The Federal Reserve’s policy-setting arm, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), elected to keep interest rates on hold between 0% and 0.25% yesterday. Rates have been at the record low since December 2008 and the Fed has announced it will hold rates at this historic low until 2013 – suggesting the central bank is concerned [...]
Inflation in the world’s second largest economy reached the highest level in 3 years in June – suggesting that the central bank will continue to lift interest rates. Just last week, the People’s Bank of China raised rates for the third time this year to combat stubbornly high inflation. Many other central banks in Asia [...]
Statistics Korea has today announced the inflation rate has jumped to a 29-month high – driven by higher food and fuel costs. According to Statistics Korea, the consumer price index rose by 4.7% in March on an annual basis. The rate is now at the higher end of the central bank’s 2%-4% target. On a [...]
Statistics Korea has today announced the inflation rate has jumped to a 27-month high – driven by higher food and fuel costs. According to Statistics Korea, the consumer price index rose by 4.5% in February on an annual basis. The rate is now at the higher end of the central bank’s 2%-4% target. Analysts believe [...]
Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, posted growth of 3.6% in 2010 – the strongest pace since German reunification in 1990, the Federal Statistical Office said today. Export demand helped to bring Germany out of recession in the second quarter of 2009 – much sooner than many of its counterparts throughout the world. “We grew [...]
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 [...]
The central bank of Ireland has today predicted the economy will expand by just 0.2% – lower than its previous forecast of 0.8%. In comparison, the Government expects growth of 1% for 2010 as a whole, however, a further forecast is due later this month. The revised projection from the central bank comes as the [...]
Germany’s central bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank, has today lifted its growth forecast for the economy. The German economy, which is Europe’s largest, is expected to grow by 3% this year – much higher than its previous forecast of 1.9%. “More than half the decline in production triggered by the crisis has been made good,” the [...]
Iceland’s Central Bank (Sedlabanki Islands) has slashed its key interest from 8% to 7%. While a cut was expected, it was not as much as economists had forecast after inflation eased and the country’s currency, the krona, strengthened. The central bank has aggressively cut interest rates after they hit a record high of 18% in [...]
China has today taken action to honour its pledge in making its currency, the yuan, more flexible. On Saturday, policymakers pledged to make the yuan more flexible but then just 24 hours later the central bank’s website said: “There is at present no basis for major fluctuation or change in the [yuan] exchange rate.” However, [...]
Stock markets in Asia have gained today after comments by China’s central bank about its currency policy this weekend. Policymakers had pledged to make the yuan more flexible but then just 24 hours later the central bank’s website said: “There is at present no basis for major fluctuation or change in the [yuan] exchange rate”. [...]
China’s central bank has refused to bow to pressure to allow its currency, the yuan, to find its own level, after the bank’s website said: “There is at present no basis for major fluctuation or change in the [yuan] exchange rate”. The country’s currency policy has been widely criticised and its comments come just 24 [...]
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke has today said US interest rates will need to stay low in order to keep the economic recovery on track. In a testimony before Congress, Bernanke said there was a “nascent economic recovery” and said long-term recovery will depend on private sector’s demand for goods and services. Bernanke, [...]
Shares in Dubai continued their decline today following the country’s debt crisis after the stock market closed 5.61% down. Abu Dhabi lost 3.57%, while Qatar’s main index closed down 8.27%. However, in a bid to calm investors fears, the president of the United Arab Emirates has attempted to reassure them by issuing a statement saying [...]
The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, yesterday lifted its outlook for economic growth in 2010 to a range of 2.5% to 3.5%. The forecast was raised marginally from its July estimate of between 2.1% and 3.3%, indicating that the US expects unemployment to ease early next year. Currently, the US unemployment rate is at [...]
Naoto Kan, Japan’s deputy prime minister, has today acknowledged that deflation has returned to the world’s no.2 economy for the first time since 2006. The Cabinet Office said in a statement that “Japan is in a mild deflationary situation”. A short period of deflation (where prices fall rather than increase) could be a serious threat [...]
US Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, has opted to keep interest rates at the record low of close to zero and hinted that they would stay this way for the short-term at least. Despite signs of an improvement within the world’s largest economy, the Fed said that low inflation and high levels of unemployment were [...]
The Brazilian central bank has cut interest rates by 1 percent to 10.25 percent, while the move was widely expected, many investors are disappointed that the reduction was not greater with a 1.5 percent rate cut being mooted. This was evidence that the central bank has reduced their policy of monetary easing, although the benchmark [...]
Analysts have suggested that the central bank of Russia has cut interest rates by 0.5 percent following pressure from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, since the reduction came a day after Putin met business leaders who called for a reduction in lending rates. The key refinancing rate fell to 12.5 percent and the government has given [...]
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, [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
