Fundraising challenge aims to raise £6Million in a week A fundraising challenge to raise £6 million for charity in a single working week has been launched by one of the UK’s leading not for profit organisations.

The Big Give has created a matched fund – generated through a combination of trustees, major donors and the charitable Reed Foundation – which will be available from Monday 7 to Friday 11 December to attract £3 million of donations via its website, www.thebiggive.org.uk.

CBI sees recession as a catalyst for new business era The recession has become the catalyst for a new era in business, according to a report by the CBI. The study by the employers' group identifies four key areas of UK business where new ways of working could develop because of the downturn.

Federation of Small Business throws lifeline to flood-hit companies British businesses which have been devastated by the recent floods and are members of the Federation of Small Business (FSB) can apply for interest-free loans of up to £5,000 to help them through the crisis.

Cautious welcome for Queen's speech UK business cautiously group UK200 welcomed some of the government’s proposals to stabilise the financial system, announced in today’s Queen’s Speech – although it said more information was needed on how the measures would work in practice before a final judgement could be made on how effective they would be.

Minister calls on the capitals employers to help young Londoners into work Last night, Minister for London, Tessa Jowell, called on London's business leaders to help the capitals young people into work and to ensure they make the most of the Government support available to firms during the recession. Her call to action came as 1070 jobs for young people in London were announced as part of the Future Jobs Fund (FJF), with eight organizations in the capital to provide new posts.

UK business success rewarded at the 'Business Oscars' Over 1200 business leaders and guests including keynote speaker Alistair Darling, The Chancellor of the Exchequer, were at the Orange-sponsored National Business Awards, to celebrate the success of the UK’s most innovative, ethical and resilient businesses in 2009 at the Grosvenor House Hotel last night (Nov10th).

Sugar said to be wondering if it's worth the hassle? The Apprentice star admitted he felt "frustrated" and considered his own position after facing calls for his resignation from small business leaders following his comments that struggling businesses were "moaners" living in "Disney World".

We're surviving thank you Lord Sugar! A survey conducted at the end of last week shows that almost half of small businesses have maintained their profitability over the past year.

Government should tell Sugar 'You're Fired' after controversial speech Lord Sugar needs “a taste of his own medicine” and should be fired as the Government’s “enterprise champion”, according to a company which advises hundreds of businesses every week as "his comments echo those of Marie Antionette."

Royal Mail digging own grave say online retailers We spoke to this year’s winner of Online Retailer of the Year Zak Edwards who asks Richard Branson to consider launching Virgin Post whilst couriers say Royal Mail is digging its own grave.

Business set to turn the corner from January 75% of small businesses believe the economy will see an upturn next year, with 35% predicting an improvement by January 2010 according to new research out today.

National post strike dates announced The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has said two 24-hour nationwide postal strikes will start on Thursday 22 October.

The union said it had no choice but to announce a strike after the Royal Mail rejected its latest set of proposals.

On the first day, mail centre staff and drivers will strike. The next day it will be delivery and collection staff.

Online pricing practices are to be investigated by the Office of Fair Trading The Office of Fair Trading has launched a number of studies to investigate a range of online sales practices in a bid to rid make the web more open and transparent in sales transactions.

Birmingham named Europe's best performing city for business Birmingham has been named as the best performing European city in which to do business, having risen more places in Cushman & Wakefield's influential European Cities Monitor than any of its competitors. It is now second only to London in the UK for business.

Royal Mail workers vote to strike Royal Mail postal workers have voted to take strike action over job security and working conditions.

Postal workers voted three to one in favour of action, with 61,623 out of a total of 80,830 workers who voted saying they wanted to strike.

The company and unions have been unable to resolve differences on how best to modernise the postal service.

Royal Mail says it needs to make big changes to combat a fall in the number of letter and parcel deliveries. There have already been a series of regional strikes around the country in recent weeks that have created a backlog of millions of letters. The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents the workers, must give seven days notice before any strike begins.

Royal Mail set to deliver a strike this Christmas Royal Mail was last night reported to have lost a £25 million contract with Amazon, its second largest customer, as a national strike looms over the crucial Christmas period.

The struggling company, which has been buffeted by a series of wildcat strikes since July, could suffer more cancellations if its service continues to be disrupted.

Retailers prepare for a gloomy Christmas This week a survey of Britain’s leading store group executives found that 34% do not expect strong growth until 2011 and are preparing for a ‘flat Christmas’ Couple this with August’s findings by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), stating that retail sales in Central London had fallen by 5.9%, and Christmas is not looking very jolly for retailers.

Business Minister Vadera stepping down as business minister It has been confirmed that Business Minister Baroness Vadera is to leave Gordon Brown's government.
She was appointed in January 2008 following a Cabinet reshuffle.

Walker review on bonuses and risk-taking attacked by Institute of Directors Corporate Britain should be protected from proposed sweeping reforms on bonuses and risk-taking, according to the Institute of Directors (IoD). In its first detailed response to Sir David Walker’s review of banks’ bonus culture and risk practices, the IoD will say today that some of his proposed measures are too draconian and should not be forced on companies outside the financial sector.

CBI trends show growth in manufacturing optimism Optimism is growing among Britain’s manufacturers, but conditions in the sector remain challenging, according to the CBI’s latest monthly Industrial Trends Survey.