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It has been a very quiet year so far on Aim, but there are
slighty more encouraging signs if you look carefully.
The number of new companies that joined Aim fell from 146 in the
latter half of 2007 to just 69 in the first half of 2008. There was
a large drop in funds raised for new admissions – from
more than £3bn in the second half of 2007 to under £1bn
in the first half of 2008.
However, funds raised by existing companies on Aim in secondary
fundraisings have fared better (only down from £3.3bn to
£2.3bn over the same period) and companies in minerals and
natural resources are making the most of record commodity prices
– of the £2.3bn raised in secondary fundraisings to
June 2008, over £1bn went to companies in the sector.
Business intelligence maps
Google has joined forces with Information Builders to release
WebFOCUS, the first so-called business intelligence
'mash-up'. The mix and match software gives users a visual
representation of sales figures and stock movements in different
locations via an interactive Google Map. Businesses can compare key
data for numerous outlets using maps enriched with analytic
content. The intention is to make it easier to identify regional
trends, as well as give users the ability to zoom in and out of
critical locations.
Spending on online advertising overtook mainstream TV in Britain
last year for the first time, according to Ofcom. In its annual
report, the watchdog found that online spending in 2007 grew to
£2.8bn. The combined net advertising revenues of ITV1,
Channel 4, S4C and Five were £2.4bn. Internet advertising
equalled that of outdoor and magazine advertising combined.
Online spending was dominated by paidfor search (£1.6bn),
where sponsored links appear as internet search results. The rest
was split equally between display and classified ads.
The success of the internet remains a particularly UK-focused
phenomenon. Last year, online spending accounted for 19% of all
advertising – a much higher proportion than in the US,
France or Germany.
Lords urges scrapping of VAT on electrical goods repairs
VAT should be lifted from the cost of repairing televisions,
vacuum cleaners and fridges to discourage people from throwing them
away when they are broken, argues the House of Lords Science
Committee.
The committee believes that with appliances getting cheaper and
labour more expensive, most people are not prepared to pay high
repair costs. Buying new or repairing can cost the same, so more
and more electrical goods are being dumped into landfill and
replaced by the latest design on the market.
The peers' report says that waste could be reduced if
consumers were encouraged to keep products for longer and repair
them when necessary.
The committee also calls on the Government to introduce variable
VAT rates, reducing VAT on projects which use sustainable raw
materials.
Free web accelerator for small Businesses
A free web accelerator is being offered to start-ups,
entrepreneurs and emerging new media businesses.
The free web accelerator, available from Velocix, makes videos
stream faster, music play uninterrupted and games run smoothly.
The free service has an allowance of 500GB – the
equivalent of more than 8,500 songs, or 10,000 to 12,000 music
videos – more than enough for a young company starting
out. Velocix offers the free accelerator to young companies in the
hope that their clients will stay with them for the long term. As a
business expands and its needs grow, other larger, paid-for
packages are available from the firm.
The average recruitment cost of filling a vacancy per employee
has risen to £4,667. This increases to £5,800 when
organisations also calculate the other costs of staff turnover such
as vacancy cover, redundancy, recruitment and training. This is
according to the latest figures from the Chartered Institute of
Personnel and Development.
British workers will continue to have the right to work more
than 48 hours per week, after ministers made a landmark agreement
with the European Union Employment Council.
The Government said the agreement will allow the UK's
"vital labour market flexibility" to continue while, at
the same time, ensuring that workers are treated fairly.
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