The European Commission cut the UK’s annual growth rate prediction from 1.7% and said the sovereign debt crisis will hit household and business spending.
But it said stronger-than-expected growth in the first half of the year meant that growth across the euro zone would still be 1.6% for the whole of 2011, the Daily Mail reported. MORE
The planned listing of Santander UK on the London Stock Exchange is likely to be delayed until at least 2013, following Sir John Vickers’ proposals to ringfence banks’ core retail business from wholesale operations.
The Spanish bank had hoped to float 20% of Santander UK for around £3bn in the second half of this year, but people familiar with the plan say it is now unlikely to happen until 2013 at the earliest, the Financial Times reported. MORE
The UK arm of Google has launched a new trial scheme offering small businesses advice and support to increase their online potential.
Some 1,500 firms in Merseyside will be taught how to ‘build a website in 15 minutes’ and will benefit from all other sorts of free one-on-one digital support for a trial period of three months. If successful, the scheme may be rolled out to other parts of the UK, the Daily Mail reports. MORE
