The Halifax is weighing in to the student bank account market with an offer that includes a GBP3,000 interest free overdraft, reduced cost card insurance and discounted AA membership.
An important aspect of this offer from the Halifax is that the overdraft is valid for up to five years, giving students a full year after graduation to find employment and be in a position to pay off the borrowing. Account holders will also find that, should they be in credit on their account the Halifax will even pay them interest of two percent.
Management of the Halifax student account can be done through branch, phone or online, making it easy for students to access and manage their finances at any time.
Excluding London it has been found that Milton Keynes is the most expensive place to operate a small business, this according to the Alliance and Leicester Business Banking unit.
It has found that the property rental costs, the price of labour and also transportation are higher here, meaning small businesses have to deal with higher operating costs before they can begin to make any profit. The Alliance and Leicester found Milton Keynes to be the most expensive place to rent retail space and also the eighth best place for wages.
One of the good things about this Alliance and Leicester survey is that high business costs are also associated with businesses doing well. Therefore there are opportunities for new businesses to succeed in Milton Keynes.
Looking at the small business environment in the UK Direct Line has found that nearly a quarter of people running small businesses will not enjoy a day off on bank Holiday Monday.
Compared with the minimum 20 days holiday entitlement given to employees, small business owners take an average of just over 13 days holiday per year. The 20 days does not include Bank Holidays either, of which there are 8 each year. Looking at new start up businesses the holiday situation is even worse. Direct Line found that over 65 percent of people in business for less than 6 months have not taken any time off at all.
A Direct Line spokeswoman, commenting on the findings, commended the dedication shown by small business owners, seeing them working so hard to make their business a success.
