In yesterday’s Budget, Chancellor Alistair Darling unveiled plans for rescued banks, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group, to lend more to businesses. In a legally binding agreement, RBS and Lloyds, which are 84% and 41% owned by the taxpayer respectively, were rescued at the height of the financial crisis but there have [...]
Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, warned last night that a major rethink of how banks are structured is required. Addressing Scottish business leaders in Edinburgh last night, Mr King’s comments came after it was announced that public finances suffered their worst six months on record between April and September. In his speech, Mr King [...]
Asia’s largest carrier, Japan Airlines (JAL), is set to be bailed out by the Government after a restructuring plan was rejected by its creditor banks. The airline, like many others throughout the world, is struggling to stay afloat during the global economic downturn which has led to a slump in demand. Many airlines have been [...]
Japan Airlines (JAL) is set to receive up to 100 billion yen (£635 million, $1 billion) in Government aid. JAL, which is Asia‘s biggest carrier, will receive the emergency loan on the condition that the airline’s management improves and the way in which the company is run. Earlier this year, the airline predicted an annual [...]
Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic, is urging ministers not to step in and bail out British Airways (BA). BA, along with many other airlines, has been struggling amid the economic downturn which put many airlines out of business last year. Earlier this month, BA admitted it was fighting for survival and asked 40,000 [...]
The British pound plunged to a 7½ year low against the US dollar yesterday amid concerns about the state of the UK banking sector. Plummeting to below $1.40, the pound hit its weakest rate against the dollar since 2001. Analysts suggested the latest bail-out of British banks prompted a pound sell-off, whilst others blamed the [...]
Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has admitted that 2009 will be a difficult year because the UK is far from through the recession. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Darling updated an earlier prediction that the downturn would run its course by the middle of the year. He said the forecast was [...]
US Congress have approved the $700 billion (£380 billion) financial rescue plan after a week of talks. The announcement comes after US billionaire investor, Warren Buffett, described the current financial turmoil as ‘an economic Pearl Harbour’. Buffett, who is one of the world’s richest men, along with Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, and US Federal Reserve [...]
Insurance giant, AIG, has been bailed out by the US Federal Reserve after an $85 billion (£48 billion) rescue package The news has been welcomed by global stock markets after two days of panic selling following the collapse of US investment banking giant, Lehman Brothers. There were fears that AIG was heading the same way [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
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, [...]
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