The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Half a million people could lose their disability benefit under Government plans. The planned reforms will see the current disability living allowance replaced with Personal Independence Payment (PIP), a simpler allowance which is designed to be more focused. Speaking to The Telegraph, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said that the number of people [...]
The Bank of England is holding the base rate at 0.5 per cent and has decided not to extend its quantitative easing (QE) programme following a £50bn boost to the economy in February. The UK interest rate has now remained at 0.5 per cent for three years, despite high levels of inflation. Consumer Prices Index [...]
While research by the Alliance Trust suggests that an economic boost generated by the Olympics will help Britain out of recession, rating agency Moody’s is warning that any benefit will only be short term. Alliance Trust suggests that ticket sales for the event and other consumer spending on Olympic related retail products will cause a [...]
The cost of the majority of leisure activities has grown to its highest level for a decade while the amount of income people have left after paying all their bills is falling. According to new research by the Halifax, the cost of football tickets, train tickets, petrol, eating out and going to the gym have [...]
Provisional figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the UK economy has contracted for two consecutive quarters, which means it has fallen back into recession. The economy shrank by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the latest figures show a contraction of 0.2% in the first three months of 2012 [...]
Higher food and clothing prices helped to push inflation up slightly to 3.5 per cent in March, from 3.4 per cent in February. The rise in inflation on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) was unexpected and represents a break in a downward trend which started in September. It is a setback to the Bank of [...]
The UK and German economies may have reached a positive turning point, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation, which just a couple of weeks ago said that the UK was in recession. The OECD’s latest forecast is based on its composite leading indicators (CLIs), which are trusted to reliably predict the economic outlook for [...]
News that the UK’s service sector grew more than expected last month has generated optimism that the economy could avoid falling back into recession. The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the service industry increased to 55.3 in March, from 53.8 in February, with a reading of above 50 representing growth. Growth in the service [...]
The UK economy is expected to contract by 0.4 per cent on an annualised basis in the first three months of 2012, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This represents a contraction of 0.1 per cent compared with the final quarter of 2011 and means that the UK is returning to [...]
Delivering his third Budget, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, said that it would help those who aspired to do better for themselves and for their families. ‘Britain is going to earn its way in the world’ he said. He promised far reaching tax reform, creating a system that was simple to understand for ordinary [...]
The latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that inflation fell to 3.4 per cent in February, from 3.6 per cent in the previous month, according to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). Using the Retail Prices Index (RIP) measurement, which includes housing costs such a mortgage interest and council tax, inflation [...]
The Family and Parenting Institute has called on the Chancellor to avoid delivering a ‘Break-Up Budget’ on Wednesday. The charity, which aims to make the UK a better place for families and children, fears that a budget which puts family incomes under further pressure could threaten family life. The divorce rate in England and Wales [...]
The question of whether or not to scrap the 50p income tax rate is dividing the coalition government in the run up to the budget on 21 March. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is determined to reduce income tax on earnings over £150,000, but the proposal has been met with disapproval by Lib Dem [...]
Speaking at the Lib Dem’s spring conference yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said it was a ‘basic justice’ that the highest earners should pay the most tax. In his keynote speech at the Gateshead conference, Mr Clegg said that the wealthiest people in society should pay more tax help fund tax cuts for the [...]
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) expects the UK economy to grow more slowly than previously forecast and says it faces “serious challenges”. In its quarterly economic forecast the BCC forecast growth of 0.6 per cent in 2012, a slight decrease from its previous forecast of 0.8 per cent. It expects the government’s efforts to [...]
The government expects to either achieve or exceed its target of borrowing no more than £127bn this year, after recording its biggest surplus for four years in January. In the tax year to date the government has borrowed £93.5bn and in January it made a net repayment of £7.75bn, excluding financial interventions. Although a surplus [...]
Inflation fell sharply in January to 3.6 per cent on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), from 4.2 per cent in December, according to the latest official figures. Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation, which includes housing costs such as mortgage interest and council tax, fell to 3.9 per cent from 4.8 per cent. Although CPI inflation [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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