Asian stock markets were down earlier today while European stock markets followed suit over disappointing US jobs data on Friday and fears that Hungary could suffer a Greek-style debt crisis. Earlier today, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 3.8% – its biggest daily fall in 14 months, while the Chinese Hang Seng index lost 2.3%. European [...]
Consumer confidence in Germany, which is the euro zone’s largest economy, has fallen due to ongoing fears about the weak currency and the austerity measures which many nations have implemented to reduce their debt. GfK research group said its latest German consumer climate indicator forecasted a value of 3.5 points for June, following a value [...]
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 [...]
The Trade and Industry Ministry today announced that Singapore’s economy saw first quarter annualised growth of 32.1% – compared with a 2.8% fall in the previous quarter. According to the Ministry, the growth was driven by manufacturing activity and the central bank has therefore raised its 2010 growth forecast to between 7% and 9%. The [...]
The World Bank has raised its GDP forecast for China and urged the Government to let the yuan appreciate to stop the economy overheating. China‘s economy, which is currently the world’s third largest, has led the way in the global recovery and many have described its recovery as “impressive”. In a quarterly update on China, [...]
The US dollar continued its slide today against the Japanese yen, falling to a 14-year low. The greenback dipped to 84 yen – its lowest level since 1995, due in part to the Federal Reserve indicating that US interest rates will remain low. Earlier this week, Yutaka Miura at Mizuho Securities said: “This yen strengthening [...]
The yen hit 88.23 against the dollar today – the highest level since January when the currency hit a 13-year high of 87.10 per dollar. However, while a strong yen is good news for the economy, it makes Japanese exports less competitive – but means imports are more affordable to Japanese consumers. Earlier this month, [...]
A warning from the Bank of England about the UK’s debt levels has sent sterling plummeting to a five-month low against the euro. The pound dropped as low as €1.1016 – the lowest level since April In the meantime, the pound dropped as low as $1.6134 – its lowest against the US Dollar in almost [...]
Australia, which is one of the few developed economies not to have fallen into recession like its counterparts throughout the world, has seen its currency hit the highest level in 12 months after investors are more confident about a global economic recovery. The Australian dollar rose 0.5% to AU$0.86 against the US dollar. Already this [...]
A new international money transfer service launched this week by the Post Office aims to make overseas money transfers “significantly easier”. The Post Office Overseas Property Money Transfer provides protection against fluctuating currencies by enabling customers to fix the exchange rate on money transfers for up to 12 months. Money is exchanged at competitive rates [...]
With suggestions that the UK recession may be coming to an end, sterling hit a 2009 high against the euro today. According to Reuters, sterling rose to 85.10 pence against the euro – its best performance since December. Sterling was also up against the US dollar, rising one cent to $1.6429. Sterling has been boosted [...]
As expected the Bank of Israel has left interest rates at 0.5 percent, which is a further indication that it is nearing an end to the six month easing cycle and will continue to push long-term rates lower instead. Short-term lending rates had been at a record low and other measures, such as buying government [...]
British holidaymakers are being misled into believing that a ‘commission free’ exchange means they are getting the best deal for their holiday money. Online currency provider FairFX said many Brits are unaware that the exchange rate is just as important as the commission fee in determining how much of a foreign currency they’re getting for [...]
International travellers are best to opt for the Post Office Platinum credit card, according to research by moneysupermarket.com. Debit card holders, meanwhile, are advised to choose the Nationwide FlexAccount. The price comparison website said the Post Office’s card offers free purchase protection, no overseas charges, and zero percent on purchases for three months. “This is [...]
British holidaymakers are becoming more picky when choosing a destination for their break to make sure they are getting the most for their money. Research by M&S Money found that more than a third (36%) of British tourists look at currency exchange rates before making a choice on their holiday destination. As such, the falling [...]
The pound’s rally against the euro and the dollar has not been dampened by last week’s 0.5% base rate cut, according to currency analysts. Marc Cogliatti, a currency strategist at HiFX, said the pound has strengthened almost 12% against the euro since the start of this year, despite two base rate cuts. Cogliatti said: “The [...]
The British pound plunged to a 7½ year low against the US dollar yesterday amid concerns about the state of the UK banking sector. Plummeting to below $1.40, the pound hit its weakest rate against the dollar since 2001. Analysts suggested the latest bail-out of British banks prompted a pound sell-off, whilst others blamed the [...]
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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Japanese yen falls after Minister’s comments
Last week, the US dollar continued its fall against the Japanese yen, sliding to a 14-year low. The falls led to Japan’s finance minister, Hirohisa Fujii, to say that the Government is monitoring the yen but did not suggest immediate intervention. While a strong yen is good news for the economy, it makes Japanese exports [...]