The emergency bailout for Ireland has resulted in political uncertainty after the Green Party (a partner in the Government) called for a general election. The Green Party’s leader, John Gormley, said: “We have now reached a point where the Irish people need political certainty to take them beyond the coming two months. “So, we believe [...]
Yesterday’s meeting in Brussels of euro zone finance ministers concluded with failing to convince Ireland to ask for financial aid. The Irish Government continues to reject a bailout, insisting it is fully funded until at least the middle of next year. However, the country’s financial situation was described as “our most pressing challenge” by EU’s [...]
Nobel prize winner, Joseph Stiglitz, has expressed his concern for the euro and the euro zone’s fragile recovery. Sixty-seven-year-old Stiglitz, the former chief economist of the World Bank, warned that the future of the single currency is bleak, while the region’s recovery is threatened by a series of austerity measures, which have been introduced by [...]
The Zew economic sentiment index has revealed German analyst and investor confidence plunged in September. The index, which measures expectations of economic activity over the next six months, dived 18.3 points to minus 4.3 points in September – representing the fifth consecutive monthly fall. Furthermore, the index fell much further than analysts had expected. The [...]
Credit rating agency Moody’s Investor Service has today cut Portugal’s debt rating by two notches, sending the euro down against the dollar and the pound. Moody’s downgraded Portugal’s rating by two notches to A1, citing weak growth and suggesting it may need fresh austerity measures next year to reach fiscal targets. However, in a statement, [...]
There are fresh concerns over the European banking sector after banks are scheduled to repay €442 billion (£362 billion) worth of loans to the European Central Bank (ECB) later this week. Shares in Europe hit a three-week closing low today as a result. Furthermore, shares were hit by a sharp fall in US consumer confidence [...]
Chinese exports grew by around 50% in May compared with a year earlier, according to sources, which fuelled a recovery in Asian stocks today. The figure, which is set to exceed expectations of a 32% rise, comes after China overtook Germany as the world’s biggest exporter earlier this year. Germany had held the top spot [...]
Asian stock markets were down earlier today while European stock markets followed suit over disappointing US jobs data on Friday and fears that Hungary could suffer a Greek-style debt crisis. Earlier today, Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed down 3.8% – its biggest daily fall in 14 months, while the Chinese Hang Seng index lost 2.3%. European [...]
The European Union’s statistics agency has today announced unemployment in the 16-member euro zone rose to 10.1% in April – the first time it has reached this level since the common currency was introduced in 1999. The rise in the jobless rate highlights the sluggish recovery within the euro zone. Eurostat said 15.86 million people [...]
Italy is the latest euro zone nation to introduce a three-year austerity plan worth €24 billion (£20 billion), in a bid to bring its deficit down to below 3% of GDP by 2012 – from 5.3% currently. Greece, Spain and Portugal have already implemented tough austerity measures, but they have angered workers and led to [...]
David Cameron, Britain’s new Prime Minister, has defended the former Government’s decision to keep Britain out of the euro. On his first overseas trip since becoming PM, Mr Cameron met French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, at the Elysee Palace in Paris yesterday. Today, he will travel to Germany to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Mr Cameron [...]
The euro has fallen against the US dollar and the Japanese yen after Germany banned risky bets on bonds, stocks and credit protection, until March next year. The ban, imposed by the German Government, will apply to the country’s 10 most important financial institutions, and is designed to stop the short-selling of euro Government bonds. [...]
The European Union has announced that the first tranche of financial aid will become available to Greece today. EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner, Olli Rehn, said €20 billion (£17.6 billion), from the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will be transferred on 18 May. The funds are designed to help Greece overcome its [...]
The euro continues to lose value after sinking to a four-year low of $1.2306 over the weekend, while one pound was worth €1.1702. The further fall came after fears over the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone were raised. It is feared that the tough austerity measures introduced in many euro zone economies to [...]
Shares have fallen across Britain, Europe and the US today after concerns about austerity measures in Greece, Portugal and Spain have re-surfaced. The euro also fell against the US dollar to $1.25 – the first time since March last year. The euro has already shed 12% this year against the dollar and is set to [...]
The European Commission today gave the Baltic republic of Estonia the go ahead to adopt the euro on 1 January 2011. The announcement comes at a time when many nations in the euro zone are implementing tough austerity measures in order to cut their budget deficits. A €500 billion (£433 billion) emergency rescue package was [...]
Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, is set to unveil massive budget cuts later as fears mount that the debt crisis in Greece may spread to Spain. The country’s deficit is currently 11% of GDP and Spain plans to reduce it by 4.7% by the end of next year. There have been fears that [...]
EU finance ministers have agreed a €500 billion (£433 billion) emergency rescue package, designed prevent the Greek debt crisis from spreading to other euro zone nations. The bail-out came after 11 hours of discussions in Brussels last week as fears grew for other heavily indebted European countries such as Ireland, Spain and Portugal. The 16 [...]
Despite Friday’s general election result, which failed to give any political party a clear majority, sterling has gained on the US dollar today, while London’s FTSE recovered from the sharp falls on Friday. The pound rose by nearly a cent against the dollar to $1.4865 but fell against the euro to 1.1510 euros. The pound [...]
Asian shares have fallen sharply today as fears mount that Greece’s crisis would spread to other European countries. In an interview with French newspaper, La Parisien, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, admitted earlier this week that the possible spread of the crisis was a concern. He said: “We have to [...]
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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