Industrial production in the euro zone increased for the third month in a row in May. Industrial output rose by 0.9% from April and was 9.4% higher than in May 2009, according to European Union statistics agency Eurostat. However, the figures missed forecasts of a 1.3% monthly rise and an 11.3% annual gain. “May’s euro [...]
EU’s statistics agency Eurostat today revealed the euro zone economy grew by 0.2% in the January to March period – unrevised from the previous estimate. However, Eurostat also announced that the euro zone economy actually expanded by 0.1% in the October to December period last year, against its previous estimate of zero growth. Consequently, the [...]
Figures published today by the European Union’s statistics office, Eurostat, have revealed a poor quarter one performance for many euro zone nations. According to Eurostat, Greece’s debt-ridden economy contracted by 0.8% in first three months of the year, while Spain just emerged from recession with 0.1% growth. Meanwhile, France grew by just 0.1%, slowing from [...]
Industrial production in the euro zone exceeded expectations again in February, posting growth of 0.9% from January, while on an annual basis, output rose 4.1% – the biggest rise since April 2008. The figures were a surprise since economists had predicted a monthly gain of 0.2% and an annual rise of 2.9%, according to a [...]
Industrial production in the euro zone exceeded expectations in January, posting growth of 1.7%, which represented the biggest monthly increase since records began in January 1990. The increase boosted hopes that the 16-member bloc’s economic recovery is gathering pace. It was recently revealed the euro zone economy grew by just 0.1% in the fourth quarter [...]
Eurostat has today revealed retail sales in the euro zone were unchanged in December from January. The figures disappointed analysts who had expected a 0.4% rise in which is traditionally the busiest month of the year for retailers. The latest figures highlight the fragile state of the economy and weak consumer demand. On an annual [...]
Consumer prices in the euro zone rose for the first time in seven months in November, according to figures released today by Eurostat. Prices rose by 0.6% in the 12 months to November after a 0.1% decline in October. It is welcome news for the economy after analysts feared that the 16-nation euro zone was [...]
Official figures from Eurostat have revealed a 5.8% fall in exports in August in the euro zone compared with July. However, imports fell by a more modest 1.3%, suggesting a slump in global and internal demand and raises fears about a recovery in the region. As exports fell by more than imports, the euro zone [...]
The European Union’s Eurostat agency has today revealed that the euro zone economy contracted by 0.2% in the April to June period – revised from the 0.1% previously reported. The figures are a major setback to the economy suggesting that the economy, as a whole, may not be exiting recession in the third quarter as [...]
The unemployment rate in the euro zone hit 9.6% in August – the highest in over a decade after the number of jobless rose by 165,000 during the month, bringing the total jobless number using the single currency bloc to 15.17 million. The 10-year high comes despite the fact that many euro zone economies emerged [...]
Eurostat today announced that consumer prices fell in the euro zone in September by a faster rate than they had in the previous month. Furthermore, prices fell further than had been expected by economists after Eurostat said the inflation rate fell to -0.3% in the 12 months to September, from -0.2% in the year to [...]
A slight dip in retail sales has been reported in the euro zone for July said Eurostat, but a rise has been reported in economic activity, according to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). According to Eurostat, retail sales in July fell 0.2% compared with June, dragged down by lower sales of food and drinks. [...]
There are tentative signs that the manufacturing sector in the euro zone may be emerging from recession after a rise in industrial orders has been reported for the month of June. According to Eurostat, the European statistics agency, new orders (a key indicator of industry’s future growth) rose by 3.1% during the month when compared [...]
The unemployment rate in the euro zone hit 9.4% in June – the highest in a decade after the number of jobless rose by 158,000 during the month, bringing the total jobless number using the single currency bloc to 14.9 million. According to Eurostat, the unemployment rate was 7.5% this time last year, showing the [...]
There was more bad news for the struggling euro zone today with the news of a fall in retail sales in May. According to Eurostat, retail sales in the euro zone fell 0.4% month-on-month – analysts had expected a fall of 0.1%. Meanwhile, on an annual basis, the fall was 3.3% – again worse than [...]
The European Central Bank (ECB) has today elected to keep interest rates at 1% as widely expected. In an effort to boost the struggling economy, the ECB has cut rates seven times since October when rates stood at 4.25%. Elsewhere in Europe, Sweden lowered interest rates to 0.25% – the lowest level since records began [...]
Figures from the Eurostat agency have revealed that the unemployment rate in the 16-nations that share the European single currency rose from 9.3% in April to 9.5% in May – the highest rate since 1999. Economists had forecast a rise to 9.4%. According to Eurostat, 15 million people were out of work in May, up [...]
There are fears for the euro zone today after official figures revealed that the area is heading for a period of deflation. A short period of deflation (where prices fall rather than increase) could be a serious threat to the economy because it deters consumers and businesses from spending in expectation of falling prices. Eurostat [...]
Figures from Eurostat have revealed a sharp fall in European industrial orders for the month of December. The official figures show that new industrial new orders in the euro zone fell 5.2% compared with November and 22.3% compared with December 2007. The drop was attributed, in part, to fewer orders for machinery and electronic equipment. [...]
Figures from the EU’s statistical agency, Eurostat, have revealed that retail sales in the euro zone area fell again last month. Retail sales in December fell 1.6% compared with a year earlier. Meanwhile, November’s figure was revised downwards to show a bigger fall than expected. Eurostat revised down November sales to a 2.6% annual fall [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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