The Government is planning to introduce new laws allowing its departments to share information on individuals and companies that owe them money. The proposal follows a review by the Cabinet Office’s Fraud, Error and Debt taskforce. Around £20 billion is owed to the Government and more than £7 billion is lost each year through unpaid [...]
Payday loans have soared in popularity over the past few years, but consumer group Which? warns they are trapping people in a ‘downward spiral of debt’. Problems start to escalate if people are unable to pay back their loan on time, with some companies charging excessively high penalties for late repayments. Which? discovered that Quid24.com [...]
There was a fall in the number of people going bankrupt in the first quarter of 2012 but more people are experiencing debt problems and many are simply unable to afford the £700 bankruptcy fee. According to the latest figures from the Insolvency Service, 28,723 individuals in England and Wales became insolvent in the first [...]
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has today published new guidelines for firms offering debt management advice or credit repair services to consumers. Complaints about debt management firms have increased significantly in recent years; 546 complaints were made to the Financial Ombudsman Service last year compared with 463 in 2010. The complaints included concern over [...]
Although stores have been forced to start their sales early this year to persuade shoppers to part with their money, nearly a third of people in the UK will go into debt over Christmas. Fifty-eight percent of this group will put more spending than usual on credit cards and thirty-nine per cent will go overdrawn [...]
Almost 40% of UK households saw their finances deteriorate in August, according to the latest Markit Household Finance Index, with the rate of deterioration faster than at the height of the recession. Worsening finances were evident across all income groups, age ranges and regions, as the survey registered the fastest fall in cash available to [...]
Germany’s Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, has said Greece is at “risk” of default if funds are not provided soon. In a letter dated 6 June to the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Minister said a new package was required as the current one is “insufficient”. “A return by Greece to [...]
Moody’s rating agency has revealed it is investigating how the UK’s biggest banks would manage business without Government support. The agency said it may downgrade the debt of its ratings of up to 18 UK banks to reflect the lower chance of a future Government bail-out. According to the agency, those at risk are the [...]
A new survey by the Bank of England has revealed 51% of households are struggling to meet repayments for credit card bills and other unsecured debts. The survey, which questioned almost 2,000 households, established 90% of respondents expect to be affected by the Government’s massive spending cuts. Almost of quarter (22%) of respondents said they [...]
The European Union’s statistics office, Eurostat, has today said Greece’s budget deficit reached a revised 15.4% of annual economic output last year - higher than the 13.6% reported in April. The revised figure, which is almost two percentage points more than originally forecast, now makes it the largest deficit in the euro zone - even [...]
Figures published by the Insolvency Service have revealed bankruptcies and personal insolvencies fell in the third quarter but nevertheless remained above pre-credit crunch levels. According to the Insolvency Service, there were 33,935 personal insolvencies in the July to September period - a fall of 3.7% compared with the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, there [...]
Portugal’s parliament yesterday endorsed tough austerity measures - designed to deal with the country’s spiralling budget deficit. Many euro zone nations have introduced similar measures as they tackle large levels of debt. The new austerity budget is aimed at trimming the deficit from 7.3% of economic output in 2010 to 4.6% in 2011. However, the [...]
Credit rating agency Moody’s has downgraded Spain’s credit rating today - just a day after unions held a general strike to protest against tough austerity measures. Like many other euro zone nations, Spain has introduced austerity measures, aimed at cutting its budget deficit, which is currently 11% of GDP. Spain aims to reduce the deficit [...]
Official figures have today revealed Japanese economic growth slowed in the April to June period, as widely expected. The economy expanded by just 0.1% in the three month period - far less than expected by analysts. Meanwhile, on an annual basis, the economy grew by 0.4% in the quarter, down from a revised 4.4% in [...]
Figures today revealed a surprise rise in Japan’s unemployment rate. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said unemployment edged higher from 5.1% in April to 5.2% in May. Analysts had expected a fall to 5%. However, the availability of jobs in the world’s second largest economy improved. The jobs-to-applicants ratio grew from 0.48 in [...]
Credit rating agency Fitch has today downgraded BP’s rating by six notches, from AA to BBB. The downgrade comes as the oil giant continues to battle to contain the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico which has resulted in the company’s shares plunging in value. Commenting on the downgrade, Fitch said it is concerned [...]
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 [...]
The Cabinet Office has today announced that the world’s second largest economy expanded by 1.2% between January and March compared with the previous quarter - marking the fourth straight quarter of expansion. The growth was boosted by exports, while on an annual basis, growth was 4.9% - however, analysts had expected growth of between 5.4% [...]
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 [...]
A year has passed since the government replaced Child Trust Funds with Junior ISAs (JISAs) but more than half of parents are unaware that they exist, according to research by friendly society Family Investments Children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 were eligible to open a Child Trust Fund and to receive [...]
PPI costs increase for Lloyds and Barclays
Lloyds Banking Group has set aside a further £1 billion to cover compensation costs for customers who were mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). Yesterday, Barclays revealed £700m of PPI costs in the 2012 third quarter increasing its total provision to £2bn. Lloyds Banking Group, which has made the largest PPI provision out of all the [...]
Bonfire Night worst day for burglaries warns Aviva
Insurance group Aviva is warning households to be vigilant over security at this time of the year, as burglaries tend to increase signficantly between Halloween and Bonfire Night. On Bonfire Night the number of burglaries increases by around 25 per cent compared with an average day, according to the company’s research. Aviva also reported a [...]
Consumer confidence hits six-month low
Although the UK has officially emerged from recession, consumer confidence fell to -30 in October from -28 in September, according to market researcher company GfK NOP. This is the lowest level of consumer confidence since April when the UK was in an economic slump. Analysts had expected the index to remain stable at -28. Respondents [...]
100,000 mortgage holders escape negative equity trap
New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reveal that the number of borrowers in negative equity fell 13 per cent to 719,000 between the first quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012. The number of borrowers paying a mortgage greater than the value of their property fell despite a further small [...]
Banking commission appoints counsel to cross-examine witnesses
The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards has appointed counsel to cross-examine witnesses during its inquiry into the collapse of Halifax Bank of Scotland. Barrister David Quest has been appointed to question witnesses in a public evidence session, as part of a sub-committee panel inquiry into the bank. Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Commission said: “This [...]
Mortgage approvals increased in September
An increase in the number of mortgage approvals in September suggests that the ‘Funding for Lending’ scheme, launched by the Treasury and the Bank of England, may be starting to give the property market a boost. According to Bank of England figures, the number of loans approved for house purchase increased by 2,103 to 50,024 [...]
Five million paid less than living wage
Five million people in the UK are paid less than the ‘living wage’ of £7.20, or £8.30 in London, according to a new report by KPMG. In Northern Ireland, 24 per cent of workers receive less than they require in order to pay for essentials and the situation is little better in Wales where 23 [...]
Commission calls for radical change in housing market
A new study by the Future Homes Commission suggests that the way homes are built in the UK is dysfunctional and needs a radical overhaul. The organisation, which was established by the Royal Institute of British Architects, believes that 300,000 extra homes could be built every year without any input from Government funding. Instead, the [...]
The UK economy emerged from recession yesterday and now leads the way in Europe according to research group Capital Economics. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by one per cent in the third quarter from July to September, the biggest rise for five years, the latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. [...]
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