Glazers is a well-established and progressive firm of accountants based in North West London.
According to the latest figures, retailers had a challenging December, with most reporting lower sales than expected, particularly in the fashion industry, although homeware saw something of a boost, with consumer demand for decorations and tableware on the rise.
According to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), UK economic growth will accelerate faster than first thought in 2014, with key indicators for the economy now higher than before the start of the financial crisis.
Financial commentators have welcomed last week’s data from the Bank of England showing that, although lending to businesses fell overall in November, net lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rose by £140m after four consecutive months of falls.
Interest rates in the UK are unlikely to rise this year from 0.5 per cent, according to a survey of the UK’s top economists, although more than half of those polled believe they will rise in the first half of 2015.
According to the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR), the UK could be in a position to overtake Germany as the largest economy in Europe by 2030.
Business Secretary Vince Cable suggested over the weekend that the Government should reconsider its Help to Buy scheme amid fears that it has boosted house prices too quickly and could cause a new housing bubble.
Retail sales rose by 0.3 per cent in November from the month before and by 2 per cent compared with the same period in 2012, while online sales hit a record 11.9 per cent of all sales except fuel.
The Bank of England announced yesterday (December 18) that, from 2016, it will start issuing polymer banknotes, or plastic money, in place of the cotton paper kind that have been in circulation for more than 100 years.
The UK’s unemployment rate fell to 7.4 per cent in the three months to October, taking it to its lowest level since the February to April period in 2009, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
A survey from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has found that more firms than not expect to create jobs next year for the first time since the start of the recession.