Angel Holdings News

Entrepreneurship is not a luxury today, speakers seemed to say at the 6th Annual Global Competitiveness Forum last week. As global policy makers and thought leaders gathered in Riyadh from January 21st to the 24th to discuss “The Entrepreneurship Imperative,” urgency was the word of the hour. After all, as Jim Clifton, CEO of Gallup, pointed out, “the biggest global dream at the moment is a good job.” Specifically, three out of the seven billion people on the planet are seeking “good” employment. Unfortunately, as Clifton highlights, there are only 1.2 billion “good” jobs available around the world, leaving over 1.5 billion people unsatisfied. Read More…

Australia Post plans to use its good relationships with small business - most apparently visit one of its 4,500 branches weekly - to launch a telecommunications venture, reports industry newsletter, CommsDay. Read More…

Technology remains the world’s favourite sector for investors. That’s the verdict of Merrill Lynch, following its latest survey of 300 global fund managers. Respondents said they have been ditching emerging markets and commodities recently, with technology the only sector to increase from the September survey. Read More…

With energy costs soaring for consumers, you might think that an energy fund would be a good investment opportunity, especially in the areas of renewable energies and energy efficiency. But it hasn’t worked out that way for the SAM Smart Energy fund marketed by RaboDirect. Year to date, the fund value has decreased by 20%, on the back of an 8% depreciation through 2010. Read More…

As chief executive of the 22-strong snap chain, John Eager has a coalface view of SME liquidity issues, writes DARREN O’LOUGHLIN Just over one year into the job, snap chief executive John Eager has steadied the brand and expanded its range, but the process has not been without difficulties. Working capital is the lifeblood of the company’s 22 Irish franchises and preserving this monetary flow in a landscape of congealing bank liquidity is an ongoing challenge. Read More…

One of the basic financial principles of being in business today: your revenues can be offset against your expenses. Sure, some expenses, like meals and entertainment, may be only partially deductible. Other expenses may have to be written off, or "depreciated," over a period of years. But the basic fundamental concept - revenues justifying expenses - is still pretty easy to understand and explain. But what about those expenses you rack up before your business even opens its doors, your business startup costs? There is good news here, and it has nothing to do with saving money on car insurance. Once you open your business and start generating revenues, you can write off many of those initial business startup costs at tax time. But there is bad news...the rules for taking advantage of these deductions are not as straightforward as they are for your business's ongoing expenses. Read More…

The majority of small firms in Ireland are receiving credit when making applications. That is according to a new report, which showed that around 70 per cent of businesses are could see their credit applications approved. Read More…

For Irish firms ripe for expansion, the Valley is the place to be, writesKARLIN LILLINGTON in Silicon Valley ON THE fourth floor of a building overlooking Castro Street and El Camino in Mountain View, Enterprise Ireland and the Industrial Development Agency face off against each other. On the right side of the hall is the door for IDA Ireland. On the left, Enterprise Ireland, with a little shamrock pasted on to the buzzer. Beyond the door – one that young Irish companies in Silicon Valley will know well – lies a bright corner suite of rooms that include a series of small offices for the latest group of Irish technology start-ups hoping to crack the US market. Read More…

Enterprise Ireland is offering students a top prize of €30,000 if they can come up with an innovative business proposal. The ‘Think Outside the Box’ awards are being co-delivered by Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland — the Awards are now in their 30th year. Read More…

Is your cash flow is a in a mess thanks to slow-paying customers? You are not alone - more than two thirds of Australian businesses routinely take more than 30 days to pay their bills, according to the latest "Dun & Bradstreet Trade Payments Analysis" study. The study shows that the average time for debt settlement at present stands at 53.3 days. This is down from 56 days in the first quarter of 2011. Dun & Bradstreet CEO, Christine Christian said,"Performance still remains worse than this time last year and below levels seen prior to the onset of the global financial crisis." Read More…