EU leaders are travelling to Brussels for an emergency summit – the 14th in 21 months – designed to tackle the euro zone debt crisis. The summit will also see leaders discuss Greece’s second bailout, as well as boosting the €440 billion rescue fund. There are still growing fears that Greece’s debt crisis could spread [...]
Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has today downgraded Italy’s sovereign debt by one notch to A from A+, and kept it on a negative outlook. The agency cited weak economic growth prospects, which may impact on the country’s ability to reduce its deficit. The Italian Senate recently passed a tough austerity budget, which [...]
Euro zone leaders met in Brussels yesterday and have agreed a further €109 billion (£96.3 billion) bailout for debt-laden Greece. A further €135 billion will come from the private sector during the next three decade, which will include a debt buy-back programme. Stock markets have risen today following the news with the Japan’s Nikkei closing [...]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned euro zone policymakers to take immediate action to prevent the debt crisis spreading outside Europe. The warning comes as Spain’s borrowing costs rose to a 9-year high today as fears continue to grow over the debt crisis in the euro zone. There are fears that Spain, which is [...]
Fears for Italy becoming the next victim of the euro zone debt crisis sent stocks down today. The euro dived to a record low against the Swiss franc and fell to a four-month low against the Japanese yen. An emergency meeting took place today in Brussels as EU officials met to discuss the ongoing debt [...]
European stocks were lower today after it emerged that top EU officials are meeting in Brussels to discuss the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone. Germany’s DAX 30 lost 0.68% to 7,352.73, while France’s CAC 40 was down 0.89% to 3,878.60. London’s FTSE was 0.2% lower at 5,977.31. The meeting has been arranged as [...]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has today warned that the euro zone debt crisis could still spread, despite bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal. A report by the IMF said: “Contagion to the core euro area, and then onwards to emerging Europe, remains a tangible downside risk.” There are already further fears for Greece after [...]
A meeting of euro zone finance ministers will take place today to discuss enlarging the effective capacity of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). The move comes after speculation mounts that weaker euro zone nations will need to tap the facility for emergency funds. Portugal and Spain are both under scrutiny and face pressure to [...]
European Union leaders are to meet in Brussels today to discuss the necessary action to avoid the debt crisis spreading to weaker euro zone nations, such as Portugal, Spain and Belgium. The two-day summit will see leaders back the permanent crisis-resolution mechanism from 2013 – a deal struck last month by EU finance ministers. They [...]
The meeting of European finance ministers continues today with the debt crisis again to be high on the agenda. However, other issues including the EU budget and VAT are also expected to be discussed. Yesterday’s meeting ended with Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg Prime Minister and Eurogroup Chairman, telling reporters that there is no need to increase [...]
A meeting of euro zone finance ministers is taking place today to discuss boosting the EU rescue fund in light of the debt crisis that is currently eating its way into the nation. The recent Irish bailout has done little to allay fears and speculation has been mounting that other weaker euro zone economies may [...]
Fears have been mounting for Spain and Portugal over recent days as borrowing costs surge but spreads on Italian and Belgian bonds have now risen as Ireland’s bailout does little to reassure the markets. The euro continues to slide, hitting a two-month low of $1.31, while London’s FTSE dived nearly 118 points to 5,550. Nick [...]
Fears of contagion were raised again today after Spain’s borrowing costs surged to 5.330% from 5.148% – an eight-year high. Markets are nervous about the current euro zone situation and fears are growing that Spain and Portugal could be next in line for a bailout as yields on 10-year bonds rise to dangerous levels – [...]
The euro has today hit a fresh low despite news that Ireland’s rescue package has been signed off. The single currency dipped to $1.3181 – its lowest level since late September – as investors digested the news of Ireland‘s bailout. Full details of the rescue package, which is worth €85 billion (£72 billion), will be [...]
Portugal came to a standstill today after its biggest strike in more than 20 years as workers protested against the Government’s austerity measures. The Government has introduced massive spending cuts and tax hikes, which are currently being pushed through parliament. They are aimed at bringing the budget deficit down to 4.6% next year, from the [...]
EU finance ministers have agreed a €500 billion (£433 billion) emergency rescue package, designed prevent the Greek debt crisis from spreading to other euro zone nations. The bail-out came after 11 hours of discussions in Brussels last week as fears grew for other heavily indebted European countries such as Ireland, Spain and Portugal. The 16 [...]
Global shares have continued to decline due to ongoing fears of contagion from Greece’s debt crisis. Asian shares fell sharply yesterday after fears grew that the crisis would spread to other European countries. Ratings agency Moody’s said European banking systems faced “very real, common threats” from the fallout from Greece. However, it seems that fears [...]
Credit rating agency, Moody’s, has today warned that the credit rating of banks in Britain, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain are at risk of being damaged because of “contagion” from the Greek debt crisis. Asian shares have already fallen sharply today as fears mount that the crisis would spread to other European countries. Meanwhile, Moody’s [...]
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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