The Labor Department has revealed the US Consumer Price Index, the core rate of inflation, fell 0.2% in June. The fall was attributed to a drop in energy costs and was the first monthly fall in a year. Meanwhile, the annual inflation rate remained steady at 3.6%. However, the gain in core inflation (which strips [...]
The Statistics Bureau has today revealed Japan has overcome deflation for the first time in 25 months after consumer prices rose by 0.6% last month – in line with forecasts. A short period of deflation (where prices fall rather than increase) is a serious threat to an economy because it deters consumers and businesses from [...]
The Government’s General Statistics Office has revealed consumer prices in Vietnam rose to 9.46% in March – up from February’s 8.46%. The latest rise – which is the seventh consecutive gain – will add further pressure on the central bank to lift interest rates. Inflationary pressures are rife in Asia and in the last few [...]
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 [...]
The Labor Department has revealed US consumer prices rose by 0.3% in August – fuelled by a surge in petrol prices. Petrol prices rose by 3.9% in the month, while food prices rose by 0.2% in August, after falling slightly in July. The figures were slightly higher than expected, according to Uri Landesman of investment [...]
The Commerce Department has today said US retail sales grew by 0.4% in July – boosted by an increase in car sales. The figures were much needed after two months of declines. However, the figures were less than the 0.5% rise analysts had expected. US retail sales are closely-watched as consumer spending makes up for [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed US housing starts plummeted in June – far more than expected, raising fears for the already fragile housing market. According to the Commerce Department, construction of new US homes fell 5% in the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000 properties – the lowest since October 2009 [...]
Official data from the Labor Department has today revealed that US consumer prices fell for the third consecutive month in June, by 0.1% on a monthly basis. The fall was attributed to declines in energy prices, which were down 2.9%, food prices remained flat. The fall in June followed declines of 0.1% and 0.2% in [...]
Official data has today revealed that US consumer prices fell for the second consecutive month in May, by 0.2% on a monthly basis. The fall was attributed to declines in fuel costs, after energy prices dropped sharply, according to the Labor Department. The fall in May was the biggest monthly drop since December 2008. Meanwhile, [...]
Official data has today revealed that US consumer prices fell in April by 0.1% on a monthly basis – the first decline in 13 months. The fall was attributed to declines in petrol, housing, car and clothing prices according to the Labor Department. Petrol prices fell by 2.4%, clothing costs fell 0.7%, while food costs [...]
Official data has revealed US consumer prices rose by a slower-than-expected 0.2% in January. On an annual basis, prices were up 2.6% – also below expectations. The increase was the result of a hike in energy prices, which rose for the ninth month in a row. Over the last year, energy prices have soared 19.1%, [...]
The Dow Jones index rose today on the back of positive economic data and followed gains seen over the last week. In seven out of the last eight days, the Dow Jones has risen. By mid-session in New York, the index gained 0.6% to 9,737.3 points with European shares rising in response. London’s FTSE 100 [...]
Japan’s unemployment rate has reached a record high of 5.7% in July, up from 5.4% the previous month. According to Government figures, over one million people have lost their jobs over the last 12 months, taking the unemployment total to 3.59 million, amid the worst recession in decades. However, it was recently reported that Japan [...]
The unemployment rate in the euro zone hit 9.4% in June – the highest in a decade after the number of jobless rose by 158,000 during the month, bringing the total jobless number using the single currency bloc to 14.9 million. According to Eurostat, the unemployment rate was 7.5% this time last year, showing the [...]
Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, is in the midst of its worst economic downturn since the Second World War and has been hit by a slump in demand for exports. However, recently the economy has experienced a number of positive reports pointing to an improvement within the economy. Today, however, the Federal Statistics Office [...]
British factory gate inflation fell to a 5-year low in April as raw materials costs fell at their fastest annual rate in 7 years. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), producer output price inflation fell to 1.2 percent in April from 2 percent in March, bringing it to its lowest since April 2004 [...]
US President Barack Obama suggested earlier this week that the US economy is seeing signs of progress. However, his optimism may have been quashed after figures show that the number of US citizens losing their homes soared by 44% in March. Furthermore, a survey carried out by Foreclosures.com established that 175,199 homes were repossessed by [...]
Figures from the Labor Department revealed that US consumer prices plummeted 1% in October – the highest fall since records began in 1947. This fall is seen as a sign of US economic weakness and have raised concerns of an imminent recession. The fall in consumer prices was attributed to the cost of fuel which [...]
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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