 38% on the same period last year.
Rising food and fuel bills combined with the credit crunch have forced shoppers to seek out bargains away from the high street stores, with online sales now reaching nearly 20% of total retail spending.
Amongst other catagories, clothing, lingerie and footwear were the biggest winners with sales rising more than 32% year on year.
HOW CAN YOU GET A SLICE OF THE INTERNET BOOM?
There are some golden rules to a successful website.
Firstly you need to identify your objectives. Do you want to use your website as a promotional tool for your company? Do you want to sell products on your website? Who is your target audience? What are your expectations in terms of 1st, 2nd, 3rd year profits/losses?
Secondly you need to recruit a good website designer who will help you to portray your business in the right way, meeting your criteria as identified above.
Thirdly, do not scrimp and cut corners. If something is worth doing, do it properly!
Lastly you need to consider how you are going to promote your new website. Search engine optimisation, cost per click campaigns, viral email marketing, link networks or some other way? A solid website backed by a properly structured marketing campaign can deliver great results.
Statistics from the BBC Business website.
Article by Karl Jones from website design, ecommerce and internet marketing specialists, KN Design, who are listed in our business directory
Contact Karl for help with your website by email at karl@kndesign.co.uk or call 01590 681732
If you have any comments or advice on this FOCUS topic, please contact us here.