Warning over continued difficulty in UK economy (From The Advertiser Series)

British Chambers of Commerce cuts growth forecast

6:00am Friday 8th March 2013 in Business

SLOW BUSINESS: The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has warned the UK economy faces continued difficulty after cutting its growth forecast for 2013.

The BCC said its economic growth prediction had fallen from one per cent to 0.6 per cent after the Bank of England yesterday held interest rates at 0.5 per cent. UK manufacturers said trading conditions remained tough.

The BCC has also cut its growth forecast for 2014 from 1.8 per cent to 1.7 per cent.

COAL CUTS: Hundreds of jobs will be lost at one of the UK's last remaining deep coal mines.

UK Coal says mining at Daw Mill Colliery, in Warwickshire, might not start again after an underground fire struck last month.

A small team will remain on site to secure the mine, but the majority of its 650 staff will be made redundant. UK Coal previously revealed it was unlikely the mine would stay open after 2014.

STAFF SHARE: Staff at department store John Lewis will receive a bonus after the company reported a rise in profits.

The company's 84,700-strong workforce will pick up a 17 per cent bonus – the equivalent of nine weeks' pay – after its pre-tax profits rose to £409m last year.

This year's bonus is up from the 14 per cent the company paid last year, with this year's pool worth £210m.

INSURER FALL: Shares in insurance firm Aviva have fallen 12 per cent after it announced it was cutting its divident to shareholders by more than a quarter.

The company says the cut will help fund a renaissance in its fortunes, after struggling with poor performances in recent years.

Shareholders will get 19p for every share in total for 2012, down 26p from the previous year.

GRADUATE PAY: Women graduating from university are still earning thousands of pounds less that their male counterparts, according to a new report.

A survey from the Higher Education Careers Services Unit says the pay gap remains between men and women on the same type of universities who studied similar courses.

Its study of 17,000 graduates showed female workers earned between £15,000 and £23,999.