Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from the United Kingdom and Ireland:
- Small businesses to converge on Newport for major conference:Small businesses will be gathering against the backdrop of recession in South Wales later this year, at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Annual Conference 2009.
- Failing to manage health and safety can now result in more severe penalties, warns business lobby group: The Forum of Private Business (FPB) is warning the owners of small businesses to put in place stringent health and safety procedures, following a legal change imposing more severe punishments for health and safety breaches that could leave them facing up to two years in prison or a large fine.
- Lift employment burdens on small businesses now, says business lobby group: With evidence mounting that business-owners are being forced to make further redundancies because of the economic downturn, the Forum of Private Business (FPB) is urging the Government to remove the barriers that could prevent job growth when the economy begins to improve.
- WinWeb Celebrates 15 Years Helping Small Business & Home Business: WinWeb was founded 15 years ago in 1994, with the vision that the Internet and the World-Wide-Web (WWW) would transform the way micro businesses will be started and run.
- Sharp drop in bank shares raises nataionalisation fears: A plunge in the share price of the Royal Bank of Scotland prompted City and Westminster speculation tonight of imminent full-scale nationalisation for the bank as the financial markets issued a vote of no confidence in the government’s latest bail-out.
- Banks braced for £40bn in writedowns: Britain’s banks are close to revealing writedowns of at least £40bn as the financial crisis looks to be entering a dangerous new phase following a huge sell-off in the shares of Barclays and other banks on Friday. The government is close to unveiling fresh measures to shore up the system.
- ‘More help needed’ to create jobs: The Federation of Small Businesses is calling on the government to do more to help firms create jobs.
As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.
