Statistics Korea has today announced the inflation rate has jumped to a 27-month high – driven by higher food and fuel costs. According to Statistics Korea, the consumer price index rose by 4.5% in February on an annual basis. The rate is now at the higher end of the central bank’s 2%-4% target. Analysts believe [...]
South Korea’s central bank has elected to keep interest rates on hold despite rising inflation. The move surprised analysts who had expected a further rate rise after last month’s increase to 2.75%. However, analysts believe rates will be increased next month, with many predicting rates to be between 3.5% and 3.75% by the end of [...]
The National Statistical Coordination Board has today revealed the Philippine economy grew at its fastest pace in 2010 – expanding by 7.3% from a year earlier. The growth was boosted by a rise in business and consumer spending and represented the fastest annual expansion since democracy was restored 24 years ago. The latest growth will [...]
The Singapore economy grew at a record pace in 2010, driven by a sharp rise in manufacturing activity, official figures have revealed. The economy expanded by 14.7% last year – performing strongly after a 1.3% contraction in 2009 and cementing its position as the fastest growing Asian economy in 2010. The economy grew by 12.5% [...]
Supermarket giant Tesco has today reported an increase in sales for the 13-week period to November 27. Like-for-like UK sales excluding fuel grew 1.5% in the three month period, while overseas growth rose by 4.1%. However, growth surged in the US, with a 9.8% rise on a like-for-like basis. The supermarket, which is the UK’s [...]
Despite efforts to calm fears over Ireland’s debt problems, global markets have fallen today. The Shanghai Composite index closed down 5% as speculation mounted that the central bank could hike interest rates again to curb inflation. Yesterday, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Chinese inflation continued to increase in October, driven by higher food [...]
British insurance giant Prudential has today announced profits grew 17% in the third quarter – driven by higher sales at its Asian and US markets. The results were better than expected and sent its shares up 0.6% in early morning trading. The insurer, which is Britain’s largest, said it has focused its attention on expanding [...]
Supermarket giant Tesco has today revealed first half pre-tax profits of £1.6 billion – up 12.5% on the same period a year ago. The retailer, which is the world’s third largest, said the profits were boosted by strong sales in Asia, with profits rising 30%. Sales at the group’s international stores (open at least a [...]
Stock markets throughout the world improved during September with Wall Street experiencing its biggest September recovery since the start of the Second World War – more than seven decades ago. The S&P 500 was up almost 9% during the month, while the Dow Jones gained 7.7%. Increases like this have not been seen since September [...]
Despite speculation that banking giant HSBC would consider moving its UK headquarters, outgoing chairman, Stephen Green, has confirmed the bank will stay in London. The bank, which is Europe’s biggest, has a significant presence in Asia, which has led many to believe the bank would one day move its headquarters to Hong Kong. “Our policy [...]
Standard Chartered bank has today unveiled a 10% increase in profits for the half-year ending June 30. The bank, which has a strong presence in Asia, said pre-tax profit came in at £1.96 billion during the six month period, a rise from the £1.78 billion it made in the same period a year earlier. Commenting [...]
British companies should look east for the most profitable business opportunities, HSBC has claimed. Research by HSBC Commercial Banking found 14% of UK companies recognised the importance of eastern consumers in developing lucrative business opportunities. If British businesses are to compete in the global marketplace, they must take note of this “fundamental and fast paced [...]
In a trading update today, London-based Standard Chartered bank said it is on target for a strong performance for the half-year ending June 30. Standard Chartered has weathered the downturn better than many of its rivals due to strong capital and liquidity and recently said it has had a “very strong start to the year [...]
There are fears that the debt crisis in the euro zone could hit the global economy but Australia believes its economy will be unaffected. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor, Glenn Stevens, the country’s strong trade connections with East Asia means it will be relatively unaffected by the events in the euro [...]
Chinese exports grew by around 50% in May compared with a year earlier, according to sources, which fuelled a recovery in Asian stocks today. The figure, which is set to exceed expectations of a 32% rise, comes after China overtook Germany as the world’s biggest exporter earlier this year. Germany had held the top spot [...]
British insurance giant Prudential has failed to renegotiate the price of its takeover of AIA, the Asian arm of US company American International Group (AIG). The deal now looks set to collapse after AIA snubbed the lower price tag of $30.375 billion. It emerged last week that the Pru, which is Britain’s second largest insurer, [...]
Influential think-tank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has raised its worldwide growth forecasts in its twice-yearly report. The Paris-based Organisation said the global economy is recovering faster than expected with Asia continuing to drive the expansion. However, debt crises in many countries may threaten expansion in the developed world, the OECD warned. [...]
Ongoing fears that the euro zone debt crisis could spread throughout the world sent Asian markets falling today with Japan’s Nikkei index down 246 points to 9,784.54. Over the week, the index has lost over 6.5% – its largest weekly drop since January 2009. On Wall Street yesterday, the Dow Jones industrial average slumped 376.36 [...]
Asian shares have fallen sharply today as fears mount that Greece’s crisis would spread to other European countries. In an interview with French newspaper, La Parisien, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, admitted earlier this week that the possible spread of the crisis was a concern. He said: “We have to [...]
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 [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
Asian shares recover after Fed comments
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday allayed investor fears after saying the US economy appeared to have enough momentum to avoid a “double-dip” recession. Mr Bernanke also said he believes European leaders are taking the right steps to ensure the survival of the euro. “European leadership is strongly committed to doing whatever is necessary to [...]