Crown Currency Exchange has today been placed into administration. Its collapse has been attributed to the downturn in the travel industry. MCR has been appointed as administrator and said it believes 13,000 consumers will be directly affected by the collapse. Paul Clark, of MCR, said that Crown had been affected by the downturn in the [...]
Standard Chartered bank has today unveiled a 10% increase in profits for the half-year ending June 30. The bank, which has a strong presence in Asia, said pre-tax profit came in at £1.96 billion during the six month period, a rise from the £1.78 billion it made in the same period a year earlier. Commenting [...]
A survey by Scottish Widows has found that the squeeze on household incomes, as a result of the economic downturn, has hit pension savings with nearly half of people in the UK saving less. According to the Edinburgh-based life and pensions provider, 41% of people saved less for their pensions – many of them blaming [...]
According to The Times, the Land Registry is to axe a further 800 jobs, on top of the 1,500 job losses it announced last October. The Registry, which has 20 offices across the country and covers England and Wales and records and guarantees the ownership of domestic and commercial property, said staff would fall further [...]
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global airline industry is improving, with both passenger and freight numbers expected to grow this year. In January, the industry body said 2009 saw the biggest decline in air passenger traffic since the aftermath of World War II. The global economic downturn had a devastating impact [...]
Online search giant Yahoo has posted strong quarter four profits but said sales continue to decline. The company said net profit in the October to December period was $153 million (£95 million) compared with a $303 million loss in the same period in 2008. However, revenue was down 4% to $1.7 billion in the quarter [...]
Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson is to eliminate a further 1,500 jobs, as it posted a 92% slump in fourth quarter profits. The company said net profit for the October to December period was 314 million kronors (£27 million), compared with 3.89 billion kronors in the same period a year earlier. The results were far [...]
US search engine giant, Google, said revenues rose 17% in the fourth quarter 2009 compared with the same period a year ago. Advertising earnings were higher at the company with revenues totalling $6.67 billion (£4 billion) in the October to December period – up from $5.7 billion a year ago. However, the figures were at [...]
Motor parts manufacturer Bosch has announced plans to close its site in Miskin, near Cardiff, in summer 2011 which will result in the loss of approximately 900 jobs. The decision follows three months of consultation and the firm has now decided to recommend complete closure of the plant and is said to be transferring the [...]
Bank Rossii, Russia’s central bank, has cut interest rates by 50 basis points to 9% – a record low and the ninth time rates have been cut since April in bid to boost demand. Russia’s economy, which is heavily reliant on oil exports, has suffered from a severe downturn but the economy appears to now [...]
Wolseley, which is the world’s largest supplier of plumbing and heating equipment, today reported a 45% fall in underlying profits in the three months to the end of October. The company has been badly hit by the housing market downturn and warned that its struggles continue after revenue slumped 13% to £3.4 billion in the [...]
British retailing giant, Marks and Spencer (M&S), has reported flat profits for the six month period to September 28 and said it is cautious about the year ahead. While profits were at the top end of analysts forecasts, profit before tax and one-off items was £298.3 million. In a statement Chairman Stuart Rose said: “We [...]
The Land Registry has today reported a rise in house prices in England and Wales in September. According to the Registry, house prices rose by 0.9% in September compared with August putting the average cost of a home at £158,377. It must be noted that the Land Registry compiles its data from completed transactions and [...]
General Electric (GE) has revealed a poor performance between the July and September period as the US conglomerate’s finance arm was hit hard by the economic downturn. The group, which is seen as barometer of US economic health, reported earnings of $2.5 billion (£1.5 billion) for the quarter, compared with $4.3 billion in the same [...]
Figures show that US consumers continue to seek out bargains amid the downturn as US discount retailer, Family Dollar, posted a 13% rise in fourth quarter profits. The store said it continues to attract budget-conscious shoppers who are looking to buy its discounted name-brand consumables. The store stocks items for under $10 and has been [...]
There is more turmoil for the airline industry today after British Airways (BA) continues to slash costs by wielding the axe on 1,700 cabin crew members and a two-year pay freeze. The airline admitted during the summer it was fighting to survive and has since been looking at ways to cut costs. BA, like many [...]
Supermarket giant Tesco has today announced a 1.5% rise in pre-tax profits for the half year to the end of August and has bucked the trend by creating 6,500 jobs in the period. Tesco, which has a 30% share of the grocery market, said pre-tax profits were £1.42 billion – up 1.5% compared with the [...]
Wolseley, which is the world’s largest supplier of plumbing and heating equipment, has today posted an annual loss due to the ongoing problems in the housing market. The company, which owns Plumb Center and Build Center in the UK, slumped to a pre-tax loss of £766 million for the year to 31 July, compared with [...]
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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