US consumer confidence fell in March after higher energy prices fuelled fears of inflation and consumers were hit by falling income expectations. The reading from the closely-monitored Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board dived to 63.4 in March from February’s three-year high of 72.0. The reading was below expectations of a fall to 65.0 [...]
The Markit Household Finance Index has revealed that households are at their most pessimistic about their finances since March 2009 – when the country was in the midst of recession. The gloomy report comes ahead of Wednesday’s Budget – when Chancellor George Osborne will unveil the Government’s 2011/12 tax and spending plans. Meanwhile, Markit’s household [...]
The latest survey from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed a severe decline in UK consumer confidence for the month of February. The building society’s consumer confidence index plunged to 38 in February – a fall of 10 points and the lowest level since records began in May 2004. The latest fall means confidence is [...]
The latest survey from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed a fall in UK consumer confidence for the month of January after rising in December. The building society’s consumer confidence index plunged to 47 in January from 54 the previous month – just 6 points above the record low of 41 and way below its [...]
A survey conducted between December and January revealed a sharp fall in consumer confidence. According to the survey of consumer attitudes, carried out by GfK NOP Social Research, confidence plunged by 8 points to -29, the biggest fall since the last recession in 1992. The research company highlights that the figure was the lowest since [...]
The latest survey from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed an improvement in UK consumer confidence for the month of December after three months of falls. The building society’s consumer confidence index rose to 53 in December, up from 45 in November – which represented the lowest reading since March 2009 – when the economy [...]
The latest survey from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed a fall in UK consumer confidence for the month of November. The building society’s consumer confidence index plunged 7 points to 45 in November – this represents the lowest reading since March 2009 – when the UK was in the midst of recession. According to [...]
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas fell more than expected in September. According to the index, house prices were 0.8% lower compared with August. David Blitzer, chairman of S&P’s index committee, comments: “While some of the bad numbers may reflect the end of the government’s tax incentive for first-time homebuyers, there [...]
US consumer confidence surged ahead in November to a five-month high. The reading from the closely-monitored Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board rose for the second consecutive month to 54.1 in November – up from a revised 49.9 in October and beating expectations of a reading of 52.5. However, while the index rose, it [...]
The latest survey from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed a further fall in UK consumer confidence for the month of October. The building society’s consumer confidence index lost just one point to a reading of 52 in October but this level has not been seen since March 2009 – when the economy was in [...]
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 European Union’s statistics office, Eurostat, has today revealed sales in the euro zone fell 0.4% in August on the month – raising fears about the strength of the economic recovery. The fall represented the first since April and was weaker than analysts had forecast. Consumer confidence in the 16-member euro zone remains low as [...]
US consumer confidence took a dive in September to 48.5, down from a revised 53.2 in August – the lowest since February 2010. The reading from the closely-monitored Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board was worse than the 52.0 economists had expected. Furthermore, the index is far away from the 90 points required to [...]
Consumer confidence in Germany, which is the euro zone’s largest economy, has surged, according to the GfK research group. GfK said its latest German consumer climate indicator forecasted a value of 4.9 in October, following a revised reading of 4.3 in September. The forward looking indicator, which questioned around 2,000 people, was ahead of economists’ [...]
British people continue to be concerned about the economic outlook after the GfK/NOP Consumer Confidence index fell for the fifth straight month in July. The index fell 3 points to -22 – the lowest reading since August 2009 – when the economy was in the midst of recession. The survey was conducted after the new [...]
The latest survey from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed a sharp fall in UK consumer confidence for the month of May. The building society’s consumer confidence index plunged to 65 last month – the lowest level since June 2009, down from a revised reading of 75 in April. According to the Nationwide, its survey [...]
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 Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has today elected to leave interest rates on hold at 4.5% after a series of aggressive rate hikes since October. While the decision was widely expected, economists say the central bank will only leave rates on hold for the short-term. Australia was the first economy to raise rates from [...]
The strength of the recovery in the world’s second largest economy should lead it to start reducing its massive debt from 2011, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF is urging Japan to increase consumption tax, while containing its growth in spending, in order to deal with its debt which currently stands at [...]
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 [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
