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At the start of the global recession, the Icelandic banks famously collapse forcing the government to rely on a £6.1bn international aid package. This caused a massive drop in the value of the currency (krona), making the importing of goods extremely expensive.
McDonald’s have announced that they will pull their franchised operation out of Iceland due to the cost of importing goods. The cost of import 1Kg of onions from Germany costs the same as a good bottle of Whisky. The restaurants have never been busier, but they have seen a substantial drop in profits. Lyst the firm that runs the franchises says that they will reopen the restaurants under another brand, making it possible for them to source goods locally reducing the operational costs.

One of the world’s most famous and loved chocolate producers Cadbury, has recently had a bid from Kraft believed to be in the region of 10.2bn. Cadbury is one of the largest chocolate producers, owning stock such as trident chewing gum, halls lozenges and bassets. Cadbury has a strong British heritage, compared to the US Kraft company whom owns stock such as Oreo biscuits, terry’s chocolate orange, Kenco/Maxwell coffees and Philadelphia. The bid comes after Cadbury announced it would slash 7,800 jobs in order to reduce costs. The bid for the meantime has been rejected, with Kraft believed to be considering a bigger bid.

The Cadbury bubbly chocolate bar, discontinued in 2003, successfully relaunched in 2007 thanks to social networking website Facebook. A campaign was launched by users contending with the discontinuation with the much sought after chocolate bar. The Wispa bar is a direct contender to Nestlé’s aero. Upon its relaunch, it was sold for a limited time as Cadbury didn’t believe it would sell as much as it did and was then sold on a permanent deal. Before it got relaunched, the Wispa bar got sold as ‘Dairy Milk Bubbly’, a flat lined chocolate bar unlike its original square-tube like appearance.

Twenty-six years on since 1983 and now the US has achieved its highest rate of unemployment. The unemployment rate is believed to be around 9.7% although lay-off’s are supposedly easing since the beginning of the year. Ever since the recession started in 2007, the US has got rid of a total of 6.9m jobs. Worse news is that there doesn’t seem to be a rush in recovery. High unemployment is continuing and has lessened the need for goods and services, which in turn means companies having to lessen prices. The consumer spending accounts to over two thirds of the US economy.

With the current recession believed to be almost over, Network Rail has decided to axe 1,800 jobs nationwide. The move is going ahead in an attempt to reduce costs, however, this will only add to the already growing and large amount of unemployment. The rail company has insisted that they would attempt to redeploy as many of the axed staff as possible. This move comes just a day after the plan to create a super-fast link between London and Glasgow. These changes will occur between this current time and April 2011, leaving many most likely unemployed.

One of the world’s leading phone networks is believed to be up for bids between two of its biggest rivals, O2 and Vodafone. Whichever phone company wins the battle will be the country’s biggest as they will obtain the 16.6 million companies affiliated with T-Mobile. T-Mobile is currently the fourth largest phone operator in the UK with a 15% share, behind Orange who have 22%, Vodafone 25% and O2 27%. France Telecom, the company who owns Orange, also is believed to be interested in tabling a bid for the fourth most successful phone company in the country.

Building societies across the country are fearing for the new rule which involves new planned regulation. Financial service authority City watchdog plan to limit riskier types of lending by building societies. The BSA (Building Societies Association) says that the proposed plans would disadvantage the industry. The BSA has made a formal submission to the FSA following a consultation period on the proposals. It is believed by the BSA that these changes would lessen the chance to compete in the mortgage market. The BSA has made a formal submission since it was revealed what the FSA’S plans were.

The most recent recession is now believed to have finished and a possible rebound is believed to happen in 2010. The economy is believed to rise by 1.1%, which is almost double what is was in June this year (0.6%). The problem with this though is sustaining the recovery. The Chambers of Commerce believe the country’s economy to drop to 4.3%, lower than what it was in June. High unemployment, fragile banks and a slash in government borrowing could slow the pace of recovery. The government did plan to go ahead with £30bn spending, but this has been questioned by the Chambers of Commerce. France, Germany and Japan have already recovered.

Football clubs may traditionally be associated with sport but they are also businesses. Manchester United is a football club from the north of England and is one of the most famous worldwide. It used to be a PLC (Public Limited Company) but then the Glazers, an American tycoon family bought United though they are now in debt. The debt equals out about around $850million dollars, with the interest each year being £60 million debt, although this is assumed to eventually be sorted out due to the success and earnings the club gets. The Glazers still own United to this day.

The worldwide famous social networking website Facebook, one of the most famous networking site is a very useful tool for keeping in contact with people across the country, and the world. Clever and keen business men should take an interest in social networking websites as not only are they a common use in society, but they also generate a lot of money too. There are several networking websites including MySpace, bebo, faceparty and the most well known Facebook. The common interest is mainly due to ‘phone-credit’ saving, and a useful tool for organising events, such as birthdays, weddings, christenings etc.