BUSINESS Labour wins boardroom approval

The business world is "bubbling with enthusiasm" about the economic prospects of the first 12 months of the new Labour Government, according to a survey published today. A record number of UK financial chiefs and company directors - 78 per cent - were "fairly or very optimistic" about the outlook for their businesses in the year ahead. Two-thirds were equally bullish about the fortunes of the UK as a whole.

The poll of 250 directors within manufacturing, the service industries and the public sector by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants was the most optimistic since it began in 1993.

One CIMA member told the survey: "It's a new era, a new government, the interest rate increase will put a hold on inflation. It's a good climate for trading activity."