Fifth of savings accounts offer rock-bottom rates

Northern Rock sale won’t affect compensation

Savers with money in both Northern Rock and Virgin Money will not be disadvantaged by Virgin’s takeover of the Newcastle-based bank if either of the banks collapses. Both Virgin Money and Northern Rock will keep separate banking licences following the £747 million deal, which is expected to be rubber-stamped in January. This means that the [...]

Fifth of savings accounts offer rock-bottom rates

With inflation at 5 per cent savings can soon be eroded and yet the number of savings accounts offering 0.1% or less interest has soared over the past year. Consumer campaign group Which? reports that the number of easy-access and notice accounts paying 0.1% or less has increased by 23% to 384 and these low [...]

First time buyer market heading for paralysis

Mortgage lending fell by 4 per cent to £13.1 billion last month, compared with £13.7 billion in September when it was at its highest level for two years. Lending was up by 13% year-on-year in October 2011, from £11.6 billion in October 2010. However, the figures include a strong year-on-year increase in remortgage activity rather [...]

Rents rise to £750 a month

Rents are still increasing at a faster rate than salaries and the average rent is now a hefty £720 a month. However, the rate of increase has slowed, according to a survey by LSL Property Services, the owner of Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agencies. Rental costs have increased for nine consecutive months, but [...]

Pet Insurance Fraud Soars

Pet insurance fraud almost quadrupled last year according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). In 2010 pet insurance fraud totalled £1.9 million, while in 2009 it was just £420,000 according to the ABI’s figures, although the true scale is believed to be even higher. Policy holders are trying to cheat the system in a [...]

Government working on low deposit mortgage scheme

The Chancellor George Osborne is expected to announce a scheme to help first-time buyers in his autumn statement on November 29, according to a report in The Telegraph. The statement, which will set out plans to encourage growth in the UK’s economy, could include a mortgage indemnity guarantee scheme, which would see the government underwriting [...]

Families owe half of annual income

Insurance company Aviva has revealed that over half of UK families have unsecured debts amounting to half their annual income. With food, transport and energy costs soaring, fifty-two per cent of UK families owe £10,604 on average, on loans, credit cards, overdrafts and other unsecured debts. This represents nearly half the annual household income of [...]

Government sells Northern Rock to Virgin Money

The government has announced the sale of Northern Rock to Virgin Money for £747m, representing a loss of £650m on the £1.4bn of public money it injected into the Newcastle-based bank. The chancellor, George Osborne said that the deal was “an important first step in getting the taxpayer out of the business of owning banks”. [...]

Bank of England expects economy to stagnate

In its latest quarterly inflation report the Bank of England warns that the UK’s economic outlook has worsened. It suggests that the economy could stagnate until the middle of next year, with growth predictions for 2011 and 2012 cut to around 1 per cent, compared with its August forecast of 1.7 per cent growth in [...]

Campaigns launched as energy debts soar

With an increasing number of people in debt to their electricity and gas providers, Consumer Focus and Citizens Advice have launched a ‘Plug the Debt’ campaign. A total of 1.5 million people are believed to be in debt in the UK and figures for spring this year show a 25 per cent increase in the [...]