Now I know this is not a subject that falls within the subject matter of this blog and I apologise to all readers who are from outside The West Midlands but I read an article in my local paper The Stratford Herald and I am grateful to them for providing this information.
Heads up all you firms in the Warwickshire area. The Olympic Games are looking for you. According to Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce local companies are being sought to bid for business both for the games proper and to work on the pre games activity that is likely to be going on in the area as national teams arrive to prepare and train.
Business Link are organising two business seminars to help smaller businesses capitalise on the opportunity. The first workshop is taking place on 29th September and the second for March 2010. If you would like to register please call 02476 654321 or visit http://www.cw-chamber.co.uk/
Source: http://www.stratford-herald.com/
http://www.ukba.co.uk/
Showing posts with label new UKBA website. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new UKBA website. Show all posts
Friday, 14 August 2009
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Midlands Companies Go European
I am indebted to my good friends at The National B2B Centre in Warwick who tell me that Advantage West Midlands has unveiled its plans to encourage region wide involvement in business opportunities and collaborative projects in Europe http://www.wmictcluster.org/europe/ . AWM is also aiming to help SMEs in the region to benefit from European funding and will provide clear guidance on support services available. The core sections of the European section of the ICT Cluster website are updated frequently and consist of European Programme calls, tender opportunities, events and news. Additional features scheduled for the next few weeks will include regional support services; national contact points for the various programmes; and a “jargon buster” to assist those new to working in the arena of European project opportunities. It's aimed at any organisation involved in providing technology services and products, including regional businesses involved in ICT, education, science parks, researchers and Chambers of Commerce.
Source: National B2B Centre http://www.nb2b.co.uk http://www.mgba.co.uk http://www.ukba.co.uk
www.ukba.co.uk
Source: National B2B Centre http://www.nb2b.co.uk http://www.mgba.co.uk http://www.ukba.co.uk
www.ukba.co.uk
Monday, 22 June 2009
Are The Green Shoots Sprouting?
According to Money Marketing magazine net retail sales of open-ended funds have had a strong showing in 2009 so far. This follows a trend of investors switching away from equities in light of the credit crunch, inflows into bond funds exceeded £1bn for the fifth consecutive month and April experienced the highest Isa sales in three years. Equity funds also saw modest retail inflows over the last two months.
The initial findings of an Investment Management Association poll of retail investors, conducted by YouGov in early May, show investor confidence has turned positive, with a 35-point swing.
The IMA GB investor confidence index reached 106 in May 2009 (on a scale of 0-200, 100 being neutral) whereas six months ago overall confidence was negative at 71. The IMA GB investor intentions index in May 2009 was 99 (on a scale of 0-200, 100 being neutral). This is up 10 points since November 2008 and shows investors on the whole are becoming less negative about putting money into new investments.
More than 50 per cent said they think now is a good time to put money into investment products, with equities being the most popular option. However, whether or not they will act on this remains to be seen. And investors are still cautious about the residential property market, with half thinking it will continue to fall for at least 12 months before showing signs of recovery.
In terms of economic recovery, 47 per cent thought the economic slowdown would last 12-24 months, compared with November when 58 per cent thought it would take 12-24 months to recover. On markets specifically, 53 per cent of investors think it will take more than two years for the FTSE 100 to return to 6,000.
Polls like this should always be viewed with caution as offering just a snapshot of investor views at one point in time. Taking a longer-term view, research published by IMA last month shows UK investors still give a strong weighting to equities over the long term, despite the trend towards increased diversification of holdings over the past few years. What is also telling is that UK investors have a resilient approach to equity funds. They largely held their nerve last year, making much smaller net withdrawals from equity funds compared with investors in other European countries.
Again, only time will tell what will happen but current investor attitudes, coupled with their long-term behaviour, suggests equity investing may pick up in the long-term.
www.mgba.co.uk, www.ukba.co.uk
The initial findings of an Investment Management Association poll of retail investors, conducted by YouGov in early May, show investor confidence has turned positive, with a 35-point swing.
The IMA GB investor confidence index reached 106 in May 2009 (on a scale of 0-200, 100 being neutral) whereas six months ago overall confidence was negative at 71. The IMA GB investor intentions index in May 2009 was 99 (on a scale of 0-200, 100 being neutral). This is up 10 points since November 2008 and shows investors on the whole are becoming less negative about putting money into new investments.
More than 50 per cent said they think now is a good time to put money into investment products, with equities being the most popular option. However, whether or not they will act on this remains to be seen. And investors are still cautious about the residential property market, with half thinking it will continue to fall for at least 12 months before showing signs of recovery.
In terms of economic recovery, 47 per cent thought the economic slowdown would last 12-24 months, compared with November when 58 per cent thought it would take 12-24 months to recover. On markets specifically, 53 per cent of investors think it will take more than two years for the FTSE 100 to return to 6,000.
Polls like this should always be viewed with caution as offering just a snapshot of investor views at one point in time. Taking a longer-term view, research published by IMA last month shows UK investors still give a strong weighting to equities over the long term, despite the trend towards increased diversification of holdings over the past few years. What is also telling is that UK investors have a resilient approach to equity funds. They largely held their nerve last year, making much smaller net withdrawals from equity funds compared with investors in other European countries.
Again, only time will tell what will happen but current investor attitudes, coupled with their long-term behaviour, suggests equity investing may pick up in the long-term.
www.mgba.co.uk, www.ukba.co.uk
governenmt Changes on Credit Guarantees
A major problem for small businesses during the recession has been the withdrawal of trade credit insurance, which protects companies against a buyer defaulting on payments for goods and services.
"The extension will give small and medium-sized businesses flexibility to respond to a reduction in their credit insurance cover," said business secretary Lord Mandelson.
The scheme will run until the end of the year and will allow businesses to buy government-backed insurance to either restore cover to its original level or double the value they can obtain from the private sector, up to the value of £1m. www.ukba.co.uk
www.ukba.co.uk
"The extension will give small and medium-sized businesses flexibility to respond to a reduction in their credit insurance cover," said business secretary Lord Mandelson.
The scheme will run until the end of the year and will allow businesses to buy government-backed insurance to either restore cover to its original level or double the value they can obtain from the private sector, up to the value of £1m. www.ukba.co.uk
www.ukba.co.uk
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Press Release: New help for Business Owners, by Business Owners
A new resource centre to help owners and MD’s of small and medium sized companies (SMEs) has been launched by UK Business Advisors (UKBA™).
The resource can be found at www.ukba.co.uk and is specifically aimed at helping those owners and MDs. These people have the same problems as people running large companies, but without having the luxury of employees who can cover all the areas. The materials and advice available covers all key aspects of running a business including strategy, marketing, sales, human resources, finances and processes.
The big difference from most such information bases, is that all this material has been produced by people who work in SMEs, and in many cases actually run them. They are based on real life experiences, and not theoretical or academic papers from people not actually running businesses. The information is continually updated to reflect the changing economic environment and evolving technology. The information is backed up by access to the 80+ specialists in the UKBA™ organisation.
**Ends**
www.ukba.co.uk
The resource can be found at www.ukba.co.uk and is specifically aimed at helping those owners and MDs. These people have the same problems as people running large companies, but without having the luxury of employees who can cover all the areas. The materials and advice available covers all key aspects of running a business including strategy, marketing, sales, human resources, finances and processes.
The big difference from most such information bases, is that all this material has been produced by people who work in SMEs, and in many cases actually run them. They are based on real life experiences, and not theoretical or academic papers from people not actually running businesses. The information is continually updated to reflect the changing economic environment and evolving technology. The information is backed up by access to the 80+ specialists in the UKBA™ organisation.
**Ends**
www.ukba.co.uk
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
