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 [...]
There has been a substantial increase in the number of people worried about their finances over the past six months and savings are the main area of concern. A survey by financial advice site unbiased.co.uk discovered that 47 per cent of British people are more concerned about their savings than they were six months ago. [...]
Santander UK has announced a new savings bond designed for people who want to inflation-proof their savings. The six-year Inflation Linked Savings Bond will pay the percentage rise in the Retail Price Index (RPI) when it matures, on top of the saver’s initial deposit. Savers can invest between £500 to £2 million in the bond [...]
Campaign group Save our Savers today revealed the cost to savers of the Bank of England’s decision to hold the base rate at 0.5% for the 33rd successive month. The group estimates that the low interest rate combined with a retail price index at 5.6 per cent, its highest level for 20 years, and a [...]
Halifax has improved its ISA offering with a better return on its five year fixed rate product. The ISA now pays 4.4 per cent, strengthening its position as the market leading long term fixed rate ISA. The product is an excellent option for savers who do not mind their savings being tied up for the [...]
From November 28, National Savings and Investments (NS&I) will cease selling its accounts via the Post Office. It has been announced that the Government-backed NS&I will no longer sell investment or easy access savings accounts over the counter at the Post Office. NS&I runs Premium Bonds and a variety of savings products. However, from the [...]
Disability charity Scope is to launch a £20 million bond programme to produce a new source of funds for its charitable activities. The move will see the charity become one of the first in the UK to enter the capital markets. The charity will team up with Investing for Good, a specialist social finance intermediary, [...]
US banking giant Goldman Sachs has today reported a fall in third quarter profits. Goldman Sachs, which is the US’ largest investment bank, made a net loss of $393 million (£250 million) for the third quarter compared with profits of $1.9 billion a year earlier. The bank said trading was “significantly impacted” by the euro [...]
European equities markets were lower Monday after a spokesman for the German government said a quick solution to the Eurozone debt crisis will not emerge from a meeting of European leaders scheduled for 23 October, after a plan for a solution was discussed over the weekend by G20 finance ministers and central bank leaders. No [...]
European equities markets were higher Friday, with gains coming on hopes for a solution to the region’s debt crisis as the G20 finance ministers meet in Paris to discuss the crisis and a rescue plan that could cause holders of Greek bonds to take bigger losses. The gains came despite the third credit rating cut [...]
European equities markets were lower Thursday after a warning from the European Central Bank, which said that making financial institutions that hold Greek bonds absorb more losses could imperil financial stability in the Eurozone, while markets were also hurt by data that exports from China were up 17.1 percent in September from last year, less [...]
European equities markets were higher Wednesday after both the European Commission President and the European Union’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner said that banks need to be shored up as part of the answer to solving the Eurozone’s debt crisis, but gains came only after earlier declines on a delay in Slovakia’s approval of a [...]
Most equities markets in Europe were lower Tuesday as questions remained about whether Slovakia will ratify the newly revised Eurozone bailout fund in a vote scheduled for later in the day. Slovakia is the only Eurozone nation that has not approved the new plan. The FTSE 100 was down 0.06 percent to 5,395.7 in London, [...]
Equities markets in Europe were higher Monday, with gains coming on a promise by Germany’s chancellor and France’s president that they will create a plan to recapitalize banks and find solutions to the region’s debt crisis as they said they will have the plan worked out by a G20 summit scheduled for 3 November. The [...]
European equities markets were higher in mid-afternoon trade Friday, helped by data from the US Labor Department that showed 103,000 jobs added to the US economy, more than expected, while the unemployment rate in the United States held steady at 9.1 percent. The FTSE 100 was up 0.16 percent to 5,299.77 in London at mid-afternoon, [...]
European equities markets were higher Thursday after the European Central Bank and Bank of England both held interest rates steady, at 1.5 percent and at 0.5 percent respectively, while the ECB said it will restart covered-bond purchases and again offer year-long loans to banks, while the Bank of England will expand its program of bond [...]
Equities markets in Europe were higher Wednesday on the possibility that Eurozone finance ministers will put in place ways to protect banks from the region’s debt crisis. The FTSE 100 was up 3.19 percent to 5,102.17 in London, while the FTSE 250 added 1.51 percent to 9,567.84. Miners led gains on both the 100 and [...]
European equities markets were lower Tuesday on the possibility that the Greek bailout deal reached in July could be renegotiated, although the contemplated revisions are said to be of a technical nature. The FTSE 100 was down 2.58 percent to 4,944.44 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 3.33 percent to 9.425.93. Most retailers were [...]
European equities markets were lower Monday on continuing concerns that the region’s debt crisis will get worse and spread, with some analysts saying that another recession is on the way. The FTSE 100 was down 1.03 percent to 912.34 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 0.7 percent to 9,750.56, with declines coming even though [...]
European equities markets were lower Friday on further indications that the global economy is slowing as Chinese manufacturing activity remained in contraction, Eurozone inflation was up to 3 percent in August and German retail sales dropped 2.9 percent in August from the previous month in a much larger decline than expected. The FTSE 100 was [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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