Europe generally lags behind the US regarding internet access.

GFK Custom Research Worldwide surveyed almost 17,000 people in 17 countries in September, to establish the level of access to the internet in the various countries. 15 Western and Eastern European counties were included plus Turkey and the US.

In Western Europe, 61% of those surveyed said that they had online access from work, home, an internet café or a mobile phone.

In Eastern Europe, 59% reported having internet access.

In the US, 75% said they had online access.

In the survey results, the Netherlands and Sweden both had very high internet access levels, 91% and 86% respectively. This is a reflection of the strength of their economies and of the wealth of their residents.

The lowest results came from Italy with 39%, Romania with 36% and Bulgaria with 37%, the last two being the least affluent of EU countries. The low level in Italy may be due to the high level of communication by mobile phones there and the fact that the Italian government has not pursued high levels of internet connectivity.

42% of the Europeans said that they thought that content on the net should be free, but only 21% in the US agreed with that suggestion.

Regarding the use of the net, 13% of Western Europeans said that online shopping was the most important aspect, compared to 12% in the US and 25% in the UK who rated shopping as their number one online activity.

This very high figure for the UK seems to be combinations of the trust UK consumers have in online transactions and the bad UK weather which makes shopping without leaving home more appealing.

As the importance of online access continues to increase, the counties with the highest levels of internet usage by their population will have decided advantages over those who lag in getting people connected to the net.

We help with our Local Search facility in our UK Business Directory, by delivering prospects to the 1.6 million businesses listed, with no cost to them



Monte Huebsch, CEO

The UK government is paying companies who supply them quickly but large, private sector companies are still paying too slowly.

The Department of Business Innovation and Skills said that 95% of invoices sent to the UK government are now being paid within 10 days. This is a result of government action taken last year to assist small businesses with cash flow through the economic downturn. 

Local government is not doing as well, with only 42% of invoices being paid within 10 days, the average payment period being 18 days. 

However, only 22 of the FTSE 100 companies have committed to the government’s Prompt Payment Code, which was introduced a year ago. The cost to UK businesses in 2009 is estimated at £189 million, in interest on late paying invoices. 

On average, private companies paid 21 days after the due date and large companies were the slowest payers. 

So while companies are paying slightly faster than they have been, the paying cycle still reflects reluctance to part with the cash. 

The Forum of Private Business said that late payments were hurting suppliers and the worst hit was smaller firms. They appealed to large companies to speed up the payment of invoices to assist the economy to recover and to relieve the rate of unemployment. 

Small UK businesses have experienced a very trying time and they appreciate the prospects that we send to them, without cost, from our Local Search facility in our UK Business Directory. The vast majority of the 1.6 million business listed in our directory are small firms.

 

Monte Huebsch, CEO

 

The increase in receivables finance indicates an improvement in UK small business results.

The Institute for Factors and Discounters reports that receivables finance increased by 2% in the September quarter, compared to the previous quarter. 

Receivables finance is financing provided to small businesses so that payment is received promptly, rather than having to wait for an extended period to be paid by the companies they are supplying. 

However, while the September quarter result was an improvement, it was still down 6.8% on the 2008 September quarter. 

Across 6,000 businesses, the average period for debt payment was 42.7 days in the last quarter, a one day improvement on the June quarter, and the June quarter was a one day improvement on the quarter before that. 

With discounting, Institute member firms buy the small company’s debt but leave them with the job of collecting the debt. Factoring is where Institute member firms buy the debt and accept some of the responsibility for collecting the debt. 

So this is an indicator that small businesses are starting to see an improvement in sales results. Because receivables finance is primarily a service for smaller firms, it is a good measurement of the state of the sales activity of smaller companies. 

This is important since, according to UK Trade & industry, small UK businesses provide 59.2% of private sector employment and 51.2% of total private sector revenue. 

We assist small UK firms by providing them with qualified prospects at no cost to them from our Local Search facility in our Business Directory. There are 1.6 million business listed in our directory, most of which are small companies. 

Monte Huebsch, CEO

Larger UK businesses are not borrowing the approved and available funds, while small firms can’t get loans.

The Bank of England reports that lending to UK companies reduced by £4.6 billion in September, which made the one year growth the lowest since 1999, when records started being kept. 

While some small businesses said they had problems accessing loan funds, lenders said that borrowers were very wary about taking on debt and that the funds the banks had available were not being accessed. 

The Royal Bank of Scotland, now government controlled, said they had £27 billion in business loans that were approved and that had not been taken up. Lloyds Banking Group Plc, which is now 43% government owned, said they also had tens of billions of approved loans that are not being used. 

HSBC Holdings Plc said that they had £1 billion in additional loan funds available for businesses and that only £600 million had been borrowed. They also said that debt repayments had accelerated. 

The government’s contribution of £58 billion in bail out funds to the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group Plc came with a promise that they would increase lending by £25 billion and £28 respectively over two years. 

The Bank of England reports that consumers in the UK currently have £1.46 trillion in debt, more than the country’s gross domestic product, however consumer borrowing fell by £262 in September, the third month in a row of falling consumer debt. 

At the same time, a British Chamber of Commerce survey in November found that a third of small UK firms, that is with fewer than 50 staff, found it more difficult to get loans from banks since June. 

So there is a situation where larger firms have substantial loan funds available to them, which are not being taken up but many small companies are still not able to borrow what they require. 

We assist small UK firms by sending them prospects at no cost from our Local Search facility in our UK Business Directory. Most of the 1.6 million UK companies listed in our directory are small businesses. 

Monte Huebsch, CEO

 

One tenth of UK retail banking business is for sale.

The UK Treasury announced that the European Commission has approved the break up and sale of some of the assets of the two major state owned banks.

The Treasury will provide an additional £25 billion to the Royal Bank of Scotland and almost £6 billion more to Lloyds. The arrangement will make the Royal Bank of Scotland more controlled by the government, with the percentage of public ownership increasing from 70% to 84%.

Lloyds will be no more accountable to the government, which owns 43% of the bank.

In return for government support, the Royal Bank of Scotland will sell 318 branches, 14% of its UK network and Lloyds will sell 600 branches, about 20% of its UK network.

The Royal Bank of Scotland is offering for sale businesses with 1.7 million clients, including 230,000 small business clients and £20 billion in assets. It is also required to sell its insurance businesses, plus its international merchant services business which processes debit and credit card payments, and its interest in its commodity trading business.

Lloyds is selling almost 5% of UK current personal accounts and about 19% of its mortgage assets.

Treasury said that the buyers must be small or new businesses to ensure diversity and competition.

As most of the developed world is now out of recession, and the UK is expected to have positive growth in the next quarter, this restructure will affect the small businesses that are expected to provide new jobs to reduce the current high employment rate.

We’re assisting UK small businesses by sending them prospective customers, at no cost to them, from our Local Search facility in our UK Business Directory. Most of the 1.6 million business listed in our directory are small firms.

Monte Huebsch, CEO

UK small businesses are confident despite the continuing negative economic growth.

CBI’s Trends Survey of 424 small UK firms said that while demand for products, services and manufactured goods continued to be down over the last three months, the businesses expected the next quarter to improve. Their level of confidence is at the highest level since April 2007.

40% of the all the businesses surveyed said new orders declined in the past three months and 24% said there was an increase. The output of small manufacturing firms was down for 35% of the firms and up for 22% of them.

The US economy has returned to growth of .9% in the quarter from July to September, after 4 quarters of negative growth. The UK economy recorded a loss of .4% for the same period.

The stimulus measures taken in the US were more substantial than the action taken in the UK. The US Commerce Department said that, in the quarter, demand for manufactured goods increased by an annualised rate of 22%, the best result since 2001, largely as a result of the Government’s cash for clunkers car scheme.

The US housing market for housing products was up 23% annualised, the largest increase since 1986, a result of the government’s first home buyer’s US$8,000 tax credit. US exports also increased, by 21% on an annualised basis, the best result since 1996.

With the US, Japan, Germany and France now out of recession; the UK should go back into positive growth quickly.

Small UK businesses are resilient and will recover to help reduce the number of unemployed. We help them by sending them qualified prospects from our Local Search Facility in our UK Business Directory with no cost to them. There are 1.6 million businesses listed in our directory and most of them are small firms.

Monte Huebsch, CEO

Small UK businesses think the recession will end in early 2010.

In a survey of 7,200 small UK businesses, BT Business reports that 75% of them think the business cycle will turn up next year with 35% saying they think it will improve in January next year.

Since there are 4.7 million small businesses, the positive response will to some extent be self fulfilling.

In addition, in the survey, 45% of small firms reported that their business had  been improved due to the pressure exerted by the economic slump, and 41% say that they will diversify as the financial climate improves.

While half say that their business revenue is currently down, with 25% saying the drop is over 10%, 60% are upbeat about their expected results next year.

During the downturn, half of small businesses borrowed from family and friends rather than their bank.

The survey reports that small firms want more easy access to finance, legal advice and assistance in developing their business.

However, the restructuring firm, Begbies Traynor, says that over 130,000 small businesses are in financial trouble and that in previous recessions, small business failures reached a peak between one and two years after the UK economy returned to growth.

Ernst and Young agrees with them, suggesting that it will be 2012 before economic growth is restored to its long term average.

So small companies think that the end of the economic gloom is in sight but it appears that there will be more pain for them as growth returns.

We help UK small firms by providing them with qualified prospects from our Local Search facility in our UK Business Directory, at no cost to them. Most of the 1.6 million businesses listed in our directory are small firms.


Monte Huebsch, CEO

The UK government has a goal of getting everyone online within three years.

Research by The Office of Digital Inclusion says that there are 14 million people in the UK who do not have internet access.

The inclusion of these individuals should produce a benefit of £22 billion including £8 billion income provided by additional online sales.

The estimate of the public sector saving is substantial, with £900 to be saved by a more economical contact system with clients, when those currently offline have access.

A number of companies are involved in assisting with the project, including Google and BT.

£12 million in funding will be provided to a number of organisations, to be controlled by Odcom, the regulator.

An essential aspect of making the project a success is for broadband to be less expensive and have wider coverage, particularly to rural areas.

Organisations which use self service to improve economies in providing their services will benefit greatly, with fewer employees required. Also, the option of working away from an office becomes more possible.

The research indicates there would be an income increase for unemployed people who gain online access due to enhanced work options and incapacitated individuals would also benefit in being able to work remotely.

As more commerce and communication occurs via the internet, not being online is a major issue.

We help effective communication by having extensive listings on Google for our UK Local Search facility in our Business Directory. We provide prospects to the 1.6 million businesses listed, at no cost to them.

Monte Huebsch, CEO

One in three UK small businesses has been affected by fraud.

Research from Fellowes and the National Fraud Authority reports that a third of small UK firms have suffered loss due to fraud and only 3% of UK consumers are totally confident that their information which is held by firms with whom they deal is secure.

A guide for businesses which spells out the risks, gives advice on securing business information and how to deal with a security breach, is now available: http://www.stop-idfraud.co.uk .

The research shows that two thirds of firms have no real procedure for dealing with documents with confidential details and that a third of employees just dispose of those documents by putting them in the waste paper bin.

44% of UK staff does not shred documents which contain confidential details. Only 54% check financial statements, only 45% look for missing mail and 31% do not report lost sensitive information.

62% of companies fear financial loss from fraud and 43% are concerned about harm to their reputation. Over 70% of UK staff thinks their companies should take more care in the handling of documents containing confidential information.

The Government says that the UK economy loses £1.2 billion a year due to identity fraud. 60,000 firms have been affected this year, a 36% increase over the same period last year.

A business which is exposed to fraud may have a difficult time surviving. The disruption to normal business practices caused can be difficult at best. The attitude that it happens to someone else is common but not realistic.

We check the identity of firms listing in our Business Directory for our UK Local Search facility carefully by an opt–in and confirmation system. We send UK businesses qualified business leads with no cost to them, our directory being funded by Google Adsense advertising.

Monte Huebsch, CEO

UK online credit card fraud levels are lower but more sophisticated techniques are now being employed by cyber criminals to access online bank accounts.

Financial Fraud Action UK reports that credit card fraud was reduced to a loss of £232 million in the 6 month period this year, a drop of 23% from the same period a year ago.

Fraud losses on lost and stolen credit cards are down 6% to £25 million, the lowest figure since 1991.

The credit card companies have been very active in instituting a variety of online securities measures, which are having the desired effect.

The introduction of additional online security techniques, including the need to use a password when making an online purchase, has meant a reduction in fraud of 18% in internet, mail order and purchases via the telephone. Also, the use of a PIN in UK retail establishments has further reduced the fraud level.

However, online banking fraud increased by 55% in the first half of 2009. Losses from online banking fraud were £39 million in the first six months of this year.

Phishing is a major contributor to the banking fraud increase, with 26,000 of those actions, a 26% increase, over the six months.

This technique targets consumers rather than banks, which have much more secure procedures. The quality of a false email, asking for bank details to be updated, is very convincing, with an identical look to a genuine communication.

Small UK businesses are especially vulnerable since the volume of the email they receive is increasing on an ongoing basis and most business financial transactions are done online.

While banks may eventually compensate the companies for losses, the disruption involved in suffering a substantial cash flow reduction is very difficult for small firms to deal with.

Caution and a healthy level of scepticism are needed.

We assist small UK businesses by giving them prospects from our Local Search facility in our UK Business Directory with zero cost for them. There are 1.6 million businesses listed in our directory and the vast majority are small firms.

Monte Huebsch, CEO

The UK Post Office now offers business insurance to 95% of small UK businesses.

The UK Post office now can provide business insurance for most types of small UK businesses. 80% of small firms who have a major loss due to fire, accident, or some other event, fail within 18 months because they were not sufficiently insured. 

The Post Office is offering attractive premium rates and covers fire, theft, public liability, professional indemnity, equipment, and interruption to trading due to an accident or breakdown.

The Post Office has staff available to advise what insurance is required by law what additional cover should be considered. 

Small businesses have cut back on many overheads during the economic downturn and the use of professional services and outlays such as insurance have been reduced.

This is a case of where the most vulnerable are also the most exposed and least able to cope with a disastrous event. 

Since many small businesses use the Post Office regularly for business banking, the service should help to ensure that the insurance which is essential to cover the business risks is in force. 

We help UK small businesses by providing qualified prospects to them, without any cost, from our UK Local Search facility in our Business Directory. There are 1.6 million businesses listed and most of them are small businesses. 

Monte Huebsch, CEO

UK Internet advertising outlay now exceeds the amount spent on TV advertising.

The internet advertising expenditure in Denmark exceeded that spent on TV six months ago, and now the UK has reached a similar position. 

A study by the Internet Advertising Bureau reports that advertisers in the UK spent £1.75 billion in the half year to 30 June, an increase of 4.6% on the same period last year. This has grown from only £19.4 million in 1998, when it was first measured. 

Internet advertising is now 23.5% of the total of advertising expenditure in the UK and TV ads make up 21.9%. The TV advertising outlay was reduced by 17% in this period to £1.6 billion. 

Online search advertising made up 60%, an amount of £1.05 billion, of the £1.75 billion amount spent online. This was increase of 6.8% over the previous year’s first 6 months. 

The amount spent on Internet classified ads increased by 10.6% to £385 million, 22% of the total of online advertising. However, internet display ads outlay was reduced by 5.2% to £316.5 million, which was 18% of the total internet ad spend. The fall in online display advertising was the response of larger companies to the recession. 

Video advertising on the net, which is a new field, grew 300% to £12 million. 

The Internet Advertising Bureau suggests that there is still substantial growth to come in online advertising, with a prediction that it will reach 30% of all advertising, a figure of £4 - £5 billion. 

This trend of advertisers following consumers online is dramatic. The only query on how this will continue is whether social network sites, where the user numbers are growing very fast, will be able to successfully incorporate effective advertising without losing their members. 

Online advertising is growing quickly because of the ability to track results and accurately determine the cost of acquiring new business. 

We make this service available free to the 1.6 businesses listed in our Business Directory via our Local Search facility. We provide them with qualified prospects, with no cost to them. 

Monte Huebsch, CEO.

UK traditional media companies intend to charge for their online content and Social Networking sites are also looking to monetise their business models.

A UK survey by the Association of Online Publishers says that 7 in 10 newspapers, magazines and TV firms intend to charge for access to their online content within the next year.

A third of those who intend to charge favour a pay for use model, with a only small fee being involved.

The firms surveyed said they would charge for special reports, applications that are downloaded, archived material, and content designed for mobile devices.

86% said that they either do, or will provide, sites accessible to mobiles within the next year.

Social networking sites are the current high growth area in terms of members, with Facebook, established three years ago, now exceeding 300 million members and growing at 5 million members a week. Facebook announced that they are about to become profitable, based on the advertising revenue they generate. Facebook has a current valuation estimate of $5 billion.

Twitter is another site with rapid growth, with 45 million users currently. It has raised $100 million in venture capital but as yet has no income stream. The have altered their terms and conditions recently to allow advertising.

MySpace was the early star, having acquired 50 million users in just two years, but it is now falling out of fashion, having reduced its workforce by 30%, and it is losing advertising revenue at a rate of 15% each year.

Linkedin is a site for professionals which is profitable and currently has 43 million members. 81% are university graduates with an average age of 41 and an average income of £75,000.

While traditional media firms will try to make charging for content acceptable, there is doubt as to how well that will work. Specialist titles such as The Wall Street Journal have a successful subscription model, but generally people are averse to paying for content they have been used to receiving free.

We take the Google view that information should be free, supported by advertising. Our UK Local Search facility in our Business Directory sends prospects to the 1.6 million businesses listed, with no cost to them.

Monte Huebsch, CEO

Small businesses in the UK have made many adjustments to cope with the economic downturn but 12% don’t have any commercial insurance cover.

A survey by Aviva reports that 56% of UK small businesses have adjusted their business practices to survive the recession. They have introduced new products or services and started trading for extended hours including weekends. 28% are offering increased discounts and 18% have reduced staff income or hours worked. 10% have reduced the number of their permanent staff.

A critical area of risk for small businesses is that 12% said they had no commercial insurance in force. Since liability insurance is a legal requirement, this is a concern. There are 11,000 serious injuries in UK workplaces each year, so the exposure is substantial.

A major problem expressed was cash flow, with 38% saying it was their primary worry. This was a particular issue for retail shops, restaurants and firms in the leisure field. Those offering professional services were less affected.

23% said that paperwork was a great time consumer since they are now doing the work themselves and 19% said borrowing funds was a problem.

Owners of 20% of small firms in the survey work over 50 hours a week.

The internet is the main source of information for small businesses with 84% of the small company respondents saying that is where they look for answers to business problems.

Keeping the tax authorities happy is deemed important with 91% saying they get professional accounting advice.

UK small businesses have had to be flexible to survive when competing with their larger company rivals. We help by sending them qualified prospects from our Local Search facility in our UK Business Directory, with no cost for them. There are 1.6 million businesses listed in our Directory and most are small firms.

Monte Huebsch, CEO.

UK small business entrepreneurs aged 50 years plus are enjoying both business success and a balanced lifestyle.

Now more than 25% of new UK companies are being established by individuals aged 50 years and over and they have a better success rate than is usually experienced by new small businesses. 

The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts reports that from 2001 to 2005, this older group of business people established 93,000 new firms in the UK, creating 400,000 new jobs. Many of these new businesses were in IT and the arts, fields normally considered the area of interest for younger people.

In the UK, currently, only about 33% of the over 55’s age group are employed. Since it is difficult to find employment for this group, starting a new business has increased appeal. 

A 2007 Kingston University study found that the average revenue for a business run by someone over age 50 was £67,500 with 10% having revenue of over £100,000. The motivation given was: 39% wanted the enjoyment involved in running the business, 29% mentioned a better work/life balance and 24% liked not having to answer to anyone else. 9% work alone and half said they were happier than ever before in their life. 

Another appeal was the fact that no externally imposed retirement age was applied to them. 

There are a number of websites that have been created to assist older people start their own businesses in the UK: Mature Enterprise has two websites primeinitiative.co.uk and primebusinessclub.co.uk . The Age and Employment Network is at taen.org.uk and special business finance is available at zopa.com . 

This group of individuals have great knowledge and experience and the results demonstrate that success in running their own business is possible. 

We help UK small businesses by sending them qualified prospects from our Local Search facility in our Business Directory, at no cost to them. Our Directory has 1.6 million businesses listed and the majority are small businesses. 

Monte Huebsch, CEO.

UK Small Businesses have currency exposure risk of £24 billion each year.

American Express FX International Payments reports, in a survey of over 500 UK small businesses, that 39% of them now do business internationally, but 56% do not manage their currency fluctuation risk exposure.

This means that over 500,000 small UK businesses are exposed, on average £41,000 a year, to volatile currency movements.

30% responded that they had not even considered protecting their currency risk, 19% said they thought that the administration involved exceeded the benefit, 13% did not understand the benefit involved, and 8% said they thought that the facility was only of assistance to large firms.

15% of small business that trade offshore said that it was very difficult to make international payments an easy procedure.

Many of the 44% who do manage their currency risk said they were not being as time and cost effective as they would like to be, with half spending two to five days a month on the matter.

The survey said that the average small business queries five international payments a year, with the related costs that are incurred.

Online platforms provided by foreign exchange specialists are able to reduce the average international transaction down to two minutes.

Since small UK businesses now provide employment for half of the private sector workforce, enhanced productivity by the use of currency risk professionals is very important.

We assist with the productivity of UK small businesses with our Local Search facility in our UK Business Directory by sending them qualified prospects at no cost to them. There are 1.6 million businesses listed in our directory, and the vast majority are small businesses.



Monte Huebsch, CEO.

43% of UK businesses have no idea how well their website is working.

Fasthosts Internet reports, in a survey of 430 UK businesses, that while the average UK business has had a website for between 3 years and 4 years, 25% of the owners do not perceive their website as a source of new sales.

77% of those contacted in the study had no procedure to measure the return on investment from their website and 33% never check the popularity of their site or its level of effectiveness.

In the first 6 months of 2009, 83% of small businesses had not checked the contribution of their website to their business plan.

While 57% note the level of traffic to their site, only 40% look where the visitors are coming from and only 33% check which sections of their site are being visited.

Although 50% of the firms said they were satisfied with their website and 43% said that their site was important to their sales results, the survey demonstrates that firms do not analyse the results that they achieve.

Google provides an excellent free tool for recording and viewing website results, Analytics: www.google.com/analytics . This was a US$5,000 a year software package prior to Google buying the company and providing it free to clients.

Analytics provides very accurate information on the traffic to websites.

The statistics provided by Internet Service Providers often contain search engine robots and spiders and the figures from them are not to be relied on, whereas the Analytics results are correct.

Your web developer should add it to every page of your website before the closing tag.

Both Google and UK Local Search are committed to helping small businesses succeed. We help by sending them prospects from our Local Search facility in our Business Directory at no cost to them. Most of the 1.6 million UK businesses listed are small businesses.



Monte Huebsch, CEO

UK small businesses pay 2.4 billion pounds a year in administration costs regarding employment of staff.

The Forum of Private Business reports that one third of calls from members in August were regarding employment issues. Other matters raised were: redundancy 14% of calls, staff discipline 12%, dismissal 7%, and reduction of working hours 2%.

Other concerns raised were the increase in the National Minimum Wage and the minimum weekly redundancy payment increase.

The report says that small businesses spent an average of 10 hours a month on employment law matters.

The yearly expenditure incurred was: 259 million pounds on dismissals and redundancy, 391 million pounds on management, 237 million pounds on maternity, 333 million pounds on disciplinary matters and 1,175 million pounds on holidays.

The Tribunals Service reports that the number of employment tribunals in the UK increased from 115,000 in 2005 to 190,000 in 2008.

The Forum has provided a guide to help UK small businesses deal with the recent changes:  http://www.fpb.org/shop/13/Employment_Guide_2010.htm .

Small businesses have limited capacity to deal with the time demands and expenditure involved in complying with the changing rules with employing staff. It’s another example of how small businesses have to be flexible and resilient in competing for business with larger companies.

We assist them by sending them qualified prospects from our UK Local Search facility in our Business Directory, which has 1.6 million listings, at no cost to them. Most of the listings are small businesses.

Monte Huebsch, CEO.

Small UK businesses are being hurt by slow paying larger companies and being helped by the time and money savings involved with cloud computing.

The Federation of Small Businesses reports that about 4,000 small UK firms failed in the past year as a result of late payment of accounts by large companies. One third of small firms now wait longer to be paid.

60 days is now the usual payment period, with 90 days and 120 days now not uncommon. A 10% discount is sometimes charged for paying within a 60 days period. 

On a more positive note, small firms can now effectively compete with large companies in the IT area by the use of cloud computing. Microsoft reports that the number of medium sized and small businesses using the cloud has increased by 30% in the last year. 

The cost and time efficiencies of storing information on the internet and the ability of being able to access it from any location at any time is a great boost for small firms. 

The movement of their information and records systems to online also avoids problems created by theft or fire. 

Rackspace reports that 11% of mid sized UK businesses and 5% of micro businesses are now using the cloud. 60% of smaller businesses say they will use the cloud in the future. 

So while slow paying of accounts by large companies is a major problem for small UK firms, cloud computing offers new cost economy and improved efficiency. 

We assist small businesses with our Local Search Facility in our UK Business Directory, which has over 1.6 million businesses listed. Most are small businesses and we send them qualified prospects at no cost to them. 

Monte Huebsch, CEO.

Online job ads are down 35% in the UK over the last year.

The Monster Employment Index reports that UK online job ads reduced by 1% in August, down 35% for the period of a year ago.

The European index also reduced by 1%, down 37% year on year. 

There were improvements in the fields of marketing, banking, finance and insurance. Reductions occurred in education, engineering and telecommunications. 

East Anglia was the area registering the greatest improvement and Wales was the worst performing location. 

Monster reports that the increased number of unemployed has provided employers with a large pool of potential employees from which to choose, which results in the reduction in online jobs being advertised. 

Job demand has been stable for some months, after a substantial decline in 2008, but the number of job vacancies in the UK is not enough to equal the level of increasing job losses. 

So UK businesses generally have not yet begun hiring again. 

When they do, small businesses will provide the bulk of the employment upturn. 

We are pleased to assist UK small businesses to enhance their productivity with our Local Search facility in our Business Directory which provides prospects to the 1.6 million businesses listed, most of which are small businesses, at no cost to them. 

Monte Huebsch, CEO.

UK small businesses demonstrate a positive attitude despite the economic downtown.

Business insurer Hiscox reports that small businesses in the UK have not made the dramatic reductions in staff and business outlays that have been a feature of large businesses’ reaction to the economic slowdown. 

The study says that 88% of small businesses have not reduced salaries of employees and that 87% have persisted with the payment of staff bonuses. 

85% have retained the same level of client entertainment outlays and 82% have maintained the same expenditure on office maintenance. 

Only 9% have had staff reductions due to the poor economic conditions and 95% have kept the same level of insurance cover as held previously. 

Despite this, the opinion of 45% of small business proprietors is that it will be another 12 months before business conditions return to normal with 23% thinking the recession will last until 2011. 

The study says that 64% of small business owners think that increased demand for their products or services will indicate an end to the recession and 47% think that new business opportunities will be the indicator. 20% think that improved credit availability will be the signal of improvement. 

This study demonstrates the patience and persistence of small businesses, compared to the automatic reduction response of large UK businesses. 

Online local search is now an important source of new prospects for small UK businesses and our Business Directory Portal provides qualified prospects with no cost involved for the business.



Monte Huebsch, CEO.

A hint of confidence returns to the UK with rising residential property prices

Hometrack Ltd reports that house prices in the UK have risen, after two years of reductions. In England and Wales, a .1% increase occurred in July, making the average house purchase price 155,000 pounds.

There has been no price increase in housing since 2007.

The report states that house prices peaked in September 2007 and have fallen 12% since that time.

This may be the first glimmer of light in the economic gloom.

The Nationwide Building Society reports that the UK economy reduced by .7% in April, May, and June, and unemployment is at the highest level since 1995.

The Bank of England has reduced its key rate to .5% and has provided the banking system with a deluge of cash with newly created funds.

Moneyfacts Plc reports that mortgage costs are still very high with a difference of 2.04% between the average two mortgage rates and the two year swap rate, which is the highest margin on record.

UK Businesses have been having a difficult time and increased housing prices may be an indication of an easing of the economic pressure.

Our UK Local Search Business Directory is assisting by providing qualified prospects to more than 1.6 million businesses who are listed via a good presence on Google and other search engines.

Monte Huebsch, CEO