Private sector firms expect activity to fall in the three months to February 2025 (weighted balance of -10%), according to the CBI’s latest Growth Indicator. This marks the first time this year that expectations for growth have been negative. Business volumes in the services sector are anticipated to decline (-13%), with a slight fall in […]
This rise of highly innovative UK SMEs with specialised products competing for government contracts with defence primes indicates the potential for greater M&A activity. Advancements in understanding and technology have proliferated the use of electronic warfare (EW) on the battlefield, now established as a fixture in the arsenal of all technologically advanced militaries. With a […]
North American banks are outpacing their European peers in revenue generation, with net interest margins (NIM) of 1.8% compared to just 1.2% for European banks, according to a new report by global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M). Net fees and commissions are also 60bps higher in North America. As a result, North American banks can […]
Gen Z are turning their closets into cash with the top 1% making five figure salaries from selling their clothes online. Throughout the US there are over 400,000 teenagers making a profit on their preloved items. Over two in five (42%) teenagers are actively earning money online across the US. One in six of these […]
New research from KPMG International reveals the dramatic extent to which artificial intelligence (AI) is being deployed in organizations’ finance operations – with compelling levels of ROI and a wide range of benefits including better data and decisions, faster insights and reporting, lower costs, and greater operational effectiveness. The KPMG report reveals that although investments […]
Buy-to-let lender Landbay has strengthened its product offering with the launch of a new limited edition range of remortgage products. The new launch sees no less than eight new remortgage products joining the Landbay range. This includes standard five-year fixed rate products, available at up to 70% and 75% loan-to-value (LTV), with rates starting at […]
The British Business Bank has announced an increase to its ENABLE Funding commitment to Simply Asset Finance (“Simply”), one of the UK’s largest and fastest growing independent asset finance providers. This increased facility will allow Simply to provide more than £175m of finance to smaller businesses across the UK. In line with the ENABLE Funding […]
Susannah Streeter head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown: “The FTSE 100 is lacking in Monday motivation, despite signs that China’s economy is cranking up a gear. Worries are also swirling about investment being curtailed in the UK amid falling business confidence. The snapshot of factory activity, the Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI, rose to […]
Economic uncertainty is on the rise for the UK’s 5.6 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) following the Autumn Budget, according to iwoca’s Q3 2024 SME Expert Index. The percentage of brokers reporting pessimism among their SME clients about the future has more than doubled, rising from 15% last quarter to 34%. Meanwhile, only one in […]
With the Scottish Budget fast approaching, Stuart McCallum, head of consumer markets in Scotland at RSM UK, outlines what’s needed to support the retail, hospitality and tourism sectors: “Various layers of regulation, ranging from employment rights to sustainability requirements, are adding to the mounting costs faced by Scottish operators. Many of whom are already on tight margins […]
