UK government debt rose to over £1 trillion for the first time in December, despite a fall in public sector borrowing. Excluding bank bailouts and other financial interventions, public sector borrowing fell £2.2 billion to £13.7 billion in December according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. This was lower than City [...]
Marks & Spencer Money is offering borrowers a personal loan at a rate of just 6 per cent. This represents the lowest rate since 2008 when Moneyback Bank was offering 5.8 per cent, while just one year ago Tesco Bank offered the lowest loan rate, of 8.4 per cent. Marks & Spencer Money’s 6% deal [...]
The Bank of England’s latest inflation attitudes survey suggests that fewer people believe inflation is being controlled effectively with interest rates. In August, when the survey was last carried out, the proportion satisfied that the Bank was doing its job to set interest rates to control inflation, versus those dissatisfied, was 16 per cent, but [...]
The UK’s economy will take five and a half years to recover to pre-recession levels according to Martin Weale, a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. Speaking to the National Institute of Social and Economic Research, Mr Weale said that the recovery “unusually slow” and indicated that the Bank could enact more [...]
In its latest quarterly inflation report the Bank of England warns that the UK’s economic outlook has worsened. It suggests that the economy could stagnate until the middle of next year, with growth predictions for 2011 and 2012 cut to around 1 per cent, compared with its August forecast of 1.7 per cent growth in [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee is due to meet today, when it is expected to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.5 per cent, despite inflation soaring. It will be the 32nd consecutive month that the interest rate has been held at this level. According to the Consumer Price Index, inflation [...]
The Bank of England has today revealed mortgage approvals fell in September for the first time in six months. According to the Bank, there were 50,967 loans approved in the month – down 3% on August’s figure. However, September’s figure was broadly in line with forecasts and suggests the UK mortgage market will remain subdued [...]
Mervyn King, the Bank of England’s Governor, has confessed that the latest round of stimulus is not guaranteed to boost lending to SMEs. The ongoing lack of credit to SMEs has been a major concern for the Government as these companies are the key to job creation in the UK and are expected to be [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK retail sales beat forecasts in September, led by spending on electrical goods such as laptop computers. According to the Statistics Office, sales rose by 0.6% last month, reversing the 0.4% fall in August. Furthermore, the figure was 0.6% higher on an annual basis. Retail sales [...]
Minutes of the Bank of England’s October 5-6 meeting have been released today and have revealed all nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to keep interest rates at the historic low of 0.5%. This was the third consecutive month that the Committee voted unanimously to keep rates at the record low, despite [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today announced Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) accelerated to annual rate of 5.2% last month from August’s rate of 4.5%. The rate represented the highest since September 2008 and it has never exceeded this rate since the CPI measure was first calculated in 1997. Higher inflation continues to be led [...]
Leading think tank, the Ernst & Young Item Club, has warned that growth within the UK economy is “grinding to a halt” because of the euro zone debt crisis. The Item Club also warned that the quantitative easing (QE) measures, announced recently by the Bank of England, are unlikely to boost the recovery. Its comments [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK trade deficit narrowed in August as export values hit an all-time high and imports fell. The goods trade gap shrank to £7.77 billion in August from £8.15 billion the previous month, said the ONS. Total exports of goods reached £25.5 billion, led by fuels [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK producer output prices rose in September – driven by higher fuel and food costs. The increase will no doubt raise concern about whether consumer price inflation will slow next year as sharply as the Bank of England is forecasting. According to the ONS, output prices [...]
Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, believes Britain is in the midst of the “most serious financial crisis ever”. The Governor was speaking after the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) elected to keep interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5%. Interest rates have now been at this low level since [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has today elected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5%, as widely expected. Interest rates have now been at this low level since March 2009 – when the economy was in the midst of recession. Recent figures show the economy [...]
According to Spencer Dale, the Bank of England’s chief economist, UK inflation is set to accelerate due to soaring energy bills. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed UK Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to annual rate of 4.5% in August from July’s rate of 4.4% – more than double the [...]
The Bank of England has today revealed mortgage approvals picked up significantly in August to a 20-month high. According to the Bank, there were 52,410 loans approved in the month – almost 3,000 more than the level seen in July and the highest figure since December 2009. The figure was also higher than the 49,500 [...]
The latest house price index from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed prices rose by just 0.1% in September on a monthly basis. On an annual basis, house prices are now 0.3% lower than this time last year with the average UK home costing £166,256. Meanwhile, when comparing prices in the three months to the [...]
Minutes of the Bank of England’s September 7-8 meeting have been released today and have revealed all nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to keep interest rates at the historic low of 0.5%. This was the second consecutive month that the Committee voted unanimously to keep rates at the record low after [...]
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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