US President Barack Obama has announced Republican and Democratic leaders have come to an agreement on raising the Government debt ceiling to avoid defaulting on its debt. “I want to announce that the leaders of both parties in both chambers have reached an agreement that will reduce the deficit and avoid default, a default that [...]
US President Barack Obama has today unveiled his budget for 2012, aimed at reducing the country’s spiralling deficit. The measures come as many major economies embark on massive spending cuts to trim their deficits. However, like many other economies, tough measures introduced to trim the budget deficit could hamper economic growth and slow the economic [...]
According to Government figures, the US budget deficit fell to $1.294 trillion (£813 billion) in the 12 months to the end of September. The deficit equates to 8.9% of GDP, down from 10% of GDP in 2009, but still represents the highest since the end of the Second World War. The target for President Barack [...]
Following a “candid” two-hour meeting yesterday between Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, and US President, Barack Obama, it appears China will still not bow to pressure over its currency. The object of the meeting was to urge China to revalue its currency, the yuan. The US has previously expressed dissatisfaction that China is keeping the value [...]
US consumer confidence took a dive in June after rising for three consecutive months. The closely-monitored Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board plummeted to 52.9 in June, down from a revised 62.7 in May. June’s figure was short of analysts forecasts of 62 and remains far away from the 90 points required to show [...]
China faced renewed pressure at this weekend’s G20 summit Toronto, Canada, after a draft said: “Emerging surplus economies will undertake reforms tailored to country circumstances to… enhance rate flexibility.” Beijing has previously ruled out a one-off appreciation of its currency and has previously said keeping the yuan stable is “an important contribution” to global recovery. [...]
BP shares have risen more than 9% this morning after it was revealed that a $20 billion (£13.5 billion) compensation fund for victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil leak is to be set up. Details of the fund emerged late yesterday following talks at the White House after BP’s chief executive Tony Hayward and [...]
At the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Chinese President Hu Jintao told US President Barack Obama that China is committed to yuan reform but will not be pressurised into making changes to its currency peg. The Chinese President added that while Beijing is willing to make changes, it will do it on its own terms. [...]
The Labor Department has announced the number of US workers filing for jobless benefits fell last week. According to the Labor Department, initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell in the week ended March 20 to 14,000 to 442,000 – boosting hopes that the recovery in the world’s largest economy is gathering momentum. Commenting on [...]
In its latest forecast for the world’s largest economy, the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, has said economic growth will be between 2.8% and 3.5% in 2010 – better than its previous forecast of 2.5% to 3.5%. However, the Fed has warned that despite strong growth for this year, unemployment will remain high. Earlier [...]
Fifty-six-year old Ben Bernanke has won a second term as chairman of US central bank, the Federal Reserve. The US Senate confirmed the appointment after it voted 77-23 in favour of Bernanke, whose current term ends on Sunday. At the time of his nomination last August, US President Barack Obama said: “Mr Bernanke had helped [...]
Around 100 senior employees at Goldman Sachs in London are capping their 2009 pay and bonuses at £1 million each. The move comes as part of the Chancellor’s super tax, which was introduced to claw back some of the bailout funds used to rescue the banking industry. According to the BBC, the tax represents a [...]
US President Barack Obama is proposing a severe crackdown on financial institutions in the US which has sent stock markets around the globe into decline. Yesterday, the Dow Jones closed down 2% – its worst decline since October, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 3.6% – the biggest weekly loss in three months and closing a three-week [...]
Citigroup, which is the third largest US bank, has today posted a loss for the fourth quarter of 2009, as a result of the repayment of Government loans. The bank said it repaid $20 billion to the US Government during the 2009 year. The Wall Street banking giant said losses totalled $7.6 billion (£4.7 billion) [...]
Wall Street banking giant JPMorgan has kicked off the reporting season with a bang by posting fourth quarter profits of $3.28 billion (£2 billion) compared with $702 million a year ago – at the height of the financial crisis. Meanwhile, the bank reported full-year profits of $11.7 billion, or $2.26 per share, on record revenue [...]
London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has warned that high-earning bankers are leaving the capital because of the super tax which has been introduced by the Government. In the recent Pre-Budget Report (PBR), UK Chancellor Alistair Darling confirmed there would be a one-off 50% tax on bankers’ bonuses paid above £25,000. The Chancellor said the banks, rather [...]
US President Barack Obama has pledged to repay taxpayers the losses they are owed from bailing out the banks as he criticised bankers for the “massive profits and obscene bonuses.” The President said: “My commitment is to recover every single dime the American people are owed. “My determination to achieve this goal is only heightened [...]
After the $700 billion (£430 billion) bailout of the banking industry, US President Barack Obama has now asked banks to do their part and increase lending to small and medium-size businesses. A meeting yesterday with executives from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup, among others, came a day after Mr Obama said he had [...]
US President Barack Obama has suggested using leftover funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to create jobs and cut the US deficit. Mr Obama told reporters that “TARP has turned out to be much cheaper than we had expected although not cheap,” and he is aiming to cut the country’s unemployment rate – [...]
According to the Commerce Department, construction of new US homes plunged 10.6% in October to an annual rate of 529,000 properties – the lowest level since April. Analysts had expected the rate to exceed the 600,000 mark. The decline in construction was led by a fall in demand for both single-family and multi-family occupancies. Meanwhile, [...]
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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