The Ministry of Finance has today revealed Japan posted its first trade deficit since March 2009 in January, due to slower exports. The world’s third largest economy posted a trade deficit of 471.42 billion yen (£3.52 billion) in January, with exports rising just 1.4% – analysts had forecast a rise of closer to 7%. Meanwhile, [...]
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has today revealed uncertainty surrounding the economy means buyers and sellers remain cautious. As a result, the housing market has got off to a slow start in 2011 as buyer demand remains weak and supply levels remain low. However, the Institution said new buyer enquiries picked up in [...]
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has today revealed activity in the UK housing market fell in December as heavy snowfall gripped most of the country during the month. The Institution said new buyer enquiries were down, while new instructions from vendors fell to an 18-month low. Uncertainty surrounding the economy and the ongoing [...]
The reporting season for US banks has got off to a flying start after JPMorgan announced income surged 47% in the fourth quarter. Fourth-quarter profit increased to $4.8 billion, or $1.12 a share, from $3.3 billion, or 74 cents a share, compared with the year ago period. Analysts expected $1 a share. Meanwhile, revenue grew [...]
A report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG has revealed employment for both temporary and permanent workers rose during December. The survey of 400 recruitment consultancies showed permanent staff vacancies rising at their fastest level in four months, while demand for temporary staff saw its biggest rise in six months. However, the [...]
The Halifax has today revealed UK house prices fell by 1.3% last month compared with November. The latest house price fall takes the average cost of a UK home to £162,435, the Halifax said. According to the lender, which is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, house prices are now 1.6% lower than a year [...]
The latest house price index from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed a 0.4% rise for the month of December compared with November. The latest rise means house prices are now just 0.4% higher than this time last year with the average UK home costing £162,763. Commenting on the figures, Nationwide’s chief economist Martin Gahbauer, [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) is predicting that the housing market will remain subdued in 2011, due to uncertainty surrounding the economy and the ongoing mortgage rationing by lenders. Over recent times, demand has been weak as many buyers have adopted a “wait and see” approach as uncertainty continues to surround the economy and [...]
Property website, Rightmove, has today reported a further fall in asking prices in December. According to Rightmove, asking prices for residential property in England and Wales fell 3% – or £7,000 in the last month – the biggest drop since December 2007. The property website, which claims to advertise 90% of the properties on the [...]
The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) December industrial trends survey today revealed further good news for the sector after overseas demand surged to a 15-year high. The pound gained following the news which revealed firms experiencing above normal demand from overseas was 4% – a significant improvement on the previous month’s -7% and the highest [...]
German carmaker, Volkswagen (VW), has today announced it will increase headcount by around 50,000 in the medium-term due to considerably high sales growth in numerous markets. VW’s Personnel Director, Horst Neumann, told the German newspaper, Handelsblatt: “We have around 400,000 workers around the world today. With pursued growth in many markets, we could reach a [...]
Government data has today revealed a further slowdown in Japanese exports in October. Not only were the figures below expectations but they grew at their slowest pace this year, as the strong yen continues to weaken demand for exports and threatens the economic recovery. Exports grew 7.8% in October – way below the 14.3% reported [...]
The recovery of Europe’s largest economy appears to be on track after Germany’s Statistics Office, Destatis, said growth in the July to September period was 0.7% – confirming an earlier estimate this month. A third and final estimate for the quarter will be available later this year. On an annual basis, the German economy grew [...]
Barratt Developments is the latest housebuilder to report a slowdown in the housing market as buyer demand continues to fall. The group’s chief executive, Mark Clare, said the traditional autumn period has been “weaker than anticipated”. Government spending cuts, and the uncertainty surrounding the economy, have also had a major impact as buyers adopt a [...]
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) today reported the lack of buyers continue to weaken house prices. In its latest survey, it found that new buyer enquiries declined for the fifth month in a row as the housing market continued to slow amid the uncertain economic climate. Many potential buyers have said they remain [...]
An industry report published yesterday revealed a pick up in US manufacturing activity, due to increasing demand from exports. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its latest index of national factory activity grew to 56.9 in October, from 54.4 the previous month. The reading represented the highest since May and surprised analysts who had [...]
According to a survey from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), small manufacturers are expecting to increase production in order to meet higher demand. The CBI survey, which questioned 382 businesses, established that a balance of 19% of firms expect to raise output – higher than the 9% balance in the previous three months, According [...]
According to housing intelligence group, Hometrack, house prices in England and Wales fell for the fourth consecutive month in October. According to Hometrack, house prices fell by 0.9% on the month in October to £156,200 – the lowest level since September 2009. The ongoing fall in values continues to be the result of a high [...]
Firefighters will go ahead with industrial action over the crucial bonfire night weekend after talks collapsed between the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and the London Fire Authority yesterday. The strike, which will take place from 10am on November 5 to 9am on November 7, incorporates Bonfire Night – the fire service’s busiest period. Members embarked [...]
Government data has today revealed a further slowdown in Japanese exports in September. While the figures exceeded expectations, exports still grew at their slowest pace this year, as the strong yen weakens demand for exports and threatens the economic recovery. Exports rose 14.4% in September to 5.84 trillion yen on an annual basis – well [...]
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, [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
