Energy tariffs are so complicated that even an accountant could not calculate how much they should be paying, according to latest research from Which?. The consumer group asked 36 people including a solicitor, an engineer and an accountant, to work out their domestic energy bill using only the information from the supplier’s website, and a [...]
Britons are being duped into buying new homes that are too small to live in comfortably, with house builders and estate agents demonstrating a distinct “lack of transparency” over floor space. According to research from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), thousands of brand new homes are failing to provide the space families need, [...]
UK retail sales volumes fell in August, at the fastest pace for over a year, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) reports. In a new quarterly survey, 46% of retailers said they had experienced falling sales in the two weeks to mid-August (compared with a year earlier) and the level of negativity registered over prospects [...]
UK pay settlement levels are stable, according to the latest analysis from employment research specialist, Incomes Data Services (IDS). The average settlement for the three months to the end of July stood at 2.5%, having remained constant since January, and with pay settlements in manufacturing continuing to lead the way, typically at 2.9%. In addition, [...]
Co-operative Group has reported a fall in first-half underlying profit to £230.8 million, down from £262.3 million a year earlier. The mutual has been hit by declining food sales in the face of strong competition, reduced government funding for prescriptions and a change in the income recognition policy on the sale of its funeral bonds. [...]
Consumer confidence slipped by two points in July, according to Nationwide’s index, returning to a level seen in the post-Christmas gloom of January. At 49 points, the lender’s main confidence index remains well below its long-run average of 79, and the building society is not expecting a substantial improvement during the remainder of this year. [...]
Barclays has improved its customer service, with new complaints down 9% in the first half of 2011, compared with the previous six-month period, to 251,563. However, in the general insurance and protection category, volumes increased 25% to 73,692 with payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints leading the surge. The bank expects PPI volumes to be even [...]
Steve Jobs has stepped down as chief executive of technology giant, Apple, to be replaced by Tim Cook, previously the group’s chief operating officer. In his resignation letter, Mr Jobs, who has been on medical leave following a diagnosis of cancer, said: “I have always said if there ever came a day when I could [...]
UK residents holding cash and investments with Swiss banks are to be taxed by Swiss authorities, with the money then handed over to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). A deal has been agreed between governments whereby account holders can retain their anonymity but will be forced to make their contribution to the Treasury. HMRC expects [...]
Moody’s has lowered the government debt rating of Japan to Aa3 with a stable outlook, from Aa2. The credit rating agency has also taken action on the ratings of most Japanese banks, including Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, with the average downgrade one notch. According to Moody’s, the sovereign downgrade has been [...]
A snapshot survey of retailers hit by the riots two weeks ago found that across 899 stores retailers lost over 7,500 hours of trading and reported more than 11,000 members of staff affected by the violence. However, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) expects the damage to the sector as a whole to be “considerably higher” [...]
UK manufacturers are reporting healthy order books and expectations for output growth remain above their long-run average, despite being less strong than earlier this year. New research from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) also indicates that pricing pressures have eased following strong inflation during the first six months of 2011. Expectations for growth in [...]
The UK’s High Street banks approved 74,590 mortgages in July, with the figure up from 71,521 in June and ahead of the previous six-month average (69,803). According to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) house purchase approvals came in at 33,417, activity having gathered pace since June (32,123) and exceeded the previous six-month average (30,695). At [...]
Britain’s banks are warning that ring-fencing their retail activities, to protect against investment banking losses, could endanger the UK economy because of the cost involved. A ring-fencing proposal will form part of the Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB’s) final report, due out in September. However, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), the proposed reform [...]
Swiss investment bank, UBS, has announced that it will be cutting 3,500 jobs worldwide as part of its latest cost reduction programme. Approximately 45% of the job losses will come from its investment banking business, 35% from wealth management and Swiss bank, 10% from global asset management, and 10% from the group’s wealth management Americas [...]
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is warning people to steer clear of scam loan companies that take upfront fees but fail to provide credit, or offer unsuitable credit alternatives. The watchdog has seen a 50% year-on-year rise in complaints about loan scams, particularly credit applications that involve upfront fees sent through money transfer companies. [...]
Confidence among British businesses has declined as both UK and global economic turmoil impact on firms’ plans for the future. The latest ICAEW/Grant Thornton UK Business Confidence Monitor shows confidence at its lowest level since the third quarter of 2009, when the UK was still in recession, with firms seeing turnover and profit growth weakening [...]
The vacancy rate for shops across Britain’s High Streets and shopping centres stands at over 11%, according to new research from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Northern Ireland (17.1%), Wales (13.4%) and the North and Yorkshire (13.1%) recorded the highest vacancy rates, as overall footfall between May and July 2011 fell 1% compared with a [...]
Almost 40% of UK households saw their finances deteriorate in August, according to the latest Markit Household Finance Index, with the rate of deterioration faster than at the height of the recession. Worsening finances were evident across all income groups, age ranges and regions, as the survey registered the fastest fall in cash available to [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has opted to keep the base rate at 0.5% in August, as widely expected. The rate has remained at its historic low for well over two years and earlier predictions of a rise this autumn lost credibility once UK economic growth slowed to 0.2%, in the second [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
Younger generation shunning credit cards
Consumers are shunning credit cards in favour of debit cards, digital payment and payday loans, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Although UK households paid off some unsecured debts in 2011, the average debt was around £7,900 at the end of the year. The Ernst & Young Item Club has also reported a [...]
Bank of England to launch £50bn economic stimulus
The bank of England is expected to launch another round of quantitative easing (QE) this week, in the hope of preventing the UK falling into another recession, after the economy contracted by 0.2 per cent at the end of last year. The bank is likely to pump at least £50 billion into the economy by [...]
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