The Shanghai composite index has today closed at a 15-month low over concerns about rising inflation and a slowdown in the economy. The index lost 19 points (0.8%) to close at 2,364, which represented the lowest since April 8, 2009. The index is now down 32% from its high in August last year. The Chinese [...]
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) has today revealed registrations of new cars in Europe fell in May on year. According to ACEA, 1.12 million cars were registered, a fall of 9.3% on last year’s levels. European car sales also slumped in April, by 7.4% on year, but a decline has been expected after incentive [...]
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has today announced UK car sales grew by 13.5% in May compared with the same month in 2009. The SMMT said the number of new cars sold in the month was 153,095 compared with 134,858 in May 2009 – this represented the 11th consecutive monthly rise. However, [...]
Official figures from the VDA car group have revealed a further fall in German car sales. According to the VDA, domestic sales plummeted by 32% in April compared with a year earlier with a total of 259,500 cars registered in Europe’s largest car market. However, the fall was expected due to a slump in demand [...]
Official figures from the VDA car group have revealed a sharp fall in German car sales. According to the VDA, domestic sales plummeted by 27% in March compared with a year earlier with a total of 294,500 cars registered in Europe’s largest car market. However, the fall was expected due to a slump in demand [...]
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has today revealed sales of new cars grew by 29.8% in January compared with the same month in 2009, boosted by the Government’s scrappage scheme. The £400 million initiative, which was launched last May to boost the ailing car industry, pays drivers of cars at least 10 [...]
China‘s economy, which is currently the world’s third largest, saw double digit growth in the fourth quarter of 2009 and the economy is now on target to surpass Japan and become the world’s no.2 economy. The economy expanded by 10.7% in the final quarter of 2009 compared with the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, [...]
Figures published by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association revealed a rise in European car sales of 16% for the month of December. However, on an annual basis, 2009 sales were down 1.6% compared with 2008, according to the Association. In order to boost the ailing car industry, many countries have implemented a scrappage scheme which [...]
Car sales in China surpassed the US in 2009 and, as a result, became the world’s largest car and van market. The announcement comes just a day after it was revealed that China, which is the world’s third largest economy, overtook Germany as the world’s biggest exporter. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers today said [...]
Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Yizhong said China’s Government is targeting economic growth of around 8% in 2010. In a bid to boost China’s economy, which is the world’s third largest, the Government embarked on a massive stimulus package of infrastructure projects to create jobs. The stimulus package appears to have been successful [...]
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has today revealed sales of new cars grew by 57.6% in November compared with the same month in 2008, boosted by the Government’s scrappage scheme. November also represented the fifth consecutive monthly rise. July saw the first monthly rise, prior to that there were 15 successive months [...]
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has today revealed sales of new cars grew by 11.4% in September compared with the same month in 2008 boosted by the Government’s scrappage scheme. According to the SMMT, there were 367,929 new car registrations during the month as motorists continued to take advantage of the ‘cash [...]
Hopes of a recovery within the UK economy were hit today after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed a shock fall in UK industrial output in August. Manufacturing output fell 1.9% compared with July – the largest fall since January, according to the ONS. Analysts had expected a rise of 0.3%. Meanwhile, the wider [...]
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has today revealed a further rise in car sales as a result of the Government’s car scrappage scheme. The scheme, which was launched on 18 May to boost the ailing car industry, pays consumers £2,000 to get rid of their old cars and replace it with a [...]
The Bank of England has elected to keep interest rates unchanged at 0.5% today for the fifth month in a row. Rates currently stand at the lowest level since the Bank was established over 300 years ago. Meanwhile, the Bank has announced plans to increase its quantitative easing (QE) programme to £175 billion – a [...]
The China Association of Automobile Manufactures has announced strong car sales for the economy, helped by Government incentives such as subsidies to trade in older vehicles. According to the Association, car sales surged 36.5% in June compared with the same month last year, to 1.14 million vehicles. Sales reached 872,900 vehicles in June – the [...]
Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) today have provided some good news for the car industry, which has been suffering amid the economic downturn. The SMMT said “We are now beginning to see the positive impact of the scrappage scheme translate into new vehicle registrations.” The UK’s scrappage scheme was [...]
“The Big Three” US carmakers reported a slump in sales in June compared to the same month last year. General Motors (GM) said sales fell 33.6%, while Chrysler sales declined by 42%. However, Ford, which is the only one of the three not to have gone bankrupt, said sales were down 10.9% compared with a [...]
The latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have revealed that car sales in the UK fell by almost 25% in May, compared with the same month in 2008. The number of new cars sold during May was 134,858 and represents the 13th consecutive monthly fall in UK car sales. However, [...]
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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