“Lies, damned lies, and statistics“, a quote attributed to Mark Twain, pretty much sums up the view of many people about statistics. We can become cynical about the persuasive use of numbers, because it can seem that they are just spinned different ways to support whichever point of view is being presented at the time. […]
Institutionalising fairness
In a recent speech to The Fabian Society, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn outlined some of his strategy to tackle pay inequality and “institutionalise fairness” in Britain. One headline-hitting measure would be to ban companies from paying dividends to shareholders unless they are paying workers the living wage, the aim being to redress the balance of […]
RSA launches a new self-employment charter
At Fair Business Loans we were interested to hear that the RSA has recently launched a Charter for the Self-employed. The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) aims to enrich society through ideas and action. Over the past two years it has conducted research over into the life of the […]
HSBC stays in London – why does it matter?
As you may well be aware HSBC – Europe’s biggest bank – has recently announced that it plans to keep its headquarters in London. Since April 2015, the bank had been considering relocating its headquarters to Hong Kong but has now decided unanimously against the move. We thought it would be interesting to take a […]
Taxing times for small businesses?
As highlighted in the March 2015 budget, the UK tax system is going digital! The new Conservative Government promised to bring the digital revolution to Whitehall and is now in the process of transforming tax administration so it is more effective, more efficient and easier for taxpayers. The transformation will be complete by 2020, and […]
We will honour you!
It’s been that time of year again, when we pore over the New Year’s’ Honours list to see who has been awarded what, and whether we agree! “Honours” are used to recognise merit in terms of achievement and service, and in this year’s list 1,196 people were awarded honours. Their areas of involvement and stages […]
No deal or a fair deal?
As we herald the arrival of 2016 you probably have great plans for your business! As everyone around us making New Year Resolutions, it’s the ideal time to look ahead with confidence and take some positive steps to making things happen the way you want them to. Newspapers, magazines and blogs are full of encouraging […]
Funding for lending
The Bank and HM Treasury launched the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) in 2012. The FLS is designed to encourage banks and building societies to boost their lending to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in the UK. It does this by letting banks and building societies borrow funds from it cheaply, so that they […]
7 Steps to Success for Entrepreneurs
We were very interested to recently read some interviews on BBC’s website with entrepreneurs of high tech companies. Each of the “Tech Titans” interviewed had invaluable advice to impart to any entrepreneur or small business owner, whatever sector they are in. Here is our summary of seven of the key points made: New businesses can […]
What’s in the Autumn Statement for small businesses?
George Osborne’s recent Autumn Statement hit the headlines primarily for his unexpected decision to scrap his planned £4.4 billion cut to tax credits, which are the second highest welfare cost, topped only by the cost of the state pension. His rationale was that the stability of the economy and the holding of interest rates at […]