The UK’s economy will take five and a half years to recover to pre-recession levels according to Martin Weale, a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. Speaking to the National Institute of Social and Economic Research, Mr Weale said that the recovery “unusually slow” and indicated that the Bank could enact more [...]
Britain’s banks are warning that ring-fencing their retail activities, to protect against investment banking losses, could endanger the UK economy because of the cost involved. A ring-fencing proposal will form part of the Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB’s) final report, due out in September. However, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), the proposed reform [...]
Influential think tank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has today said the global economic recovery is slowing faster and has therefore revised its growth forecast downwards for the G7 leading economies. However, the think tank has said a return to recession is unlikely but “great uncertainty” remains. It has therefore slightly revised [...]
The reported decline in UK unemployment figures last month gave sterling an extra boost, pushing the euro/sterling rate towards the €1.20 mark, exchange rate analysts observed. Unemployment fell to 7.8% in June, down from 8.0% in April. Exchange rate specialist Caxton FX said the rise in employment shows employers are willing to recruit, and represent [...]
Respected economic forecaster, Ernst & Young ITEM Club, sees the prospects for the UK’s economic recovery remaining poor this year, with output growth likely to be about 1%. In its latest “Outlook for Business” report, the firm’s analysts describe world output and trade as “recovering rapidly” and maintain their view that exports and other sources [...]
The full extent of UK mortgage fraud in the lead up to the credit crisis is probably as yet unknown and signs of economic recovery have prompted the National Fraud Authority (NFA) to remind lenders that they must continue to combat the crime. According to the NFA, almost £144 billion was loaned in mortgages in [...]
Having studied the latest figures from the Insolvency Service, Grant Thornton is predicting a glut of company failures in England and Wales during 2010. Last year saw a record 4,161 companies placed in administration (up 1.7% on 2008) and the accountancy firm warns: “There is no light at the end of the tunnel for troubled [...]
Speaking today at the annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Prime Minister Gordon Brown told business leaders that in order to sustain economic recovery, financial stimulus measures will be kept in place for as long as necessary. The PM warned that economic recovery would be put at risk if official support was [...]
US light crude hit $74.49 (£45) a barrel by afternoon in Europe today – after reaching $74.81, its highest intra-day price in ten months, on the back of increasing demand. Meanwhile, London’s Brent crude was 16 cents higher to $74.35 a barrel. This resulted in stock rising in BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group and [...]
Homeowners will be forced to “scramble around” for good value fixed-rate mortgages in the future as interest rates “fly up”, an industry expert has warned. Jacqueline Thornton, financial planner at Re-Financial Planning, said householders that are currently happy to benefit from currently low-priced standard variable rate mortgages will struggle to find a reasonably priced fixed-rate [...]
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) warned this week that the UK’s economy will not start recovery until 2011. Stephen Hester, chief executive, expects unemployment to continue rising. The journey to economic recovery will be a “marathon” rather than a “sprint”, Hester said. “I believe we are coming out of the problems but when we [...]
Five trillion dollars that has been allocated to sustainable investing strategies could form the core of an economic recovery, two financial experts have predicted in a book released this week. Cary Krosinsky, vice president of Trucost Plc, and Nick Robins, head of the HSBC Climate Change Centre for Excellence, estimate that sustainable investing funds – [...]
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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