European equities markets were lower Monday, with the FTSE 100 1.46 percent lower to 4,645.01 in London, while the FTSE 250 fell 2.84 percent to 8,274.09. Drug maker Shire (LSE: SHP) turned in the best performance of the day on the 100 as it added 2.21 percent and GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) also was among the [...]
The average asking price of a UK home fell in August, after nudging up 0.6% in July. Vendors shaved a typical £5,102, or 2.2%, off their ambitions as they adjusted to lower seasonal demand. The decline took the average asking price back to £222,762, compared to £227,864 in July, although London saw a steeper slide [...]
The Government announced earlier this year it was planning to split nationalised Northern Rock into two divisions – a deposit bank and a mortgage platform. However, the proposals have met with criticism from the Building Societies Association (BSA) saying that the split would put building societies at a big disadvantage. Northern Rock collapsed at the [...]
Budget airline Ryanair is to close or switch nine of its 10 routes from Manchester airport, citing the airport’s refusal to lower its charges. The measures will lead to 600 job losses within the area and the loss of 60,000 passengers a year. However, Manchester airport highlighted that the 600 jobs will be switched to [...]
The excessive bonus culture, a subject which has dominated the news this year, rears its head again after Chancellor Alistair Darling has responded to calls for a new commission to restrict bonus payments. Bank bonuses, in particular, have sparked public anger and have been the subject of heavy criticism since it is banks that are [...]
A survey of over 250 employers by consultants Watson Wyatt has revealed that half of Britain’s companies will close final salary pension schemes in the private sector to existing employees between now and 2012. The survey, conducted in July, also found that another 28% will keep their scheme open to existing members but on less [...]
Leeds Building Society has launched a new three-year fixed-rate postal bond paying interest at 4.30%. Customers requiring a regular income from their savings can opt to have interest paid monthly at 4.11% AER. Savers investing in the bond can access up to 10% of the initial amount invested without notice, penalty free. A minimum investment [...]
A new bond from Leeds Building Society paying 4% interest can be opened with as little as £100. The four-year fixed-rate bond was launched alongside a two-year bond paying 3.5% interest. Both bonds can be opened with a minimum investment of £100 and a maximum of £1,000,000. Furthermore, both allow savers to withdraw up to [...]
One in sixteen Brits are better off because of the recession, according to new research by Yorkshire Bank. In the north-east, more than one in five (21%) are financially stronger compared with before the recession. Lower interest rates have put more money into the pockets of mortgage payers, while decreased VAT has generated extra bargains [...]
Millions of Brits have made drastic cuts to their holiday budget this summer, new research has discovered. Santander Cards found that a quarter of Brits taking a well-earned break in the sun this year plan to reduce holiday spending. Eating out is the biggest target of cutbacks, with 54% of those reducing their budget planning [...]
Today’s news that Japan has stepped out of recession is, superficially, good news. However, before anyone opens the champagne, it’s worth pointing out that there’s nothing natural about Japan’s economic growth in the slightest. In April Japan unveiled a £100 billion stimulus package on top of previous stimulus attempts, resulting in a total boost of [...]
Britain’s second-largest recruitment company, Michael Page, has announced a 49% decline in first-half profit after firms cut back on hiring new staff amid the recession. The recruiter reported a pre-tax profit of £43.2 million for the first half of 2009, down 49% compared with the same period ago. Meanwhile, revenue during the period was 27% [...]
A report has warned of challenging times for school leavers this summer, according to the Prince’s Trust and the University of Sheffield. According to the figures, a record number of school leavers could be claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance and those leaving school with no GCSEs at all are twice as likely to sign on. Professor Danny [...]
Moody’s Investor Services has categorised remortgages as having “adverse loan characterisics”, indicating that they carry some of the risks associated with a high default rate. In a recent report entitled “What drives UK mortgage loans to default” the credit rating agency places remortgages alongside other risky loans, based on data gathered on mortgages that originated [...]
The Japanese economy, which is the world’s second largest, has emerged from its longest recession since World War II after the economy grew by 0.9% in the second quarter. The news follows on from the announcement last week that Hong Kong had emerged from recession after the economy grew 3.3% in the second quarter. Furthermore, [...]
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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