US imports and exports down in January

3.19% five-year fixed mortgage launched

Chelsea Building Society has launched a five-year fixed-rate mortgage at 3.19 per cent. The deal is available on a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) of 70% with a fee of £1,495. The building society’s product manager Jemma Smith said the product “is the lowest five-year fixed-rate mortgage ever to come to the market which is great for [...]

Fewer people declared bankrupt in 2011

The number of people declared insolvent in 2011 in England and Wales declined to 119,850, the lowest level for three years and a fall of 11.3 per cent from a record high in 2010. There was a sharp decline at the end of 2011, when personal insolvencies fell by 5.6% compared with the last three [...]

Government finds land for 80,000 homes

The Government launches its NewBuy mortgage guarantee scheme in March, which will help house buyers by underwriting 95% mortgages on new-build properties up to £500,000 in value. The scheme depends on having sufficient sites available to house builders and housing minister Grant Shapps revealed today that sufficient land for 80,000 properties has already been identified. [...]

Volcanic ash insurance claims to go ahead

Travellers whose flights were disrupted by the Icelandic volcanic eruption in 2010 can now go ahead with insurance claims. Following the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in April and May 2010, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) ruled that the resulting volcanic ash cloud, which led to airspace being closed, could be considered a “poor weather [...]

UK economy needs fiscal boost

The UK economy needs a fiscal boost of £10 billion to £20 billion in order to avoid another recession, a leading think tank said today. In its annual Green Budget, The Institute for Fiscal Studies calls for Chancellor George Osborne to include a short-term fiscal stimulus in his budget. This would buffer the UK economy [...]

Former RBS chief executive loses knighthood

Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has been stripped of his knighthood for his role in the bank’s collapse during the 2008 credit crunch. The Queen formally approved the annulment of the honour yesterday, after it was decided Mr Goodwin’s award brought the honours system into disrepute. The [...]

ABI calls for action on flood insurance

The Association of British Insurers has warned that time is running out to ensure that UK home owners in areas at risk of flooding can afford to insure their properties in the future. A voluntary flood agreement between the government and the insurance industry expires in June 2013. Under the current agreement, which started in [...]

Personal debt falls by £377 million

Economic uncertainty and the threat of another recession is causing consumers to take charge of their finances and cut back on debt according to the latest figures from the Bank of England. Personal debt, excluding mortgages, fell by £377 million in December, the biggest fall since records began. Howard Archer an economist at Global Insight [...]

Downing Street won’t micro-manage bonuses

Speaking to the BBC after the Royal Bank of Scotland’s chief executive announced his decision to forgo his bonus this year, the government has said that it will not block bonuses to the bank’s other executives. RBS chief executive Stephen Hester was awarded £963,000 in shares but following pressure from public opinion and MPs he [...]

House prices fell 1.3% last year

The latest figures from the Land Registry show that house prices fell by 1.3 per cent in England and Wales in 2011, with the average property costing £160,384 in December. Prices remained stable at the end of the year, with no change between November and December 2011. The only place in England and Wales where [...]