Research carried out by the Alliance and Leicester has found that around 38 percent of small business organisations are run by the owner with the support of their partner.
Partners can be found in a variety of roles around the business, especially administration and operations. This enables them to have an overall understanding of the business whilst being fully supportive of their managing partner. The Alliance and Leicester research also revealed that around 35 percent of couples share the decisions on finance in the business.
An Alliance and Leicester spokesman felt that this approach to business showed how committed both partners were to making their organisation successful. He felt that this approach enabled them to share some of the stresses, making them easier to deal with, and also the highs, bringing a sense of achievement for both of them.
The 8.5 percent interest rate offer on the Alliance and Leicester Premier 50 and Premier Direct current accounts is being extended for a further 3 months such has been its popularity.
The high interest rate is guaranteed for the first year of having the account, which also provides a 0 percent overdraft option, again for twelve months. An Alliance and Leicester spokesperson suggested that people could earn a significant amount of extra interest by swapping to these current accounts as well as saving on overdraft charges.
As a nation we tend to stick with the same accounts, with 80 percent of current account holders having been with the same one for five years or more so perhaps this Alliance and Leicester offer can change that, for the benefit of the customer.
Barclays saw a drop in profits of a third for the first half of the year, with write downs impacting seriously on the bottom line. Barclays Insurance though, a division of the bank, performed very well.
The bank still made profits of GBP2.75 billion despite the write downs and, even though the bank itself was disappointed, industry analysts felt this was better than could have been expected. Other financial institutions have suffered much more dramatic cuts than Barclays, insurance and other sectors helping support the bank.
Looking forwards the Barclays management team are expecting trading conditions to remain testing and are advising the market that it could be some time before they are back to previous levels of profitability. Barclays Insurance, having performed very well, may actually see some parts of it sold to bolster the balance sheet.
