Tokyo equities markets were higher on Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 adding 0.4 percent to 17,406.86 and the Topix index gaining 0.9 percent to 1,732.42. Carmakers were higher, as were camera makers and tech stocks. Banks were lower on a sector downgrade from Goldman Sachs. European markets were higher as well, with the FTSE Eurofirst [...]
House prices in areas close to sites where the Olympic Games will take place have risen since the announcement that the Games will be held in London in 2012, according to Halifax Estate Agents. Three areas in east London have gone up by more than the London average of 15 percent, while all areas close [...]
The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) has released a paper that claims a bill currently making its way through parliament will reduce some of the complexities of the nation’s pension system but will not solve its problems. While inequalities between men and women are reduced, individuals would still have to save privately to make up for [...]
In the wake of a bird flu outbreak at a turkey farm in Suffolk, five nations have now banned imports of poultry from the UK. South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and South Africa have halted all imports, while Russia has stopped most imports but still allows cooked meats to be imported. According to the British [...]
Aviva, the UK’s largest insurer, released a report Tuesday showing record sales in the fourth quarter. Total sales, which included investment, were 22 percent higher at £31.1 million. Life and pension sales drove the insurer’s business and were up 18 percent to £26.2 million. In the UK, life and pension sales under the Norwich Union [...]
What are the futures markets? Let’s begin with a story about trains. Before trains, the nation was divided into small markets for various commodities, but with trains came the first truly national markets. Now it was cheap for farmers and grain merchants to deliver goods to the places that needed them most – and would [...]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than [...]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. [...]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees [...]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on [...]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages [...]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit [...]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE [...]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings [...]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though [...]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A [...]
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