Wonderful Wefinda weekly news

Week ended 17 September 2010

We start this week with the dreaded word inflation. Consumer price inflation was higher than expected in August and shows no sign of dropping back for some time. However, most economists believe that the still weak economy will gradually bring inflation down without the need for higher interest rates. Meanwhile the European commission is forecasting growth in the Eurozone to be 1.7% this year, double the previous forecast giving hope for all UK businesses which export to Europe.

The Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, has given his strongest acknowledgement yet that the current state of the economy is down to the financial sector. Speaking to the Trades Union Congress, the Governor said “Before the crisis, steady growth with low inflation and high employment was in our grasp. We let it slip – we, that is, in the financial sector and as policy-makers – not your members nor the many businesses and organisations around the country which employ them. And although the causes of the crisis may have been rooted in the financial sector, the consequences are affecting everyone, and will continue to do so for years to come.”

The digital economy act which was passed in April 2010 brings potential fines of up to £50k to anyone who illegally downloads files. Those firms which allow their employees to have unrestricted access to the internet are particularly at risk as it will be the firm which is prosecuted not the employee.

On a further note of caution, the new Equality Act comes into force on 1 October 2010 and applies to all employers. The act will allow individuals to sue potential employers if they think they were not appointed due to an answer given to a health related question at interview. ACAS has advised employers to stop issuing health questionnaires and not to ask questions about health at interview unless the health issue is central to the job role.

So what do we have to look forward to in the week ahead? Parliament has only been back a couple of weeks but is now in recess until 11 October to allow time for all those party conferences to be held. First up is the Liberal Democrat’s party conference with Nick Clegg having the task of uniting the party firmly behind the coalition.

We should expect the PAYE tax fiasco to rumble on. With HMRC officials already having been summoned to explain themselves to Parliament and changes announced on how shortfalls can be repaid, we expect there to be more twists to this story before long. Wefinda’s advice is to check the calculations carefully or consult an accountant as stories are already emerging of the HMRC letters being wrong.

Finally, whilst slow and unreliable broadband is no joke for those SMEs living in rural areas, Wefinda loves the story this week of pigeon post beating broadband. Rory the pigeon took 80 minutes to fly just over 80 miles carrying a data stick. In the same time, just 30% of the five minute video uploaded to the internet and it took over five hours for the full video to upload.