The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed some optimism among retailers for the Christmas period. Many believe the Christmas period will be no worse than last year – despite consumers being fearful of the Government’s spending cuts and unemployment. According to the BRC’s snapshot of 17 major retailers, which represents up to 51% of the [...]
Official figures have today revealed the Japanese economy grew faster than estimated in the third quarter due to stronger corporate spending. The world’s third largest economy grew by 1.1% in the July to September period, up from the first estimate of 0.9%. On an annual basis, the economy expanded by 4.5% from an earlier estimate [...]
The meeting of European finance ministers continues today with the debt crisis again to be high on the agenda. However, other issues including the EU budget and VAT are also expected to be discussed. Yesterday’s meeting ended with Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg Prime Minister and Eurogroup Chairman, telling reporters that there is no need to increase [...]
A meeting of euro zone finance ministers is taking place today to discuss boosting the EU rescue fund in light of the debt crisis that is currently eating its way into the nation. The recent Irish bailout has done little to allay fears and speculation has been mounting that other weaker euro zone economies may [...]
Known as “Mega Monday”, today is expected to be the busiest internet shopping day of the year with online shoppers expecting to spend £22 million an hour – according to shopping comparison website Kelkoo. A staggering £537 million is expected to spent today as the majority of British consumers will have just received their final [...]
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), UK retail sales grew in October for the first time in three months. The ONS said sales rose 0.5% in October on a monthly basis – beating analysts expectations of a 0.4% gain. Stripping out volatile fuel prices, retail sales grew 0.3% in the month. However, on [...]
The John Lewis Partnership, which is regarded as a barometer of British retailing, said sales rose sharply last week as Christmas shoppers took to the High Street. The renowned employee-owned department store said sales at its 28 department stores grew 11.5% to £77 million in the week to 13 November, compared with the same period [...]
Following a two-day meeting, US central bank, the Federal Reserve, has announced it will introduce a fresh round of stimulus. The move was widely expected after concerns for the US economic recovery amid low inflation and rising unemployment. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has agreed to inject an additional $600 billion (£373 billion), albeit [...]
This week has been described as “the busiest week in decades” as interest rate decisions are expected across the globe. Today, Australia and India have both opted to raise interest rates by 0.25% amid rising inflation. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lifted rates to 4.75% – a move which surprised analysts. Australia was the [...]
According to the Commerce Department, consumer spending in the US rose by 0.2% in September, after increasing by 0.5% the previous two months. The figures suggest consumers are tightening their purse strings despite very low prices. Consumer spending makes up for more than two-thirds of overall economic activity in the US. Meanwhile, personal incomes saw [...]
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS)/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) has today revealed UK manufacturing activity unexpectedly grew in October. The closely-watched CIPS/Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 54.9 in October from 53.5 the previous month. Not only was the reading the highest since July, it surprised economists who had expected a fall [...]
The Commerce Department has revealed a rise in US housing starts for the month of September, but building permits fell, giving mixed signals for the property market. According to the Commerce Department, construction of new US homes rose 0.3% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000 units – the highest level since [...]
The Commerce Department has revealed US retail sales grew 0.6% in September – this followed an increase of 0.7% in August and exceeded expectations. The rise, which was the third consecutive monthly gain, was fuelled by an increase in car sales. Retail sales figures are closely watched because consumer spending accounts for approximately two-thirds of [...]
US central bank, the Federal Reserve, has hinted it will take measures to stimulate the economy by way of buying up US Government bonds in order to lower borrowing costs. The fresh round of stimulus comes as the world’s largest economy is struggling with a sluggish recovery, low inflation and high unemployment. Furthermore, growth in [...]
The FTSE 100 received a boost today after speculation that the US Federal Reserve will provide extra stimulus to strengthen the economy. The news emerged from the Fed’s minutes from the most recent FOMC meeting, which cheered investors. The FTSE closed up 85.76 points, at 5,747.35 – its highest closing level since April 26, and [...]
Accountancy and business advice firm BDO has warned that economic growth could grind to a halt at the start of 2011 and shrink in the second quarter. BDO is therefore calling on the Bank of England to inject more money into the economy, via its quantitative easing (QE) scheme. QE, also known as printing money, [...]
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has today announced UK car sales fell by 8.9% in September compared with the same month in 2009. It represents the third consecutive monthly fall but was expected due to the withdrawal of the scrappage scheme. It follows a 17.5% fall in August. The SMMT said the [...]
Tui Travel has provided an encouraging update today, providing a boost to investors with a 4.2% rise in its share price following the announcement. The company, which is the owner of Thomson, said UK bookings had risen by 5%, while the Nordic region experienced a 16% increase. The company said it had benefited from the [...]
Bank of England policymaker, Adam Posen, has suggested injecting more cash into the economy, via the quantitative easing (QE) scheme. According to Mr Posen of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), more stimulus is required to help the recovery and to avoid a similar kind of slump which Japan experienced in the 1990s. His suggestion comes [...]
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 [...]
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