Economy

The United Kingdom should be prepared to pay the economic price for Russia`s sanctions, Philip Hammond has warned.He has suggested all of Europe will feel the after effects of large financial sanctions on Russia. Philip Hammond suggests that the UK will feel from the sanctions will be no worse than other EU member states and that it is essential for the sanctions in order to curb Russian aggression.Full details regarding the EU sanctions on Russia will be announced on Wednesday. It is thought the latest sanctions will target Russian oligarchs with a new round of asset freezes and even possible travel bans.The EU is thought to face increased oil and gas prices due to suspected sanctions on the oil sector. Further sanctions are also going to be aimed at defence equipment and sensitive technologies.

Are the sanctions working?

The idea of sanctions is to apply pressure on the Russian banks and top businesses owners. These people will feel the pressure of sanctions with many billions of dollars being lost. The central bank in Russia is having to spend many billions of dollars in order to prop up the rouble.The sanctions are designed to make Russia understand that they cant carry on supporting the Rebels. The sanctions will hurt the UK and Europe but they will hurt Russia far more.The big economies of the EU will share the pain from the sanctions but it will be worth it, taking a stand to the Russian aggression in Ukraine will benefit the civilised world and we must be prepared to pay the price for doing so.If you found this economy blog interesting you can find more great articles in our business and economy blog.

The amount of products sold in the UK`s shops is continuing to increase according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). UK Retail Sales have increased by 0.1% in June, meaning they are 3.6% higher when compared to one year ago.The sales increased by 1.6% in the second quarter, this was by far the largest increase for at least 10 years.UK retail sales have been increasing steadily since the end of the recession in 2009. The sales figures have been very strong in 2013 and are continuing to get better.This is attributed to the economic growth in the UK, unemployment lowering and an increase in the population and the amount of people actually working.If you found this economy post interesting you can read more economic and business news in our business blog.Your Virtual Office London, leaders in professional business services.

It is reported that personal bankruptcy has increased massively over the last five years.The latest figures from the government show that 27,029 people have become insolvent between April and June. This is a large increase, 5.1% when compared to the same period in 2013.Insolvency figures in Scotland has actually fallen to it lowest figure since 2005.The figure is said to be increased due to the large number of IVA`s (individual voluntary arrangements). IVA`s were created in 1987 to help people avoid being declared bankrupt. The number of people taking out IVA`s rose to 14,571 in the last quarter.The actual number of people declaring themselves bankrupt (insolvent) has increased for the first time since 2010, 0.2% of the adult population has declared themselves bankrupt.The number of bankruptcies hit an all-time high in 2009 with over 35,000 and has been on a gradual decline since 2009.This is stark contrast to business insolvency which has been on a continual downwards path. Companies going into administration have fallen by over 35%, which is the lowest figure for over 9 years.If you would like professional advice on Company Formation, administration or any of the supplementary services Your Virtual Office London provides, please do get in contact.We provide registered office address services in London for Limited companies which can help make your business appear more professional, helping you to increase your profits.If you found this blog interesting you can read more on our business blog here.

This comes from Which? Who suggest British people are getting an unfair deal when compared to products in the US, which are a lot cheaper. UK customers are paying literally hundreds of pounds more for an electronic gadget, when compared to US customers.The report by Which? Compared prices from various products such as computer software, televisions and other electronics. It concluded that the UK consumer was over paying for many of these products. In once instance Which? has shown that consumers where paying over £400 more for one television from a popular brand. A MacBook was found to be £194 more in the UK when compared to the price in the US.Which? have said that this is down to the manufactures and that they should play fair and explain exactly which some cost more in other countries. Another issue is the current threshold on import duty, its recommend it should be brought inline with good that`s are purchased online and then brought back into the UK. The threshold at the moment is £135 for electronics purchase online from a country outside the EU however if you travel you can bring in goods with a value of up to £390 without paying any duty.If you found this Your Virtual Office London blog interesting, you can read more business and economy posts in our informative blog.

The UK economy posted the fastest growth in the G7. It`s predicted that the economy will grow quicker than any other economy in the G7 in 2014. The UK`s GDP will reach 3.1% which is a direct result in capital investment.In comparison Germany is only expected to grow at 1.8%, the item body has forecasted.The GDP rose by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2014, this is the fifth consecutive quarter of growth which equated to the longest growth run since the banking crisis. The same people who have forecasted the growth for the UK have also stated that the interest rates would not rise in 2014, remaining at the record low of 0.5%.Inflation figures post last week did show a large increase to 1.9% in June, which was up from 1.5% in May. It convinced many that the Bank of England would raise rates in order to curb the inflation. However the same people who have predicted the UK`s growth have suggested that inflation rates were over pessimistic, and that they actual inflation on wages was only 0.7% which did exclude bonuses.If inflation is low and the UK has a strong pound, combined with risks from the Eurozone would suggest caution in any interest rate rise.There is also some great news for workers, it is predicted that real incomes will actually grow over inflation over the next two years.If you found this economy blog interesting you can read more informative articles on our business blog. Your Virtual Office London supporting British Businesses.

UK cities should invest in energy product including increased green energy to help compete with main energy suppliers in the UK.A think tank has suggested that cities could really benefit from renewable energy, helping to drive down costs. Energy UK, which represents energy supplies said customers would welcome more competition. More competition would result in lower prices and a more competitive market.Cities account for two thirds of the worlds total energy consumption. They also contribute over 70% of global C02 pollution emissions.Cities should invest in local power generation technologies such as solar panels and wind farms on a smaller scale. This would completely change the way the energy supply system operates. This would help smaller producers provide customers with energy ending the big power companies` dominance which can lead to higher prices.In Bristol, the local authorities have plans to setup and install a large one gigawatt of solar panels by 2020. Aberdeen is planning to run buses on hydrogen from using the local wind farms spare energy production.Britain has a long way to go, but authorities are starting to understand that they now have a role in green energy production. More competition in the energy market is great for the customers and everyone will see benefits, from cleaner air with less pollution to cheaper energy bills.If you like this business economy news blog, you can read more on our blog page. Your Virtual Office London, leaders in professional services for small businesses.

China - the world`s second largest economy, second to the United States of America has expanded 7.5% from a year ago, up from 7.4% growth in the previous quarter. This is in direct relation to the governments stimulus that is not having an impact on the positive growth.China has been actively looking at ways to stimulate the economy to help boost growth. China has experience many years of expansion, and growth had slowed in very recent times which can relate to a global decline in demand for its manufactured products.The economic slowdown led to China trying to boost domestic demand to help increase and sustain the expansion, increasing home grown demand can also help balance the growth model.China`s national bank said it would reduce the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) – the amount of reserve money needed for a security reserve. This spare cash would then be made available for small businesses and companies. The bank also said it would encourage other banks to help make more money available to exporters.The Chinese government has also recently announced it would cut taxes on small business to help reduce red tape that can prevent new businesses forming. The government are also speeding up the construction of railway lines across the country. Further to this they are also announcing large domestic infrastructure projects such as new railways, roads and ariports along the Yangtze River.If you found this blog informative, we have many more helpful and intersest posts on our business blog page, Your Virtual Office London business experts.

The UK government departments, mainly the Treasure and the Cabinet Office are owed £22billion. A serious plan is now being called for in order to manage and collect the debt owed. The majority of the debt is owed to HMRC through unpaid taxes, around £15 billion.Funds that were owed to HMRC has actually dropped by £5.5 billion over the pat 4 years, however some of this was due to tax credits that were written off.The Treasure and the Cabinet Office are working on a plan that involved a cross government strategic plan for debt collection which will ultimately lead to increased debt collections. However this has taken a very long time and improvements are yet forthcoming. Some authorities are suggesting we now should seriously consider the effectiveness of hiring commercial debt collectors.This informative economy and business blog post was brought to you by Your Virtual Office London leaders in Virtual Office, Company Formation and Business Services. Read our blog for more informative stories.

The UK`s trade deficit increased in the Month of May. The UK`s exports did increase by £0.1 billion however we imported more, this increased by £0.5 billion.There was a major contributing factor which as from aircraft imports, official data has shown.Governments are tasked with decreasing the deficit, which is no easy task. We have to export more if we are too really tackle the problem. The Office for National Statistics has said the UK`s trade deficit increased from £8.8 billion in April to £9.2 billion in May.However the UK`s service sector which is currently exporting a lot more, totalling £6.8 billion, helped to reduce the overall deficit to that of £2.4 billion.Exports to the EU have fallen by approximately 2% which makes the total about £12.2 billion, however imports from the EU increased b 1.6% to £17.4 billion. The EU is a major importer of UK goods, but there is weaker demand in the EU which has not helped the UK`s export figures.

Interest rates held at 0.5% by the Bank of England

The national interest rate has been held at the record low of 0.5% for another month.Quantative easing, the Banks stimulus programme for the UK economy was also unchanged at £375 billion.The rate was suggested to go up, as Mark Carney the Bank of England Governor has suggested rates will go up in order to curb the housing bubble, but this is now expected later on in the year.If and when the rates increase, the rate is only expected to go up a very small percentile. The rate rise will be gradual and limited, a new normal rate has been mentioned, this would be 2.5% by 2017.Forecasters expect the rate to reach 1.25% by then end of 2015 and only 2.0% by then of 2016.There is not much pressure to raise the rates immediately as inflation has fallen, normally rates are increased to curb inflation. Inflation has fell to 1.5% in May well under the Bank of England's target of 2%.Like this blog? Find more interesting blog posts on our informative business blog. Your Virtual Office London the professional choice since 1971!