tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33555197360991187192024-03-06T20:02:34.627+00:00Business EasyBusiness Studies made Easy!bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-44097173597711769622009-08-06T14:10:00.007+01:002009-08-06T16:53:23.532+01:00Music price comparison site The internet is filled with dozens of sites that let you compare prices of things like car insurance, utilities, credit cards and even meerkats. Such sites are popular since they allow the consumer to get the best possible deal without the hassle of going to each individual store and comparing prices. Well, there is a new comparison site, imaginatively named Comparedownload.com, that allows you bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-34509858477171658282009-07-30T10:15:00.004+01:002009-07-30T10:34:33.020+01:00Can BingHoo really take on Google? Microsoft and Yahoo announced a strategic alliance which will see Microsoft power Yahoo's search engine using algorithms from its Bing search engine while Yahoo will oversee the management of Microsoft's advertising space. This may be good news to businesses and organisations that buy ad space with search engines. Microsoft and Yahoo have very little share of the online search bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-2423487991326053722009-07-22T09:46:00.010+01:002009-07-22T10:28:52.596+01:00RIP FSA? George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, said that the Conservatives planned to get rid of the Financial Services Authority if they were to win the next general election. Under their plan, the FSA would be renamed to the Consumer Protection Agency and would be responsible for consumer issues while the Bank of England would have overall power and would also be responsible for monitoring bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-78659355054001413672009-07-09T09:14:00.007+01:002009-07-09T09:32:03.106+01:00Google's new operating systemGoogle announced on its blog that it is going to launch its own operating system next year based around its web browser, the Google Chrome. The Google Chrome OS will initially be targeted at the netbook market. It will be open source and based on the Linux kernel. Since it’s a Google product, it’s going to be free as well. The blog claims that the new OS will be light weight and more focused on bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-42976003081726543312009-04-24T14:39:00.007+01:002009-07-10T13:30:34.281+01:0050% Income TaxThe increase in the rate of income tax for the high earners seems to be the most talked about topic of this year's budget. The tax applies to all those who earn £150,000 or more. Add to that the National Insurance contribution and it equates to more than half of one's salary. The aim of this rise, according to the chancellor Alistair Darling, is to contribute to the Treasury coffers to make up bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-9647465752842454942009-04-09T15:48:00.002+01:002009-04-09T16:08:06.282+01:00Market ResearchWatching the candidates of The Apprentice talk about themselves misleads one into feeling that not only are they the best, but that they are the best of the best of the best when it comes to running a business and that Sir Alan Sugar should feel lucky that they are willing to work for him. Yet, when it comes to doing a task, they forget the most basic of business concepts. As seems to be the bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-46390331230373970942009-02-28T18:14:00.005+00:002009-02-28T18:31:53.439+00:00RyanairRyanair, it seems, is very good at attracting negative publicity every time it comes up with a cost-cutting measure to "decrease the air fare for all its customers". Its latest one is a plan to charge its passengers £1 for each time they want to use the in-flight toilet. It doesn't look as if it really makes commercial sense for Ryanair though. After all, it doesn't give free drinks on board bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-69156078578705229902009-02-25T14:54:00.004+00:002009-02-25T15:10:58.280+00:00Deposits Fall by £2.3 billionAccording to the figures released by the BBA (British Bankers Association), deposits in the high street banks fell by £2.3 billion in January alone.One of the reasons for this is that people who have lost their jobs are having to use their savings to supplement the loss of their income. Even those who are still employed, but have been forced to reduce their working hours or accept a pay cut, havebizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-64755548189496452892009-02-21T13:30:00.005+00:002009-03-06T09:26:38.422+00:00Throwaway Fashion The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a "Sustainable Clothing Action Plan" co-inciding with the London Fashion Week to highlight the increasing problem of "fast fashion". Apparently, UK consumers buy around two tonnes of clothes every year, and throw away a massive 1.2 million tonnes of them every year.Rapidly changing fashion trends means that many bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-77221599434761850462009-02-13T17:02:00.009+00:002009-03-06T09:29:52.991+00:00Unemployment nears 2 million According to the figures released by the Office of National Statistics, unemployment in the UK rose to 1.97 million this January. This is marginally short of the 2 million predicted by many economists. But with the string of job cuts announced by many businesses like Barrats, Virgin Atlantic, JJB Sports, Royal Mail, this year, there is no doubt that the unemployment figures will bypass 2 millionbizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-56037424694467711412009-01-27T14:04:00.003+00:002009-01-27T14:18:41.345+00:00Comet to charge suppliers for shelf spaceAccording to the Financial Times, electronics retailer Kesa, who owns Comet, has asked its suppliers to pay up to £15,000 for the pleasure of having just one of their product lines displayed on Comet's shelves. Why? Well, according to Comet's commercial director Bob Darke, its because of the tough economic times. Comet must be stocking 100s if not 1000s of products. Do they really think that all bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-13457793419674602072009-01-06T14:46:00.003+00:002009-01-06T15:00:29.845+00:00Hidden Cost of RedundanciesThe number of people unemployed is rising everyday due to firms going bankrupt or businesses making some of their staff redundant as part of a "cost-cutting measure". However, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) warned yesterday that redundancies could in fact prove to be a false economy for businesses.It estimates that the actual cost of redundancy could reach up to £bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-52932392657285974832008-12-23T17:58:00.003+00:002008-12-23T18:05:10.035+00:00High Street BluesThe trading that occurs in the run up to Christmas is very crucial to retailers even in the "normal" years. It allows them to make up for the losses they might have incurred over the year and helps them prepare financially for the coming year. 2008 has been, by any standards, anything but a normal year. Huge banks have become small banks, some have been swallowed up by bigger banks, some have bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-61978613485255781022008-12-19T14:44:00.005+00:002008-12-19T14:54:38.301+00:00Sales rise amidst the credit crunchAccording to figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the volume of sales between September and November rose by 0.5% as compared to the three months before it. This may not sound good, but compared to all the doom and gloom and the difficulty of obtaining credit, it does sound good. Also, the value of weekly sales in November were 2.9% higher than in November last bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-56093176739708933512008-12-16T18:43:00.005+00:002008-12-16T19:14:40.965+00:00Inflation? Worry about Deflation instead.It was announced today that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell by 0.4% from 4.5% in October to 4.1% in November. The CPI is the official measure of inflation used by the Government. The biggest factor for this fall is being attributed to the fall in crude oil prices. The average price of petrol was 95.2p. On the other hand, prices of fresh fruit and vegetables and non-alcoholic beverages is saidbizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-57045787040792412432008-12-12T15:10:00.004+00:002008-12-12T15:23:04.656+00:00Cool to be FrugalAccording to Andy Bond, the Chief Executive of ASDA, its now becoming cool to be frugal and not so cool to be frivolous and wasteful. He feels that consumer's shopping habits are changing and a new generation of shoppers who are thrifty are emerging as the credit crunch begins to bite even further.So what does this really mean? It means that consumers will now focus more on products that offer bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-37949945235067515262008-12-09T18:36:00.006+00:002008-12-09T18:50:39.339+00:00HSBC to increase its lendingThe World’s Local Bank HSBC announced on Monday that it aimed to lend next year roughly two times the amount it lent to homeowners in 2007. For this purpose, it has set aside around £15 billion. In an environment where banks are becoming increasingly reluctant to lend money, HSBC hopes to increase its market share by lending, thereby getting a huge slice of a, albeit, small market. It is also bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-44411154648383799612008-12-02T14:40:00.003+00:002008-12-02T14:44:54.771+00:00Retailers embrace VAT cutThe cut in the VAT announced last week by the Chancellor initially didn’t receive the reception that he might have been perhaps hoping for. News reports, newspapers and websites were filled with comments against the idea of the VAT cut, some being funny, and some downright ironic. Most were along the lines of “10p saving! Whoopee!”However, over the weekend, it looks like many retailers are bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-13659906996724405622008-11-28T15:04:00.005+00:002008-12-02T14:53:10.376+00:00Woolworths goes into administrationThe high street retailer Woolworths, fondly known as Woolies, has been forced to go into administration after it failed to find a buyer to snap it up for a nominal £1. So, why didn’t anybody buy it, surely £1 for a whole company seems like a bargain? That’s because the buyer would have not only acquired Woolworth’s assets (things it owns), but also its huge liabilities (money it owes), £385 bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-50640319031665132472008-11-25T15:54:00.008+00:002008-11-25T17:23:27.742+00:00First the Chancellor giveth, then the Chancellor taketh away.Yesterday, the Chancellor Alistair Darling announced in his Pre-Budget Report the much talked about 2.5% cut in the VAT, bringing it down to 15% from 17.5%. In the same breath, he also announced an increase in income tax for those earning £140,000 and above. From April 2011, people falling into this income bracket will have to pay income tax at the rate of 45p. The cut in VAT is to come into bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-60682692868846072642008-11-19T15:41:00.006+00:002008-11-25T17:23:57.565+00:00Spend, Spend, SpendAccording to recent figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the value of total UK sales as of October 2008 were down 2.2% on a like-for-like basis as compared to last year. Food and Drink was the only sector to have shown an increase in sales. Consumers are cutting back and postponing purchases that are not needed and focusing on the wants instead. Buying patterns are changing as well bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-70250505626581065392008-11-14T13:48:00.006+00:002008-11-25T17:24:57.889+00:00Children help their parents spend their moneyAccording to recent news, parents are unwittingly spending £191 million a year to fund their children’s shopping habits. Or rather, the children are doing it for them on their behalf to save their parents the trouble of doing so. According to a survey consisting of 500 parents and 500 children, around 20%, or 1 in every 5, children have admitted to using their parents’ credit card for their bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-43145948885748630712008-11-12T17:06:00.005+00:002008-11-12T17:11:10.660+00:00Profits at Starbucks go Skinny LatteProfits for the coffee chain Starbucks fell by 97% in the fourth quarter to $5.4 million, as compared to $158.5 million this time last year. Although the sales revenue were up 3% to $2.52 billion, like for like sales actually decreased by 8%.This shouldn’t really come as a surprise then since consumers are cutting back on what they deem “luxuries” and are more cautious about their spending and bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-42619257131911365902008-11-08T17:21:00.007+00:002008-11-25T17:28:46.708+00:00Meeting with Headteacher DarlingSince many of the banks had seemed to have failed to pass on the Bank of England’s very generous 1.5% cut in interest rate to their customers on the Standard Variable Rate (SVR) mortgages, the mischievous bankers were summoned to a meeting with the head teacher, a.k.a., Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. They were told to pass on the interest rate cut to their customers, or else, bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3355519736099118719.post-61229154697731713222008-11-06T21:27:00.006+00:002008-11-25T17:30:06.852+00:00Bank of England cuts base rate by 1.5%. But who will it help?The Bank of England (BoE) cut the base rate of borrowing money by a staggering 1.5% to 3% in a bid to stimulate lending and as a result stimulate spending. Well, we’ll have to wait and see if that happens. The people that will benefit from this cut are those who have tracker mortgages since this will mean a possible cut in their interest rates and their repayments.For some, the decrease in the bizeasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10580555577211411628noreply@blogger.com0