Enterprise Alerts What's Making The News?

Aim ? signs of life?

It has been a very quiet year so far on Aim, but there are

slighty more encouraging signs if you look carefully.

The number of new companies that joined Aim fell from 146 in the

latter half of 2007 to just 69 in the first half of 2008. There was

a large drop in funds raised for new admissions ? from

more than £3bn in the second half of 2007 to under £1bn

in the first half of 2008.

However, funds raised by existing companies on Aim in secondary

fundraisings have fared better (only down from £3.3bn to

£2.3bn over the same period) and companies in minerals and

natural resources are making the most of record commodity prices

? of the £2.3bn raised in secondary fundraisings to

June 2008, over £1bn went to companies in the sector.

Business intelligence maps

Google has joined forces with Information Builders to release

WebFOCUS, the first so-called business intelligence

'mash-up'. The mix and match software gives users a visual

representation of sales figures and stock movements in different

locations via an interactive Google Map. Businesses can compare key

data for numerous outlets using maps enriched with analytic

content. The intention is to make it easier to identify regional

trends, as well as give users the ability to zoom in and out of

critical locations.

www.informationbuilders.com

UK online ad spend overtakes mainstream TV

Spending on online advertising overtook mainstream TV in Britain

last year for the first time, according to Ofcom. In its annual

report, the watchdog found that online spending in 2007 grew to

£2.8bn. The combined net advertising revenues of ITV1,

Channel 4, S4C and Five were £2.4bn. Internet advertising

equalled that of outdoor and magazine advertising combined.

Online spending was dominated by paidfor search (£1.6bn),

where sponsored links appear as internet search results. The rest

was split equally between display and classified ads.

The success of the internet remains a particularly UK-focused

phenomenon. Last year, online spending accounted for 19% of all

advertising ? a much higher proportion than in the US,

France or Germany.

Lords urges scrapping of VAT on electrical goods repairs

VAT should be lifted from the cost of repairing televisions,

vacuum cleaners and fridges to discourage people from throwing them

away when they are broken, argues the House of Lords Science

Committee.

The committee believes that with appliances getting cheaper and

labour more expensive, most people are not...