Business Feeds

A partnership between councils and businesses which will help shape the future of Brighton and Hove has been given the go-ahead.

The Coast To Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) bid, backed by Brighton and Hove City Council, Gatwick Diamond business area, West Sussex County Council and the London Borough of Croydon, is among the first LEPs to be given the green light, Business Secretary Vince Cable has announced.

Mr Cable said that up to 25 LEP submissions from around the country have been successful.

A White Paper revealing how LEPs will work and be funded will be published today.

The East Sussex bid, which has merged with proposals from Kent and Essex, has also been given the go-ahead.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s Argus for full reaction to the news.

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Why is it that in every industry there are companies that resort to using exaggeration and hype to sell their products or services?

Do you know anyone who has ever bought into the ‘you’re just two pills away from a fabulous new you!’ pitch?

With the rapidly growing demand of business credit it’s not unusual to see the same type of hype and exaggeration being used by some companies in the corporate credit services industry. But unfortunately there are also many good and reputable companies that deliver a great business credit building product or service to small business owners without resorting to such tactics.

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Double-digit sales growth helped propel Mead Johnson Nutrition to higher earnings in the third quarter, with most of that growth coming from the company’s overseas markets.

Mead Johnson makes baby formula and nutrition products for toddlers and children. The company’s global operations center is in Evansville and its corporate headquarters is in Glenview, Ill.

The company reported Thursday that its third-quarter net earnings were $106.1 million (52 cents per share). That’s up 8.7 percent from the same period last year, when earnings were $97.6 million (48 cents per share).

“We are very pleased with our earnings performance,” Mead Johnson Chief Executive Officer Steve Golsby said during an Evansville-based conference call with investors.

The company raised its full-year non-GAAP earnings guidance to $2.38 to $2.42 per share.

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The past few years have seen an explosion in the number of NoSQL database management systems entering the marketplace and replacing traditional RDBMS solutions for web and gaming applications. The proliferation of choice has caused confusion, and recent public failures of popular NoSQL systems at such companies as Digg and FourSquare have dampened confidence in the NoSQL movement.

Join Tony Falco and Andy Gross, COO and VP of Engineering from Basho Technology, and Nima Badiey from Joyent for a conversation about NoSQL, how to choose the right solution for you, and how to have a successful implementation.

Long term mortgage rates increased in this week’s mortgage survey released by Freddie Mac. Fixed conforming 30 year home mortgage rates and fixed conforming 15 year home mortgage rates are higher in this week’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. 5 year adjustable mortgage rates hit a new all time low and 1 year adjustable mortgage rates are unchanged in the survey. 

Conforming 30 year home mortgage interest rates are averaging 4.23 percent for the week ending October 28, 2010, up from the previous week’s average 30 year home mortgage  rate of 4.21 percent. Average mortgage discount points on 30 year home mortgage loans was 0.8 points, unchanged change from the average discount point in the October 21st survey.

Conforming 15 year fixed loan mortgage rates are averaging 3.66 percent for the week ending October 28, 2010, up from the prior week’s average 15 year home mortgage rate of 3.64%. Average mortgage discount

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Paying your invoices on time is an obvious way to build a strong business credit paydex score but when it comes to building a strong business credit rating there are a few more important details you should know about.

Discover the five key factors by watching this short video recording I did with Dun and Bradstreet titled:

How do I build a strong business credit rating?

Video Summary:

• Trade Credit
• Revolving credit
• Bank credit (line of credit or loan)
• Lease credit
• Insurance

Does your company have strong business credit files with Equifax Small Business, Corporate Experian, and Dun and Bradstreet?

In order to truly present your company as a creditworthy business in the eyes of lenders you will need to establish a strong business credit file with not one, not two, but all three major business credit bureaus.

Are you ready to build a strong business credit rating? Become a

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One hundred and fifty jobs will be created by a home, leisure and garden retailer.

The 29,000sq ft Range store will open on Friday.

The development of the store in Lottbridge Drove, Eastbourne is expected to provide a mixture of full and part-time roles and include warehouse managers, supervisors, retail assistants, and till workers, plus administration, store and department managers.

Many of the new employees were recruited through the job centre.

Chris Dawson, owner and founder of The Range, said: “We have been trying to open a store in Eastbourne for years now – even receiving letters from residents asking when we would be opening in the town. <

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Fixed mortgage rates are higher in the latest mortgage survey released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). 30 year fixed mortgage rates and 15 year fixed mortgage rates increased for the first time in six weeks in the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. 3

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Advertising is good, but publicity is better! When your small business receives publicity for its products, services, activities, or other events, it can be a boon for business. Besides, publicity is free – advertising is not. However, wise small business owners know when it is time to transfer PR duties from in-house to a PR firm or individual who can better handle these promotional activities.

How do you choose the right PR representative for your small business? It’s not as easy as simply seeing who has the biggest ad in the Yellow Pages or has the best website. Rather, take the following into consideration when you look for someone to take over as your representative to the public.

Trust and Chemistry

This may seem trivial, but putting someone in charge of getting your small business in the public eye requires a lot of trust. No

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