Business and Economics

Young people are now more likely to set up their own small business than any other age group. According to new research almost 69 per cent of new businesses set up in the past five years were started by those aged between 18-34. And 27 is the age Brits are most likely to take the risk of starting a company by themselves. Gary Turner, MD and co-founder of Xero, which carried out the study, said: “Small business owners don’t always...

Many people will see this as a strange statement, from an ardent Brexiteer and one of the more prominent leave voices during the referendum campaign, but Liam Fox wants the EU’s help to fight tariffs from the US. Mr Fox wants to EU to help the UK out over the 25% import tax on steel and 10 % on aluminium introduced by the Trump administration. Trump's move has raised concerns that the US is planning a widespread trade war, which...

New research has unearthed a series of shocking stories of London business owners who have been forced out of their premises because of spiralling rents, with one committing suicide after a 200 per cent rent increase. 230 small businesses have united to call on London politicians to join them in confronting the capital’s affordable workspace crisis. Members of the East End Trades Guild will meet the Hackney and Tower Hamlets mayors on Tuesday and ask them to commit to their agenda​....

The US launched its threatened hefty steel and aluminium tariffs despite 100 Congress men writing to the President warning that this would precipitate a trade war and global economic disaster. Donald Trump signed an order meaning US steel imports now face a 25% tariff and aluminium 10%. Trump exempted neighbouring Canada and Mexico, and hinted that "flexibility and cooperation" would be shown to friendly countries. The UK will be hit hard. 15% of our steel exports go the US. With...

@BenGelblum  The House of Commons Exiting the European Union Committee has published the Whitehall Brexit impact analyses that the Government did not want you to see. Brexit Minister David Davis fought tooth and nail to keep the assessments of the possible impacts of Brexit on the economy confidential, insisting they might jeopardise negotiations with the EU if revealed. Yet it in the end there is only one section of the impact reports which has been left out of the 29...

A campaign to get employers to pay for candidates' travel expenses has been launched in support of boosting the UK labour force and improving social mobility. Debut, the student and graduate careers app, will lobby Government to introduce guidelines for employers to proactively offer travel reimbursement for all ‘in-person’ interviews, to better support the UK’s labour force and improve social mobility. The campaign is in response to research which revealed that the average cost of attending an in-person interview is...

Protectionist trade tariffs signed by Donald Trump show the dangers faced by the UK post Brexit, union GMB has warned. This week the US President officially sanctioned a 25 per cent tariff on steel imports, 10 per cent on aluminium, and is now threatening a tax on cars entering the US, together with a threat to ignore the protections on foodstuffs of specific geographical origin - posing a threat to Scotland’s whisky industry and Cornish pasty production. GMB says the...

Over 500 workers at the Hinkley Point C nuclear site have refused to work and many are currently staging a sit in protest, in the staff canteen. One construction worker, who didn't want to be named said: “The site was shut down from Thursday until late last night, due to the bad weather. However, the management have refused to pay our wages or any subsistence, and left us all out of pocket. "The workers were told this via a text...

Workers in London are in line for a pay rise as employers push to attract more candidates. It was a strong start to the year for both employers and professionals, and it’s clear that businesses in the capital were working hard last month to continue attracting talented candidates to their roles. In fact, according to the latest statistics from CV-Library, advertised salaries increased by 2.7 per cent year-on-year across the city. The data, which explored fluctuations in pay, jobs and applications...