Small firms report surge in confidence

More than three quarters of smaller and medium-sized enterprises are confident about their own prospects for the coming 12 months, according to a survey by KPMG, the accountancy firm. This surge in confidence has left respondents more upbeat than at any time since 2003, when the survey started. After a 14-point rise since the last count, 64 per cent also thought that prospects for firms turning over between £5 million and £500 million were good, the highest percentage since 2004. (Graham Searjeant)

Pressure on GCap

GCap Media, owner of Capital Radio and Classic FM, is under pressure to announce a fresh cost-cutting scheme to mitigate the impact of falling advertising revenues. The group is tipped to announce a fall in underlying pretax profits of about 37 per cent to £13.9 million, with revenues down from £220 million to about £199 million, when it reports its results on Wednesday. As a result, it is expected to unveil a cut in the dividend of as much as 50 per cent. (Dominic Walsh)

Good taste venture

Brent Hoberman, founder of lastminute.com, which became synonymous in Britain with excesses of the dot-com boom, is starting a new venture, Mydeco.com, to sell home furnishings and advise people on tasteful decoration schemes. Martha Lane Fox, his former partner in lastminute, will be a part-time director. Last week, she was made a nonexecutive director of Marks & Spencer, which has made fitful attempts to crack the home furnishings market. (Graham Searjeant)

Dubai eyes OMX

Nasdaq’s recommended £1.9 billion takeover of OMX, the Scandinavian stock exchange operator, could be gatecrashed by the owner of the Dubai stock exchange, it emerged. The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is said to have appointed HSBC to advise it on a possible counterbid. DIFC has put in place an ambitious strategy to raise Dubai’s profile and put it on a par with New York, London and Hong Kong. ( Dominic Walsh)

Audit confidence

Five years after the accounting industry was engulfed in confidence-sapping scandals with the collapse of Enron, WorldCom and Parmalat, fund managers have had their faith in company audits restored, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Its new survey of UK and US fund managers found that 94 per cent and 95 per cent respectively had a fair amount or a great deal of confidence in the accounts of their domestic companies. ( Graham Searjeant)