The Commerce Department has revealed US economic growth for the third quarter grew by an annualised 2%. The rate of growth was slightly higher than the 1.7% reported in the previous quarter and came despite rising unemployment and a weak housing market. Meanwhile, compared with the second quarter, the US economy grew by 0.5% between [...]
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 today announced the US trade deficit widened in August by 8.8% to $46.6 billion (£29 billion), from $42.58 billion in August. Economists had expected a $44.5 billion gap. According to the Commerce Department, the widening in the trade deficit was primarily due to record imports from China. Imports from China rose 6.1% [...]
According to the Commerce Department, consumer spending in the US improved in August, despite households being squeezed amid higher unemployment. Consumer spending, which makes up for more than two-thirds of overall economic activity in the US, rose 0.4% – the same as July’s figure and higher than the 0.3% expected by analysts. In the meantime, [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed the US economy grew by an annualised 1.7% in the April to June period – slightly higher than the previous estimate of 1.6%. This figure is the third and final estimate for the second quarter and the upward revision was due to a higher rate of consumer spending, which [...]
The Commerce Department has today announced a rise in US retail sales – the second consecutive monthly gain. Retail sales grew by 0.4% in August to a five-month high – better than analysts had expected. Sales were boosted by clothing and fuel. However, car sales fell 0.7% in the month after growing strongly over recent [...]
The Commerce Department today announced the US trade deficit narrowed in July by 14% to $42.8 billion (£27.8 billion) from $49.90 billion the previous month. The figure is much improved from June’s figure when the trade gap reached a 20-month high. According to the Commerce Department, the narrowing in the trade deficit was primarily due [...]
The Commerce Department today announced the US trade deficit widened in June to $49.90 billion (£31.8 billion) – the highest level in 20 months and much higher than the $42.2 billion most economists had expected. According to the Commerce Department, the further widening in the trade deficit was primarily due to rising imports from China [...]
Official figures have revealed the world’s largest economy experienced annualised growth of 2.4% in the April to June period, according to the US Commerce Department. The figure came in slightly below expectations but it is the first of three estimates and could be revised up or down in the next few months. However, the growth [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed a rise in sales of new homes in the US for the month of June. However, the rate of sales was the second slowest since records began in 1963. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales rose to an annual rate of 330,000 units from a revised [...]
The Commerce Department today announced retail sales fell by 0.5% in June – the second consecutive monthly fall after a downwardly revised 1.1% fall in May. Sales were hit by a decline in sales of petrol and cars and were slightly worse than the 0.2% fall expected by analysts. Meanwhile, on an annual basis, sales [...]
The Commerce Department today announced the US trade deficit widened in May to $42.3 billion (£28 billion) – an 18-month high. Most economists had expected the deficit to fall to $39.4 billion. The trade gap for goods and services grew 4.8% from $40.3 billion in April, the Commerce Department said. The figures showed that imports [...]
According to the Commerce Department, consumer spending in the US rose to an eight-month high in May, by 0.2% on month, suggesting the recovery is still on course. The rise in consumer spending, which makes up for more than two-thirds of overall economic activity in the US, slightly exceeded expectations of a 0.1% rise. The [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed the US economy grew by an annualised 2.7% in the January to March period – slightly lower than the 3.2% previously estimated. This figure is the third and final estimate and the downward revision was due to a slower rate of business investment and consumer spending. However, it still [...]
The Commerce Department has revealed a record fall in sales of new homes in the US for the month of May. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales fell by 32.7% on year to an all-time low of 300,000 units – the lowest since records commenced in 1963. However, a fall was expected [...]
Figures at the end of last week revealed mixed messages for the US economy with an unexpected fall in retail sales and a rise in consumer confidence. Firstly, the Commerce Department revealed a 1.2% fall in retail sales for the month of May. The fall was the first in eight months and analysts had expected [...]
The Commerce Department today announced the US trade deficit widened to $40.3 billion (£27.5 billion) in April – a 16-month high. The deficit was slightly lower than the $41.3 billion the market had forecast. According to official figures, imports totalled $189.1 billion – down 0.4% on the previous month. Meanwhile, exports were worth $148.8 billion [...]
The Commerce Department reported a rise in US factory orders, suggesting the US economy is continuing to grow strongly. According to the Commerce Department, orders for manufactured goods grew 1.2% in April, easing slightly from the 1.7% rise in March. The manufacturing sector has been one of the strongest performers, boosted by the recovery in [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed US housing starts soared in April, boosted by the expiration of a Government tax credit, which ended last month. According to the Commerce Department, construction of new US homes rose 5.8% in the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 672,000 properties – the highest since October 2008. [...]
Official figures have revealed the world’s largest economy continued its strong recovery after annualised growth of 3.2% was recorded in the first three months of 2010, according to the US Commerce Department. However, the figure is the first of three estimates and could be revised up or down in the next few months. The figures [...]
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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