Following a “candid” two-hour meeting yesterday between Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, and US President, Barack Obama, it appears China will still not bow to pressure over its currency. The object of the meeting was to urge China to revalue its currency, the yuan. The US has previously expressed dissatisfaction that China is keeping the value [...]
The price of gold continues to surge after the US Federal Reserve hinted that it is prepared to inject more money into the economy, if needed. In a statement, the Fed said it would “continue to monitor the economic outlook and financial developments and is prepared to provide additional accommodation if needed to support the [...]
US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner has reiterated that China’s currency, the yuan, is still significantly undervalued. The US has previously expressed dissatisfaction that China is keeping the value of the yuan low to help its exporters at the expense of overseas competitors. Trade groups have argued that the yuan, also referred to as the renminbi, [...]
China’s trade surplus narrowed to $20 billion (£13 billion) last month as imports surged ahead. However, August still represented the third consecutive month in which China’s trade surplus exceeding $20 billion. Imports soared 35.2% on an annual basis – far exceeding the 26.1% expected by analysts. Meanwhile, exports slowed to 34.4% on an annual basis, [...]
It appears the world’s third largest economy is cooling after official figures revealed Chinese annual GDP slowed from 11.9% in the first quarter to 10.3% in the March to June period, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said today. The reading was marginally lower than the 10.5% expected by analysts. China’s economy has been growing [...]
A report issued by the US has said China’s yuan remains undervalued but welcomed the loosening of the currency peg. The US Treasury’s semi-annual currency report, which originally was due on 15 April, comes after mounting pressure on the People’s Bank of China to make its exchange rate more flexible against the US dollar. The [...]
The People’s Bank of China has today set its currency at 6.7896 yuan to the US dollar – which is 0.3% stronger than Thursday’s level of 6.8100. The moves come as China pledged to “strengthen the flexibility” of the yuan exchange rate ahead of this weekend’s G20 summit in Canada. The level marks the strongest [...]
China has today taken action to honour its pledge in making its currency, the yuan, more flexible. On Saturday, policymakers pledged to make the yuan more flexible but then just 24 hours later the central bank’s website said: “There is at present no basis for major fluctuation or change in the [yuan] exchange rate.” However, [...]
The euro has fallen against the US dollar and the Japanese yen after Germany banned risky bets on bonds, stocks and credit protection, until March next year. The ban, imposed by the German Government, will apply to the country’s 10 most important financial institutions, and is designed to stop the short-selling of euro Government bonds. [...]
Britain’s ongoing deficit worries continue to weigh heavily on the economy and this was evident after the pound fell to a 13-month low against the dollar today. Sterling fell as low as $1.4249 – its lowest level since March 2009, before recovering to $1.4435 – down 0.7% on the day. Today, at his first press [...]
The euro continues to lose value after sinking to a four-year low of $1.2306 over the weekend, while one pound was worth €1.1702. The further fall came after fears over the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone were raised. It is feared that the tough austerity measures introduced in many euro zone economies to [...]
Despite Friday’s general election result, which failed to give any political party a clear majority, sterling has gained on the US dollar today, while London’s FTSE recovered from the sharp falls on Friday. The pound rose by nearly a cent against the dollar to $1.4865 but fell against the euro to 1.1510 euros. The pound [...]
At the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Chinese President Hu Jintao told US President Barack Obama that China is committed to yuan reform but will not be pressurised into making changes to its currency peg. The Chinese President added that while Beijing is willing to make changes, it will do it on its own terms. [...]
The ongoing uncertainty in Greece has pushed the euro to a 10-month low against the dollar as European Union leaders prepare for a two-day summit in Brussels today. The currency fell to $1.333 – its lowest level since May last year, while it also lost 0.3% against the pound to 89.338 pence. As well as [...]
Growing fears over the debt crisis in Greece continue to weaken the value of the euro and it sank further today to 1.3436 dollars – a level not seen since May 2009. Greece is currently taking action to reduce its public deficit from 12% to 8% of GDP this year. The country currently has the [...]
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 [...]
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has stunned the markets by electing to keep interest rates on hold at 3.75%. The RBA has increased interest rates three times since October and many analysts said interest rates could hit 4.25% in the short-term. Australia is one of the few developed economies not to have fallen into [...]
The pound fell this morning after quarter four GDP figures were weaker than expected. While official figures showed that the UK has finally emerged from recession in the fourth quarter, the economy only grew 0.1% – an expansion of 0.4% had been expected. The pound fell to $1.614 against the US dollar – a fall [...]
The US economy received a boost today after the Commerce Department revealed a rise in housing starts for the month of October, recovering from the slump in September. According to the Commerce Department, construction of new US homes surged 8.9% during the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 574,000 properties. The figure was [...]
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, [...]
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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 [...]