An increase in the price of gas and electricity price at the end of 2011 is estimated to have pushed 400,000 more homes in England into fuel poverty, according to the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The new projections show that 3.9 million homes in England were in fuel poverty at the end [...]
Mortgage fees have increased by 27 per cent in just three years, according to new data from independent comparison site Moneyfacts. The average mortgage arrangement fee is now £1.502, which is £321 more expensive than it was in 2009. While residential mortgage rates have fallen over the same period, helped by a record low Bank [...]
The UK’s six largest energy companies will be required to write to their customers each year telling them if their current tariff is the cheapest one which meets their needs. Vulnerable customers, including pensioners and those eligible for assistance from the warm home discount scheme, will be contacted twice a year. The news, announced by [...]
Statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) have revealed fuel poverty continues to soar amid higher energy prices. Anyone spending over 10% of their household income on heating their homes are said to be in fuel poverty. Figures from the Department showed that the number of households in fuel poverty in 2003 [...]
India’s wholesale price index, the country’s main inflation rate, eased last month to an annual 8.66% from March’s figure of 9.04%. However, the figure was still above the 8.48% expected by analysts and comes as fuel and food prices continue to rise. The food price index increased 8.71%, while the fuel price index rose 13.32% [...]
Consumer confidence in Germany, which is the euro zone’s largest economy, is expected to fall further in May, according to the GfK research group. The market research company said its forward looking consumer sentiment index, based on a survey of about 2,000 people, will fall to 5.7 in May from April’s reading of 5.9. The [...]
US consumer confidence fell in March after higher energy prices fuelled fears of inflation and consumers were hit by falling income expectations. The reading from the closely-monitored Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board dived to 63.4 in March from February’s three-year high of 72.0. The reading was below expectations of a fall to 65.0 [...]
Official data from the Labor Department has today revealed that US consumer prices fell for the third consecutive month in June, by 0.1% on a monthly basis. The fall was attributed to declines in energy prices, which were down 2.9%, food prices remained flat. The fall in June followed declines of 0.1% and 0.2% in [...]
The Russian economy, which is heavily dependant on oil exports, is forecasted to contract by 7.5% in 2009, according to President Dmitry Medvedev. The latest official figures suggest that the Russian economy declined 10.2% in the year to August, compared with the same period a year earlier. The economy has been hit hard by the [...]
EDF this week relaunched its Energy Online v5 deal and claims to be it the cheapest energy supplier in the UK for average consumption households. The tariff undercuts British Gas by £35 per year according to price comparison site uSwitch.com. EDF guarantees the v5 package will remain at least 2% cheaper than equivalent tariffs with [...]
Figures released by the US Labor Department revealed a slight rise in US consumer prices as energy prices increased. According to the Labor Department, the Consumer Price Index rose 0.3% – the first rise in six months, following a fall of 0.8% in December. The rise is seen as positive by many analysts who have [...]
Pensioners face inflation rates 80% higher than for the average consumer because their budget only stretches to buy essentials, new research has discovered. Inflation dropped in January to 3% for the average consumer. Over 75s, meanwhile, faced inflation rates of 5.4%, according to research by the Alliance Trust. Younger generations spend more money on consumer [...]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than [...]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. [...]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees [...]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on [...]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages [...]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit [...]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE [...]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings [...]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though [...]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A [...]
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