Figures today revealed India’s wholesale price inflation rose to 9.78% last month – the highest level in a year – and significantly above the central bank’s target of between 4% and 5%. Not only was the rate up from July’s increase of 9.22%, it was also higher than expectations of a 9.70% increase. This represented [...]
Global stocks have fallen to a one-week low today with banks among the worst performers. Concerns that the euro zone may not be able to contain its debt crisis, together with fears of the US slipping back into recession sent European shares falling this morning. Deutsche Bank lost 7.3% in early trading today, Societe Generale [...]
The value of the Swiss franc continues to rise today as investors regard it as a safe haven amid the economic turmoil. Today, the US dollar hit an all-time low against the Swiss franc, while rising against the euro to 1.0917. A report from the Bloomberg news agency suggests the franc is higher this year [...]
China and the US are set to hold economic talks in Washington DC next month as the two countries endeavour to reach an agreement over currency issues. The State Department announced yesterday: “The third meeting of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) will be held in Washington, DC, May 9-10, 2011.” China has been [...]
The yuan has risen to an all-time high against the US dollar today – trading in a range from 6.5552 (a record high) to 6.5596 and up from Monday’s close of 6.5611. The currency has now risen about 4.1% since last summer and 0.2% this week alone. Beijing has been under pressure to let its [...]
The Japanese yen reached a post-war record high against the US dollar following last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. The disasters have sent global shares into freefall but the worry for the world’s third largest economy is a strong yen, which continues to weaken demand for exports. Today, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell a further 1.4% [...]
Official figures have today revealed Hong Kong’s economy grew by 6.8% in 2010 – boosted by business ties with mainland China. As a result, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary John Tsang, expects the economy to expand by between 4% and 5% this year. According to analysts, Hong Kong has been benefiting from an increasing number of [...]
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has today elected to keep interest rates on hold at 4.75% – a move which was widely expected. Australia was the first economy to raise rates from a 50-year low as the economic downturn eased. Other major economies opted for lower interest rates to boost their economies. The country [...]
The euro is continuing its slide against the US dollar over debt concerns in the euro zone. The single currency is falling as investors are nervous that the debt crisis could spread to weaker economies, such as Portugal and Spain – despite reassurances from both countries that the recent Irish bailout will stabilise the euro [...]
The Australian economy, which is one of the few developed economies not to have fallen into recession like its counterparts throughout the world, has today reported a slowing in growth for the third quarter as the rise in the dollar hit export earnings and consumers were hit by higher interest rates. Official figures revealed the [...]
The US dollar has fallen to a fresh 15-year low today against the Japanese yen and also fell against the euro. Many are calling this week “the busiest week in decades” as interest rate decisions are expected across the globe. US central bank, the Federal Reserve, could be set to provide extra stimulus to strengthen [...]
China has today hit back at the US saying it will continue to reform its currency policy – but at its own pace. The US has been pressuring China to let the value of its currency, the yuan, appreciate against other currencies. In June, Beijing loosened its currency peg and, while the move was welcomed, [...]
Japanese core private-sector machinery orders – a highly volatile series seen as an indicator of corporate spending – surged 10.1% in August – confounding expectations of a 4.5% fall. The increase in orders represented the third consecutive monthly rise, according to the Cabinet Office, and follows June’s 1.6% increase and July’s 8.8% growth. The surprise [...]
The US dollar has fallen to a fresh 15-year low against the Japanese yen today after this weekend’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting in Washington failed to resolve the currency issue. Last week, the IMF expressed its concern for a currency war and said if Governments across the world use exchange rates as a [...]
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has expressed his concern for a currency war. According to Mr Strauss-Kahn, if Governments across the world use exchange rates as a policy weapon, there could be a serious risk to global economic recovery. His comments come ahead of the IMF and World Bank annual [...]
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill, which will allow it to impose retaliatory tariffs on China. The bill passed 348 to 79 and included the support of 99 Republicans. However, to become law, the bill would also need to be passed by the Senate and then signed by President Barack Obama. However, [...]
The pressure on China to allow a flexible yuan is increasing after the US House of Representatives is ready to pass a bill, which will allow it to impose retaliatory tariffs when another nation is found to be manipulating its currency’s value. The US has previously expressed dissatisfaction that China is keeping the value of [...]
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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