China is still under pressure to allow its currency, the yuan, to find its own level, in order to ease inflation and to prevent the economy from overheating. The World Bank is now urging the Chinese Government to allow the yuan, which is also referred to as the renminbi, to strengthen against other international currencies. [...]
British insurance giant Prudential has failed to renegotiate the price of its takeover of AIA, the Asian arm of US company American International Group (AIG). The deal now looks set to collapse after AIA snubbed the lower price tag of $30.375 billion. It emerged last week that the Pru, which is Britain’s second largest insurer, [...]
The euro continues to lose value as investors remain concerned about a solution for Greece’s fiscal problems. The currency fell to a record low of 1.4232 francs on trading platform EBS, while falling to an all-time low against the Australian dollar to $1.4654. Against the US dollar, it fell to $1.3459 – close to a [...]
The pound plummeted to a 10-month low today over fears of a possible hung parliament in the forthcoming election. Sterling lost 1.6% and dipped below $1.50 for the first time since May 2009 – it has already lost 7% against the dollar this year. The pound also lost ground against the euro and many other [...]
Equities markets in Europe were higher Tuesday on good news from the United States, where retail sales were reported up in August, manufacturing in the New York region saw gains and US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the recession is likely over in the US. The FTSE 100 was 0.46 percent higher to [...]
European equities markets ended higher Friday, with miners up in London. The FTSE 100 added 0.48 percent to 5,011.47 in London, while the FTSE 250 was up 0.9 percent to 9,207.89. Brokerage Man Group (LSE: EMG) turned in the best performance on the 100 with as it added 8.89 percent, while Home Retail Group (LSE: [...]
European equities markets were higher Tuesday on good economic news from the United States. The FTSE 100 was up 0.42 percent to 4,916.8 in London, whiel the FTSE 250 added 0.33 percent to 8,860.81. Pubs operator Punch Taverns (LSE: PUB) led gains on the 250 and topped a mixed travel and leisure sector as it [...]
European equities markets were mixed Wednesday, with London’s markets up slightly but others seeing declines. The FTSE 100 added 0.08 percent to 4,689.67 in London, while the FTSE 250 was up 0.19 percent to 8,370.25. Over on the 250, directories publisher Yell Group (LSE: YELL) led gainers on the index and in a mixed media [...]
European equities markets were lower Monday, with the FTSE 100 1.46 percent lower to 4,645.01 in London, while the FTSE 250 fell 2.84 percent to 8,274.09. Drug maker Shire (LSE: SHP) turned in the best performance of the day on the 100 as it added 2.21 percent and GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) also was among the [...]
European equities markets were lower Friday as investors worried about new data on US consumer confidence which called into question how fast the economy will recover from the recession. The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer confidence index was at 63.2 in August, down from 66 in July and below an expected rise to 68.5. In London, [...]
European equities markets were higher Wednesday as utilities shares were higher and most banks were higher. The FTSE 100 added 0.97 percent to 4,716.76 in London, while the FTSE 250 was up 0.59 percent to 8,351.93. Construction and engineering group Balfour Beatty (LSE: BBY) led the 100 with a gain of 8.26 percent, while over [...]
European equities markets were lower Tuesday after new data from the US Commerce Department showed that wholesale inventories in the United States dropped by 1.7 percent in June, to their lowest in nearly two years. The new figures put the economic recovery in doubt. The FTSE 100 was 1.08 percent lower to 4,671.34 in London, [...]
European equities markets were lower again Wednesday. The FTSE 100 was down 1.12 percent to 4,140.23 in London, while the FTSE 250 was 1.76 percent lower to 7,189.9. The top three losers on the 100 were all in the insurance sector, led by Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) with a decline of 8.66 percent. The [...]
European equities markets were lower Thursday after new data from the United States Labor Department revealed that unemployment was up again there in June and on a separate report that said Eurozone unemployment rose to 9.5 percent, the highest level in a decade. In London, the FTSE 100 was 2.45 percent lower to 4,234.27 while [...]
European equities markets saw gains Monday as the European Commission predicted that the worst of the economic crisis could be over in the region even though a separate report from the Commission warned that unemployment could remain high and could limit recovery. In London the FTSE 100 was 1.25 percent higher to 4,294.03 while the [...]
European equities markets were mixed Tuesday, with London markets reflecting the varied results in the rest of Europe. The FTSE 100 was up 0.06 percent to 4,328.57 while the FTSE 250 was 0.13 percent lower to 7,483.6. Telecommunications-related shares were the top winners on both London indexes as BT Group (LSE: BT.A; NYSE: BT) added [...]
European equities markets were lower Monday, with individual gainers difficult to come by on the main indexes in London, Paris and Frankfurt. The FTSE 100 was 2.61 percent lower to 4,326.01 in London, while the FTSE 250 fell 2.57 percent to 7,493.52. The five biggest losers on the 100 were all in the mining sector, [...]
European equities markets were higher Wednesday as most miners saw gains on speculation that prices for some metals could go higher in the next few years. In London, the FTSE 100 was up 0.73 percent to 4,436.75 and the FTSE 250 added 0.5 percent to 7,729.98. The five top gainers on the 100 were all [...]
European equities markets were mixed Tuesday, with most up but a few lower. In London the FTSE 100 dropped 0.01 percent to 4,404.79 while the FTSE 250 added 0.05 percent to 7,691.65. Travel agent Thomas Cook Group (LSE: TCG) saw the best result of the day on the 100 as it added 10.04 percent while [...]
Europe’s equities markets saw declines Monday as banks stocks and miners had trouble gaining traction. The FTSE 100 was 0.75 percent lower to 4,405.22 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 0.77 percent to 7,687.86. Among miners, Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC) dropped 7.7 percent for the worst performance of the day on the 250 and [...]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than [...]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. [...]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees [...]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on [...]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages [...]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit [...]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE [...]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings [...]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though [...]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A [...]
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