The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas fell in February – the eighth consecutive monthly decline. According to the index, house prices were 0.2% lower in February on a monthly basis, falling to their lowest level since the 2009 recession. The S&P/Case-Shiller index for 20 main US cities fell by 3.3% on [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK unemployment fell in the three months to February. The ONS said unemployment fell by 17,000 in the three month period to 2.48 million. The latest figures means the unemployment rate has fallen to 7.8% from 8% in January. In the meantime, the number of Britons [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK’s trade deficit narrowed in February. According to the ONS, the global goods trade gap narrowed to £6.8 billion in the month from £7.8 billion in January. Analysts had expected a widening in the deficit to £8.1 million. Stripping out oil and erratic items, the [...]
Official data from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) today revealed UK house prices rose by 0.3% in February compared with January, with the average UK home costing £204,164. On an annual basis, house prices rose 0.7% – beating expectations for a 0.1% rise. The data from the DCLG is based on mortgage [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported mortgage lending increased in February. Mortgage lending rose by 8% in February on a monthly basis but was down 12% on the year. There were 32,300 approvals during the month with first-time buyers making the biggest contribution with 12,400 mortgages worth £1.4 billion. First-time buyers are [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK manufacturing output experienced a shock fall in February after recovering in January following December’s weather related fall. According to the ONS, manufacturing output fell 1.2% on the month – attributed to a sharp drop in oil and gas production. However, analysts believe the fall is [...]
Australia has posted its first trade deficit for 11 months in February after flood and cyclone disasters led to a fall in coal and agricultural exports. The Australian Bureau of Statistics published a deficit of AUS$205 million (£131 million), from a downwardly revised surplus of AUS$1.433 billion the previous month. Analysts were shocked by the [...]
The European Union’s statistics agency has today announced the unemployment rate in the 17-member euro zone fell below the 10% mark in February. According to Eurostat, 77,000 fewer people were out of work taking the rate to 9.9%. The jobless rate has been hovering around the 10% mark since last July and hit a record [...]
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has announced its Pending Home Sales Index rose in February after two months of declines. The surprise rise comes after a series of gloomy reports for the US housing market. On a monthly basis, the index rose 2.1% to 90.8, confounding analysts expectations of a fall of 1%. On [...]
The Bank of England has today revealed mortgage approvals rose in February. According to the Bank, there were 46,967 loans approved in the month, up from January’s 46,152. The level of approvals was broadly in line with analysts forecasts of a level of 46,800. In the meantime, the number of remortgaging loans approved totalled 35,725 [...]
The Commerce Department has today reported a rise in consumer spending in the US for the month of February – due, in part, to higher food and energy costs. Spending grew 0.7% in the month after a 0.3% increase in January. February’s figure represented the fastest pace for four months but this was attributed to [...]
According to the Land Registry, house prices fell by 0.8% in February compared with January, putting the average cost of a home at £162,215 in England and Wales. However, on an annual basis, the Registry said prices fell by 1.7% in February. It must be noted that the Land Registry compiles its data from completed [...]
Retail sales fell last month – by a bigger than expected 0.8% on a monthly basis, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported today. The fall followed a downwardly revised gain of 1.5% in January. Sales growth for January was attributed to heavy discounts and a rush to beat the VAT hike, which came [...]
The Ministry of Finance has today revealed Japan swung back to a surplus in February. The trade balance came to a surplus of 654.1 billion yen – after having posted the first deficit for 22 months in January. Exports rose 9% in February on an annual basis – beating expectations of a 8.6% rise. The [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed sales of new homes in the US dived to a record low last month. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales plunged 16.9% to an annual rate of 250,000 units – the lowest since records began in 1963. Analysts had expected a rate of 290,000 units. However, [...]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has today revealed a slight rise in the number of homes sold in February in the UK. According to HMRC, 57,000 homes worth at least £40,000 or more were sold in the month – 4,000 more than January‘s levels. The figures come as the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) revealed a [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has today revealed a slight rise in the number of new mortgages approved by the major banks in February. According to the BBA, the number of new mortgages approved in the month stood at 29,923 – marginally better than January’s level of 29,159, albeit lower than economists forecast of 29,350. [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK public sector borrowing was higher than expected last month. According to the ONS, public sector borrowing was £11.8 billion in February – the highest for the month of February since records began in 1993. Furthermore, the figure was far higher than the £6.9 billion expected [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today announced Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to an annual rate of 4.4% in February – the highest rate since October 2008. The latest figures mean inflation is still way above the target of 2% – where it has been for more than a year and exceeded economists expectations [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today said mortgage lending continues to hover at low levels as the housing market remains subdued. According to the Council, gross mortgage lending for February totalled £9.5 billion – relatively unchanged from January’s figure. The CML said the housing market remained “stuck in a rut” and is likely [...]
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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