The bank of England is expected to launch another round of quantitative easing (QE) this week, in the hope of preventing the UK falling into another recession, after the economy contracted by 0.2 per cent at the end of last year. The bank is likely to pump at least £50 billion into the economy by [...]
The economic gap between cities doing relatively well during the economic downturn and those that have been hard hit by the recession, is expected to widen. A report by the Centre for Cities, a research and policy organisation focused on improving the economic performance of UK cities, suggests that a combination of weak growth in [...]
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has today raised key interest rates for the thirteenth time since March 2010, in a bid to tame stubbornly high inflation. The central bank lifted its main rate to 8.5% from 8.25% as inflation soars on the back of higher food and fuel prices and the measures were widely [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK public sector net borrowing fell last month. According to the ONS, public sector net borrowing came in at a lower than expected £14.1 billion in September, boosted by tax receipts. Analysts had expected borrowing to total £14.5 billion. Furthermore, the ONS revised down the borrowing [...]
The latest survey from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed a fall in UK consumer confidence for the month of September. The building society’s consumer confidence index fell for the fourth consecutive month, falling by 3 points to 45 in September – hovering dangerously close to the all-time low of 41. Furthermore, it is 10 [...]
Minutes of the Bank of England’s October 5-6 meeting have been released today and have revealed all nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to keep interest rates at the historic low of 0.5%. This was the third consecutive month that the Committee voted unanimously to keep rates at the record low, despite [...]
Leading think tank, the Ernst & Young Item Club, has warned that growth within the UK economy is “grinding to a halt” because of the euro zone debt crisis. The Item Club also warned that the quantitative easing (QE) measures, announced recently by the Bank of England, are unlikely to boost the recovery. Its comments [...]
Figures today revealed India’s wholesale price inflation eased to annual rate of 9.72% last month, down from August’s rate of 9.78%. However, the rate is still significantly above the central bank’s target of between 4% and 5% and represented the tenth consecutive month that inflation has been above the 9% mark. Stubbornly high inflation has [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK trade deficit narrowed in August as export values hit an all-time high and imports fell. The goods trade gap shrank to £7.77 billion in August from £8.15 billion the previous month, said the ONS. Total exports of goods reached £25.5 billion, led by fuels [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK factory output fell 0.3% in August on a monthly basis. The reading was worse than economists had expected and confirm weak prospects for the economy after the figures suggest a poor start to the third quarter. On an annual basis, meanwhile, factory output was 1.5% [...]
According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), more public sector job losses are being axed than originally forecast. The employers group said 610,000 jobs in the sector will be lost between 2010/11 and 2015/16 – one third more than the 410,000 the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) originally predicted. The group is [...]
According to the Labor Department, the world’s largest economy added 137,000 new jobs last month, as the public sector cut 34,000 jobs. According to the Labor Department, the private-sector numbers benefited from the return of around 45,000 Verizon workers who had fallen off payrolls in August due to a strike. Excluding those workers, payrolls increased [...]
Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, believes Britain is in the midst of the “most serious financial crisis ever”. The Governor was speaking after the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) elected to keep interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5%. Interest rates have now been at this low level since [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has today elected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5%, as widely expected. Interest rates have now been at this low level since March 2009 – when the economy was in the midst of recession. Recent figures show the economy [...]
According to housing intelligence group, Hometrack, house prices in England and Wales fell in September – the 15th consecutive monthly fall. According to Hometrack, house prices dipped by 0.1% in September on a monthly basis and are 3.5% lower on the year. Hometrack attributes the ongoing trend to weak demand for housing on the uncertainty [...]
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is calling on the Government to launch new initiatives to boost the ailing housing market, suggesting it could help economic growth. The business lobby group wants Chancellor George Osborne to launch the fresh initiatives in his autumn statement, which will be delivered later this year. In a speech to [...]
Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, has warned that the world’s largest economy is facing a national crisis due to its high unemployment rate, which currently stands at 9.1%. Earlier this month, the US Labor Department revealed the economy added no new jobs last month, which was a surprise after markets had expected 70,000 new jobs. [...]
At a speech at the insurers Lloyd’s of London, Chancellor George Osborne has admitted that recent weak economic data had led to a downgrade in growth. Speaking at the dinner in London, the Chancellor said: “We warned repeatedly that the recovery would be choppy.” However, despite the sluggish economic recovery, the Government is sticking with [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK factory output shrank by 0.2% in July after a flat reading the previous month. The reading was worse than economists had expected and confirm weak prospects for the economy after the figures suggest a poor start to the third quarter. The fall was attributed to [...]
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS)/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) has today revealed UK manufacturing activity contracted at the fastest pace in more than two years in August. The closely-watched CIPS/Markit manufacturing PMI fell to 49.0 last month from an upwardly revised 49.4 in July. The latest figure means the index remains [...]
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, [...]
Younger generation shunning credit cards
Consumers are shunning credit cards in favour of debit cards, digital payment and payday loans, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Although UK households paid off some unsecured debts in 2011, the average debt was around £7,900 at the end of the year. The Ernst & Young Item Club has also reported a [...]
Bank of England to launch £50bn economic stimulus
The bank of England is expected to launch another round of quantitative easing (QE) this week, in the hope of preventing the UK falling into another recession, after the economy contracted by 0.2 per cent at the end of last year. The bank is likely to pump at least £50 billion into the economy by [...]
3.19% five-year fixed mortgage launched
Chelsea Building Society has launched a five-year fixed-rate mortgage at 3.19 per cent. The deal is available on a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) of 70% with a fee of £1,495. The building society’s product manager Jemma Smith said the product “is the lowest five-year fixed-rate mortgage ever to come to the market which is great for [...]
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