According to Schroders European economist, Azad Zangana, we can expect to see a rise in VAT after the general election. In their election manifestos, the Labour Government and the Conservative party have not ruled out an increase from the current rate of 17.5%. Last month, Gordon Brown said he was leaving open the possibility of [...]
Nouriel Roubini, a leading US economist who was accurate in predicting the severity of the financial crisis, has warned “the crisis is not yet over.” Mr Roubini, a New York University professor, told the BBC yesterday of his concern that we are already “planting the seeds of the next crisis”. He comments: “I see an [...]
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called on world leaders to scrap economic growth as a measure of progress. Measuring a nation’s well-being through gross domestic product (GDP) has resulted in an economic system that is destroying more than it is creating, Sarkozy said. The president made the comments at the launch of a report he [...]
Despite recent signs of an imminent recovery within the US, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has expressed his concern for a “double-dip” recession in the world’s largest economy. Mr Stiglitz, who said he has been consulted on an informal basis by the Obama Administration to discuss economic issues, said “the prospects of a robust recovery [...]
Gerard Lyons, chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank, is predicting that interest rates could remain at historically low levels for many years to come. Interest rates currently stand at 0.5% – the lowest level since the Bank of England was established over 300 years ago. According to Mr Lyons, it is quite likely that the [...]
DeAnne Julius, chairman of think tank Chatham House, has warned that the world could face five years of economic slowdown and a 10% decline in output. Addressing a G20 breakfast seminar organised by BBC News, Mrs Julius, who was previously a Monetary Policy Committee member of the Bank of England, said there was a 40% [...]
The recent 2.5% cut in VAT has been criticised by Olivier Blanchard, an International Monetary Fund economist. VAT was cut from 17.5% to 15% from Monday, December 1 for 13 months in an attempt to boost spending. However, Mr Blanchard believes the temporary cut in VAT is not a good idea would not significantly change [...]
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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