The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have revealed that the number of new cars registered in the UK in January fell 30.9% year-on-year. The continued fall highlights the fact that the economic downturn continues to have a major impact on new car sales. According to the organisation, a total of 112,087 new cars [...]
According to KPMG’s Forensic Fraud Barometer, fraud by company managers, employees and customers has increased threefold in the last 12 months. The accountancy firm found that £1.1 billion worth of fraud cases were heard at British courts last year – the second highest since the survey began in 1987. The highest level was in 1995 [...]
The euro zone’s second largest economy has unveiled a €26 billion (£23.5 billion) stimulus package in a bid to boost its economy and fight off the economic downturn. It is hoped that the plan will produce economic growth of around 1.3%. Francois Fillon, France’s Prime Minister, unveiled the package earlier today which is to be [...]
This afternoon, Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, unveiled a rescue package of £2.3 billion for the UK’s ailing car industry. The package comes after months of pressure on the Government to take action after the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) warned that the industry was “battling” for its survival. Many car manufacturers have been [...]
Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, will this afternoon unveil plans to help the struggling car industry since the economic downturn has meant that car sales have plummeted in recent times. However, No. 10 have said that the support is ‘not a bailout’ but is expected to include measures such as guarantees for loans to the industry [...]
Figures from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, have revealed that industrial output in the country fell 8.5% in November compared with the previous month. The figure, which was revised from an earlier reading, represented the largest fall since records began over 55 years ago. The global economic downturn has meant that demand for [...]
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson is set to unveil details of a loan which will kick-start lending to small businesses to help them weather the economic downturn. According to Lord Mandelson, the plans will target ‘genuine business needs‘. It is expected that Lord Mandelson will announce support for up to £10 billion in short-term loans for [...]
Research by accountancy group Ernst & Young (E&Y) has found that profit warnings by firms listed on the London Stock Exchange reached a 7-year high last year. E&Y said that the number of profit warnings by UK-listed companies was 449 in 2008, 17% higher than the previous year. The economic downturn has had a major [...]
According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the first quarter of 2008 could see nearly 300,000 people lose their jobs in Britain, making it the worst year for jobs since the early 1990s. The organisation is warning that unemployment is set to rise even more over the next 12 months, taking the [...]
With Bank of England cuts in the base rate of interest expected to continue, Brits with savings are best to invest in fixed-rate accounts to protect their finances. This is the advice of price comparison site Moneysupermarket.com, who believe that a fixed-rate ISA is the safest place for savings during the economic downturn. And with [...]
Figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed that the UK’s public finances deteriorated sharply again in November, with net borrowing rocketing to a high of £16 billion. The figure was far higher than analysts expectations who forecast £13.7 billion. Borrowing for the first eight months of the financial year now totals £56.1 billion, [...]
Figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed that in the three months to October, the number of people out of work in the UK rose by 137,000 to 1.86 million. This represented the highest level in over a decade and takes the unemployment rate up from 5.8% to 6%. Meanwhile, the number of [...]
The Bank of England has cut interest rates by 3% to 2% today, which is the lowest level since 1951. A cut was widely expected by economists and has been welcomed by many commentators who believe the reduction will help the deteriorating economy. The reduction follows last month’s shock reduction of 1.5% and a cut [...]
Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that the economic downturn continues to have a major impact on new car sales. According to the SMMT, new car registrations suffered their steepest monthly fall for 28 years, with expensive sports cars hit particularly badly. Just over 100,000 new cars were registered in [...]
Lloyds TSB has pledged to help its 600,000 small business customers by putting together a six-point ‘charter’ to help them weather the economic downturn. The bank has also confirmed it will pass on, in full, any further cuts in interest rates throughout the remainder of 2008 and the whole of 2009, the measures will benefit [...]
The economic downturn has brought with it rising unemployment across the world and a survey called ‘The Global Recession and its Effect on Work Ethics‘, conducted by IT security data company, Cyber-Ark, has discovered that today’s employees will do anything to retain their jobs. Workers are offering to double their hours and take a pay [...]
Following a review of the business, banking giant HSBC has announced it is to shed 500 jobs in the UK, as a result of the current economic conditions. The jobs will go in the bank’s retail and commercial banking units. The news comes just a few months after the bank said it was to axe [...]
Figures from the Commerce Department have revealed that consumer spending in the US fell by 1% last month, the biggest fall September 2001. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, had risen 0.3% in September. However, the latest figures show that the economic downturn is deepening. Furthermore, demand for durable [...]
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is warning that the UK will face a severe economic downturn next year. The organisation, which is based in Paris, is forecasting that economic output in the UK will fall more than any other developed country. Economic output is predicted to decline by 1.1% in the UK [...]
US banking giant Citigroup is to slash 52,000 jobs, far more than analysts had predicted. The job losses are in addition to the 23,000 staff cut already this year and the total 75,000 job losses represent a reduction of approximately 20% of its workforce, leaving it with 300,000 jobs globally. The bank, which is one [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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