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 […]
Chancellor George Osborne has welcomed remarks made by the incoming Governor of the Bank of England about scrapping the inflation target to focus on gross domestic product (GDP). Such a change in strategy would require the Bank of England to introduce new measure to stimulate the economy, even if this caused inflation to rise. Mark […]
Chancellor George Osborne is extending the government’s austerity measures until 2018, a year longer than expected, after the Office for Budget Responsibility revised down its forecast for economic growth. Last year, the OBR was optimistic that the economy would grow by 0.8 per cent this year, but it now expects it to contract by 0.1 […]
Economic growth is still too weak, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) says, although growth exceeded expectations in the last quarter, helped by the Olympics. The BCC expects the UK economy to contract by 0.1 per cent this year, an improvement on the 0.4 per cent contraction previously forecast. However, the organisation has reduced its […]
Prior to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 5 December, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that the squeeze on public spending may have to continue to 2017/18. Slower than expected economic recovery may mean that the Chancellor, George Osborne, will need to raise another £11 billion from further cuts or by increasing taxes. […]
The average annual earnings of full-time UK workers increased by 1.4 per cent to £26,500 in the year to April 2012, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, with inflation at 3.5 per cent during this period, the figures represent a fall in the value of pay in real […]
Financial information services company Markit has reported a further improvement in household finances. Although household finances are continuing to deteriorate, the rate of deterioration fell in November, to its slowest rate for two years. The Markit Household Finance Index increased from 39.0 to 39.3, its fifth increase in six months, but this is still well […]
Families with two children need to bring home £24,800 a year just to break even, according to financial advisory firm Skipton Financial Services. This means that they need to be earning more than £30,000 a year gross in order to survive. The cost of living has increased by £130 compared with last year Skipton revealed, […]
The Bank of England has reduced its growth forecast to 1 per cent and does not expect inflation to fall to its 2 per cent target until the middle of next year. Presenting the Bank’s quarterly Inflation Report, the governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King, said that economic recovery would be “slow […]
A combination of higher tuition fees and food prices pushed the inflation rate up to 2.7 per cent last month, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Inflation on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) increased to 2.7 per cent from 2.2 per cent in September, while the Retail Prices Index […]
Optimism over the economy has been hit by significantly slower growth in the UK’s largest sector in October. At 50.6 on the Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) growth in the dominant service sector fell to its weakest level for nearly two year. Analysts had expected it to fall to 52.0 from 52.2 in September, with […]
Although the UK has officially emerged from recession, consumer confidence fell to -30 in October from -28 in September, according to market researcher company GfK NOP. This is the lowest level of consumer confidence since April when the UK was in an economic slump. Analysts had expected the index to remain stable at -28. Respondents […]
The UK economy emerged from recession yesterday and now leads the way in Europe according to research group Capital Economics. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by one per cent in the third quarter from July to September, the biggest rise for five years, the latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. […]
Two separate surveys have reported an improvement in household finances, bolstering optimism that the recession is coming to an end. Although Markit, the financial information services company, reported a worsening in consumer finances in October, it was the smallest deterioration in the past two years. The Markit Household Finance Index, which is designed to accurately […]
The rate of inflation on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell to 2.2 per cent last month according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), its lowest level since November 2009. In August, CPI inflation, which excludes mortgage interest payments, stood at 2.5 per cent. The Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation, which includes […]
Annual income growth fell to 1.7 per cent last month, its lowest level since December 2010, according to Lloyds Banking Group’s Spending Power Report for September. This was largely responsible for a 0.9 per cent fall in real discretionary spending power, with the amount consumers have to spend on non-essential items falling around £8 per […]
The UK economy returned to growth in the third quarter according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), marking an end to the double dip recession. The NIESR estimates that GDP grew by 0.8 per cent in the three months ending in September, building on an improvement seen in the three months […]
Consumer spending increased by 3 per cent in September compared with August, as people spent more on clothes and in hotels and restaurants. The figures, from Visa Europe’s UK expenditure index which is compiled by Markit, represent the biggest increase since May 2009. The increased spending follows improvements in the job market which have boosted […]
According to the British Chambers of Commerce’s quarterly economic survey gross domestic product will grow by 0.5 per cent in the third quarter, marking an end to the recession. The BCC is optimistic for growth in the third quarter despite the UK’s continuing weak economic performance. It says that data released by the Office for […]
Sir Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, expects the UK economy to return to growth in the next quarter, marking an end to the double-dip recession. Speaking on Channel 4 News, Sir Mervyn warned that recovery would be slow and said that the continuing crisis in the eurozone creates uncertainty for British […]
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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