Advice for budding businesses April 1, 2012 ACCOUNTING ACCOUNTING is an unloved but essential discipline for entrepreneurs. Businesses that fail to keep the financial score are flying blind. Record and track your results to monitor your financial status. Measure sales, costs and working capital. Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will keep your business on track, including orders, sales and gross [...]
The strength of Levi isn’t rooted in his Reggae Reggae Sauce April 1, 2012 WHEN Levi Roots sang his way onto the set of Dragons’ Den in 2007 with “put some music in your food for me, I’ve got some Reggae Reggae Sauce, Reggae Reggae Sauce, It’s so good I named it twice”, I didn’t think he was an entrepreneur. Along with the other dragons, I tasted his spicy [...]
Failures don’t always lead to success – you need direction April 1, 2012 HISTORY is written by the victors, but ironically the truly victorious are often loquacious about their failures. Whether this introspection is vital for success, or a public offering to Fortuna for her gracious helping hand, the readiness with which many successful business people are willing to discuss their setbacks provides plenty of practical advice – [...]
FTSE 100 dragged lower as fears of fresh slump weigh on bank shares March 29, 2012 HEIGHTENED worries over global economic growth, after more disappointing data from America and the UK, dragged Britain’s leading shares lower yesterday, with energy and banking stocks taking the biggest hit. The FTSE 100 index closed down 66.96 points or 1.2 per cent at 5,742.03, extending its falls into a third straight session and reaching a [...]
Big-cap buying offsets earlier Wall Street dip March 29, 2012 US equities pared most losses in a late-day surge yesterday, driven by investors snapping up big-cap names and the notion that concerns about the jobs picture, which helped spur the buying of safe-haven government debt, were overblown. New US claims for jobless benefits fell only slightly last week, according to the Labor Department, missing forecasts [...]
FTSE poised for monthly loss as hit from insurers leads to technical fall March 28, 2012 BRITAIN’S blue-chip index ended lower yesterday as disappointing US economic data pushed investors to cash in their quarterly gains, setting the index on course for its first monthly loss of the year. The FTSE 100 closed 60.56 points, or one per cent, lower at 5,808.99 points, extending losses in the afternoon after breaking below its [...]
Drop in oil and metals prices sparks sell-off March 28, 2012 US stocks declined yesterday as sliding oil and metals prices gave investors a reason to sell commodity-related shares. A sharp fall in US crude oil futures hit energy stocks, prompted by talk of a release of some US and European strategic oil reserves. Materials shares dropped as well. A weaker-than-expected report on US durable goods [...]
Smash open your Isa’s full potential March 28, 2012 INDIVIDUAL savings accounts (Isas) are a success story of financial marketing. Most are aware of them, many use them, and a great number understand their tax benefits. As the tax year ends on 5 April, everyone should now ensure they take full advantage. Despite Isas piercing the public consciousness, some investors don’t make the most [...]
Isa millionaires: A guide to building tax-free prosperity March 28, 2012 There is a split between the chancers that struck it rich through a risky strategy and those investors that applied more reasoned judgements THE end of another tax year looms, but it seems from figures released by HM Revenue and Customs for 2010/11 that as far as investment Isas are concerned, we’ve seen more talk [...]
Don’t panic: Parking your cash will buy you some extra time March 28, 2012 Driving your Isa allowance into an Isa park can be very useful – but don’t forget to move it AS THE Eurozone crisis rumbles on and Chinese growth starts to slow, many people are understandably concerned about the state of UK and world stock markets. When equity markets are volatile, bonds tend to be where [...]