Exxon Mobil, which is the world’s largest oil company, has today announced profits nearly doubled in the April to June period – easily exceeding analysts’ expectations. The oil giant said net earnings rose to $7.56 billion, or $1.60 a share, against $3.95 billion, or 81 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier. [...]
Swiss banking giant UBS has today reported a net profit of SwFr2.0 billion (£1.2 billion, $1.9 billion) for the April to June period – exceeding analysts’ expectations. The news will be welcomed by many investors after the bank was among one of the worst hit victims of the credit crunch due to its exposure to [...]
The Munich-based Ifo think tank today announced confidence among German firms has returned. The Business Climate Index jumped to 106.2 points in July from 101.8 the previous month – the strongest rise for 20 years. The reading also exceeded expectations of a fall to 101.5 points. Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, contracted by a [...]
Microsoft, the world’s largest software company, has announced its profits for the April to June period and has exceeded analysts expectations. The company said profits hit $4.52 billion (£2.96 billion) for the second quarter – a rise of 48% compared with the same period a year earlier. The software giant, which released the Windows 7 [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed public sector borrowing totalled £14.5 billion in June. While the figure was slightly lower than the £14.7 billion seen in June last year, it surprised economists who expected the figure to be around £13.1 billion. Overall, Government debt stands at £926.9 billion – the equivalent to [...]
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has today announced UK car sales grew by 10.8% in June compared with the same month in 2009. The SMMT said the number of new cars sold in the month was 195,226 – representing the 12th consecutive monthly rise and exceeded expectations. However, the Society warns that [...]
The Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) has today revealed the Turkish economy expanded at a rate of 11.7% in the first quarter of 2010 on an annual basis. The figures indicate a strong recovery from a profound recession, which hit the wider global economy. Turkey’s economy emerged from recession in the final quarter of 2009, experiencing [...]
According to the Commerce Department, consumer spending in the US rose to an eight-month high in May, by 0.2% on month, suggesting the recovery is still on course. The rise in consumer spending, which makes up for more than two-thirds of overall economic activity in the US, slightly exceeded expectations of a 0.1% rise. The [...]
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed a strong performance on the High Street for the month of May – boosted by the sales of televisions in the build-up to the World Cup tournament. According to the ONS, sales volumes grew by 0.6% during the month compared with April, boosted by a [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today announced Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) fell to 3.4% in May – down from the 17-month high of 3.7% in April. While the level still far exceeds the 2% target, the drop was quicker than the 3.5% many analysts had expected. The Bank of England’s Governor, Mervyn King, [...]
Chinese inflation continued to increase last month on the back of rising house and food prices. According to China’s statistics bureau, consumer prices in May were up 3.1% on an annual basis – up from April’s rate of 2.8% and exceeding the Government’s target of 3%. A spokesperson for the bureau admitted that the pressure [...]
Edinburgh-based insurer, Standard Life, has today posted a 30% rise in sales for the first quarter of 2010 – far exceeding analysts expectations. The insurer said global sales grew to £4.6 billion in the first three months of the year compared with £3.56 billion in the same period a year ago. Long-term UK savings sales [...]
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 [...]
The Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry has today revealed a sharp rise in Japanese retail sales for the month of February, boosted by Government stimulus measures which have been put in place to encourage spending. According to official figures, retail sales surged by 4.2% from a year earlier – beating analysts expectations and represented [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today announced Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) slowed to 3% in February – slightly more than the 3.1% expected by analysts. It is hoped today’s figures from the ONS will reinforce that inflation is on a downward trend after reaching a 14-month high of 3.5% in January. Inflation has [...]
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 [...]
Hong Kong’s economy expanded by 2.3% quarter-on-quarter in the final three months of 2009 – beating analysts expectations. The figures are further proof that Asia is leading the global recovery and come just a few days after figures showed Taiwan’s economy grew at an annualised rate of 18% in the final quarter of 2009. Meanwhile, [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed that the US economy grew 5.7% in the final three months of 2009 – the fastest pace in six years and higher than analysts expectations. The US economy emerged from recession in the third quarter after experiencing growth of 2.2% and today’s figures clearly show that after enduring the [...]
Swedish budget retailer, Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), has today announced it is to open 240 new stores this year in Europe, Asia and the US after it posted a better than expected 21% rise in Q4 profits. The fashion chain also said it was about to enter the Israeli market, with outlets in Tel Aviv, [...]
The Munich-based Ifo think tank today announced that confidence among German firms has risen to its highest level in 18 months. The Business Climate Index rose for the tenth consecutive month from 94.6 in December to 95.8 in January – exceeding analysts expectations. In the meantime, business expectations, which form part of the index, increased [...]
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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