The US Treasury Department has today announced it is selling its 27% stake in Citigroup this year, in what will be one of the largest stock sales ever. According to the department, around 7.7 billion shares in the bailed-out bank will be sold in stages. The stock is currently worth around $33 billion (£22 billion) [...]
Unemployed people across Europe will be given the opportunity to set up their own business with money from a new EU micro-loan fund. Up to 45,000 budding entrepreneurs could be helped by the initiative over the next eight years. The €100 million fund was announced this week by the European Union’s Employment and Social Affairs [...]
An investigation is underway at Kaupthing – the Icelandic bank which collapsed last autumn. Kaupthing, which was once Iceland’s largest bank, collapsed along with Glitnir and Landsbanki at the height of the banking crisis last year and all three banks had to be nationalised. This led the Iceland Government to seek billions of dollars worth [...]
Iceland’s economy plummeted at its fastest pace on record in the third quarter, falling by 5.7% compared to the previous quarter. However, on an annual basis the economy contracted by 7.2% – the biggest fall on record. The news comes as many economies throughout the world are now recovering as they emerge from recession. However, [...]
Bank of America is to repay the $45 billion (£27 billion) of US Government bailout funds. The banking giant received the funds at the height of the financial crisis after accepting the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The repayment of the loan will see the bank escape curbs on executive pay, which in turn, has [...]
The AA has told motorists to brace themselves for a sharp increase in motor insurance premiums. Research by the organisation found the average premium for comprehensive insurance has increased by 14% in the last 12 months, the biggest rise in 15 years. Simon Douglas, AA Insurance director, said consumers should expect to be hit by [...]
Nearly two thirds of Brits are still fuming at the banks for having caused the financial crisis, research has found. Three quarters of Brits believe banks are not genuinely sorry for their role in causing the recession, a study by consumer advice group Which? discovered. Three in five of those polled said banks have failed [...]
Stephen Green, chairman of Europe’s largest bank HSBC, said the banking industry “owes the real world an apology” for the financial crisis. In an interview with the BBC, Mr Green who is also a Church of England priest, said: “I think the change in the public perception of the industry is entirely understandable. The banking [...]
The financial crisis has made people aware of the need for businesses to take a stand on social issues and help combat inequality, an investment expert has claimed. Sir Ronald Cohen, founder of private equity firm Apex Partners, believes the credit crunch will help shine the spotlight on social investments, which use financial tools to [...]
Bankers have failed to repent of the idolatry that led to the financial crisis, the leader of the Church of England claimed this week. “There hasn’t been a feeling of closure about what happened last year – there hasn’t been what I as a Christian would call repentance,” Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said in [...]
In its second report on the financial crisis, the Treasury Select Committee has blasted authorities for failing to spot the magnitude of the crisis and for their current management of overseeing banks. Chairman of the Committee, John McFall, said “Bankers have made an astonishing mess of the financial system.” The Committee said the effects of [...]
As bank shares continue to plummet, the price of gold continues to soar, with prices last week hitting a seven month high of $953.30 per ounce. Former editor of The Times, Lord William Rees-Mogg, expects this trend to continue as investors seek to protect themselves against future shocks in the stock market. “People buy gold [...]
According to Russian business magazine Finans, Russia’s super rich have been severely hit by the global economic downturn. The magazine revealed that the number of billionaires in the country halved from 101 in 2008 to 49 in 2009. Forty-three year old technology and mining tycoon, Mikhail Prokhorov, is at the top of the list with [...]
Germany’s largest bank, Deutsche Bank, has highlighted the severity of the global financial crisis by announcing its first ever annual loss. The bank made a net loss of €3.9 billion (£3.5 billion) in 2008 following a €6.5 billion profit the previous year. Meanwhile, the last quarter of 2008 saw the biggest deficit, with the bank [...]
Figures today have revealed that Spain’s economy is in recession for the first time since 1993. Official figures from the Bank of Spain said Gross Domestic Product fell 1.1% in the last quarter of 2008, which followed on from a 0.2% decline in the previous quarter. The euro zone, as a whole, entered recession in [...]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its forecast for world growth this year to 0.5% – the lowest since World War II. Its previous forecast, back in November, was for 2.2% growth but the organisation said the “scale and scope of the current financial crisis have taken the global economy into uncharted waters”. While [...]
Official figures have confirmed today that the UK is in recession after Gross Domestic Product fell by 1.5% in the fourth quarter of last year, following a 0.6% contraction in the three months prior to that. This represents the biggest quarter-on-quarter fall since 1980. Neil Mackinnon, chief economist at ECU Group, described the GDP figures [...]
The severity of the current financial crisis was underestimated, according to the deputy governor of the Bank of England. Talking to the BBC’s Panorama programme, Sir John Gieve said the Bank was aware that borrowing was at “crazy” levels and that the cost of houses and other assets were rising unsustainably. However, Sir John said [...]
Following a review of the business, banking giant HSBC has announced it is to shed 500 jobs in the UK, as a result of the current economic conditions. The jobs will go in the bank’s retail and commercial banking units. The news comes just a few months after the bank said it was to axe [...]
The leaders of the world’s 20 major economies have met to discuss the global financial crisis. The G20 summit, which took place in Washington, saw the biggest gathering of presidents and prime ministers in nearly 10 years and brings together representatives of around 85% of the world’s economy. With the eurozone in recession, unemployment in [...]
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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