Sir Alan Sugar to take on teenagers for Junior Apprentice The BBC has confirmed that it is to launch a junior version of hit business reality show The Apprentice, in which Sir Alan Sugar will get to point his finger and tell 16- and 17-year-olds "You're fired!"

Junior Apprentice, which will air next year as a five-part BBC1 series, will feature 10 candidates and follow the same format as the main show, although some adjustments will be made to take account of the age of those taking part.

Accountants hail increased flexibility on tax The Government's decision to let businesses offset trading losses against the tax they already owe has been welcomed by accountants.

They have praised HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for giving businesses more breathing space, but questioned why the taxman is not being more rigorous in his assessment of each venture's ability to pay.

Budget fails to raise small businesses’ hopes of surviving the recession Less than 2% of small businesses said that Darling’s Budget would have a positive impact on their business, while 87% said they were now less likely to vote for this Government at the next general election, according to a new survey.

The Good, The Bad, The Missing - Analysis of Budget '09 We have spoken a number of key business owners and business support organisations to get their immediate feedback on Alistair Darling's make or break Budget and highlight what is good, bad and missing as far as small and medium sized business owners are concerned.

Business leader launches a blistering attack on Mandelson David Rose, CEO of Growthwire, had launched a scathing attack on business secretary Peter Mandelson and his "sustained ability to deliver spin over substance".

Businesses see growth times ahead Small businesses have adopted a resilient outlook and a determination to survive the economic crisis, according to a study by O2 with 20 per cent forecasting growth with maintaining - cash flow is the greatest threat.

Small Business Confidence Levels
O2’s Small Business Confidence Index, carried out by business research company trends Research, questioned nearly 3,000 small business owners to gauge how the community is responding to the current economic climate in the first quarter of 2009.

Small signs of recovery must be nurtured in 2009 Budget Following research showing some small businesses are beginning to experience an improvement in market conditions and the availability of credit, the Forum of Private Business (FPB) is urging the Government to put in place a strategy in next week’s Budget to nurture economic recovery by boosting business and consumer confidence.

Keep Budget free of surprises Businesses want no nasty tax surprises in the Budget next week so they can focus on surviving the recession and prepare to cope with tax rises that are already planned, accountants report.

Cameron gains business support as many call for tax holidays Businesses are feeling next to no practical benefit from existing government initiatives to help small businesses and are calling for the state to lower business taxes and offer National Insurance holidays according to recently published research.

Government urged to increase scrutiny of banks lending to small businesses Business owners struggling to access finance from major lenders are sceptical about support from the Government, despite its commitment to scrutinise the behaviour of banks via its Small Business Lending Monitoring Panel. The panel, which comprises officials from the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the Bank of England and HM Treasury, has met on just five occasions since it was set up in November 2008.

Small businesses spend £100 Million a year on 'free advice' A new study published today reveals that thousands of small business owners in the UK are spending millions of pounds unnecessarily on external consultants and advisors to help manage their employer obligations.

2009 Budget must support small businesses hit by declining confidence Small firms fear a tax rise is heading their way in next month’s budget – to pay for the government’s emergency economic programme, according to the latest survey from the Forum of Private Business. In its latest quarterly Referendum survey, 82% of members of the FPB said they feared the tax rises and slammed the government’s response so far to the recession as ‘ineffective’ by 66% of, and ‘harmful’ by 13%.

Enter this year's Small Business Excellence Awards Dell and the British Chambers of Commerce are looking for entries for their global 2009 Dell Small Business Excellence Awards. It’s only the second year that the UK has been an entrant, but in the first year UK business Wiggly Wigglers went on to win the global prize of £25,000 worth of IT equipment.

The UK winner will also receive a business class notebook and some personal tips on surviving the recession from Michael Dell, the entrepreneur who built Dell from his university dorm room into the global business Dell is today.

Peer1 offers £1,000 ‘Foxtrot-Oscar’ bonus to new recruits Peer1, the multi-million dollar global managed hosting company is aggressively hiring to staff its new European HQ based in Southampton, UK, but the company is only interested in the very best technical, sales and customer service talent – and is prepared to pay off new recruits who don’t make the grade.

The £1,000 ‘Foxtrot Oscar’ bonus is designed to ensure that Peer1 only employs people who are fully committed to delivering outstanding customer service. The bonus will be paid to any successful new employees who want to give up their job within the first two weeks.

Even The Apprentice is feeling the recession BBC's hit business reality show The Apprentice has not escaped the recession - its budget has been hit, the overseas episode axed and contestants will instead undertake several "buy British" challenges, Sir Alan Sugar announced at the recent launch for the new series.

The traditional mention of Sugar's wealth has also been omitted from the opening credits of the fifth series, which begins next week, although the winning apprentice will still secure a six-figure salary.

Stephen Fry Wins Star Employee Poll TV presenter Stephen Fry is the celebrity most small businesses would like to employ, according to a new survey by www.bttradespace.com. The multi-talented celeb beat off competition from stars including Chef Jamie Oliver, actress Kelly Brook, BBC business editor Robert Peston and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton.

Businessmen call for Brown's resignation In a letter in today’s Daily Telegraph, a group of nine business owners have called for Gordon Brown’s resignation, saying he needs to held accountable for ‘the catastrophic failures of policy that have led to an economic crisis that has this country on its knees’.

Celebrations for 350th anniversary of the cheque marred by plans to kill off the payment method As one banking organisation celebrates the 350th anniversary of the cheque, another is deciding when to kill it off as a method of payment. On Monday, London based business leaders attended a function at the Bank of England Museum, 350 years to the day since the first cheque was signed. The reception was organised by the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company, which has commemorated the occasion in a report charting the life and times of the preferred method of payment for small businesses. However amid the celebrations, the Forum of Private Business (FPB) is warning that the Payments Council is preparing a ‘roadmap’ that is likely to decide when the cheque will be abolished.

£3 billion boost to small business lending The Government’s decision last month to restructure its investment in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest will see the creation of a £3billion fund to help boost lending to small business which will be split into 12 regional tranches of £250 million each has been widely welcomed. The money will be delivered through a range of mechanisms, including the recently-announced Enterprise Finance Guarantee and European Investment Bank funding, in addition to traditional lending, invoice finance and asset-based finance.

Businesses counting cost of snow Disruption caused by the heavy snowfall could cost UK businesses more than £1.2bn, business groups have estimated. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said that 20% of the UK's working population, or 6.4 million people, would not make it to work. South-east England has the worst snow it has seen for 18 years, causing all London buses to be pulled from service and the closure of Heathrow runways. Trading on the London Stock Exchange was thinner than normal.