Rents 'at highest for two years' as landlords sell up

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Average rents in the UK have reached their highest level for two years as landlords sell up, a survey suggests. Increased demand from tenants reluctant to buy in the current economic climate has also added to the upward pressure on prices, LSL Property Services said.

Link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11342198

Cable looks to boost lending by banks

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Banks are set to come under renewed pressure from the government to increase lending to small firms.

Link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10757425

Barclays criticises small business lending targets

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The head of Barclays' small business unit has criticised the idea of industry-wide government targets for lending to small firms.

Link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10962945

Firms still struggling for loans

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The amount of bank lending to UK manufacturers barely changed in the past two months, according to a survey.

Link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11364541

The performance of university spin-offs

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An exploratory analysis using venture capital data.

Link
http://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jtecht/v34y2009i3p255-285.html

A Different Twist On Round Robin Introductions

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“Local chambers of commerce and other networking groups usually set aside a block of time during regular monthly meetings to allow members to introduce themselves and tell others what they do. While these round robin sessions allow members to give their 30-second commercials and get known, they don't do a lot to get members to interact with one another. In addition, after a few meetings, regulars are likely to tune each other out, since they've already heard each others' intros many times.”
 
Link
http://www.businessknowhow.com/businessideas/networking/a_different_twist_on_round_robin_introductions.php