UK exports continue to grow
At a time when the UK economy needs all the help it can get the CBI has today revealed an increase in UK exports with weak sterling finally filtering through into the small business arena. More and more smaller businesses are reporting an increase in demand from overseas although there are concerns about profit margins being squeezed due to higher commodity and raw material prices.
This is welcome news for the UK government and the UK economy and there is even talk of manufacturers taking on further staff over the next three months. At a time when the UK unemployment number is forecast to creep towards 3 million it is refreshing to see some companies actually looking to take on new staff in the short to medium term. However, the fact that profit margins are coming under pressure, and an expected further rise in commodity prices in the short term, could place pressure on company finances.
In many ways it seems as though the UK economy is taking one step forward and two steps back because every piece of good news seems to be attracting a negative angle. Hopefully, if commodity prices settle down later in 2010 then we should see a return to higher profit margins for some of the UK's struggling businesses.
Share this..
Related stories
OFT to look again at UK beer industry
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has today confirmed it will reopen an enquiry into the tenanted pub market after legal threats from Camra (the Campaign for Real Ale). The original enquiry was launched back in the summer of 2009 after which the OFT ruled there was no evidence that supply ties were having any impact upon the competitiveness and pricing in the UK pub market. However, Camra immediate...
Read MoreHow long can taxpayers be expected to support the UK banking sector?
Time and time again the UK taxpayer has been assured that taxpayer funding was being well spent in supporting the UK banking system at a time when liquidity for business and personal use was at rock bottom. Even though there was some resistance to the injection of literally hundreds of billions of pounds into the system and directly into the banking sector, many were sold on the story by Gordon Br...
Read MoreIs the Eurozone economy stalling?
Only a few weeks ago the Eurozone appeared to be pulling away from the worldwide economic downturn and into a new era of strength. However today we hear that the German economy stalled in the fourth quarter of 2009 with zero growth against expectations of a growth in the economy of 0.2%. This comes against a backdrop of growth in the third quarter of 2009 which hit 0.7% and appeared to show the wo...
Read MoreCould one bad apple bring down the European Union?
As the European Central Bank looks for all European governments to practice tight fiscal governance there is concern that one bad apple could bring down the whole European Union. Despite the fact that many people automatically assumed the worst of the credit crunch and worldwide recession was over, the collapse of the Greek economy has been an unwelcome reminder for the investment arena. While...
Read MoreWill the Bank of England reintroduce quantitative easing?
Last November the Bank of England placed on hold the quantitative easing program which had already swallowed up £200 billion of taxpayer's money. This is a system which was essentially to act as oil for the UK economic cogs and wheels and ensure that everything kept moving. It was a great benefit to UK businesses who were struggling to obtain liquidity in the depths of the downturn. So will the B...
Read More