The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has today provided an assessment for the UK economy. It has revised its growth forecasts to 1.4% for the 2011 year, down from its previous estimate of 1.6%. The estimate is roughly in line with other forecasts after the International Monetary Fund recently said the UK economy [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK unemployment fell further in the three months to May. The ONS said unemployment fell by 26,000 in the three month period to 2.45 million. The latest figures means the unemployment rate remained flat at 7.7%. However, the number of Britons claiming jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) surged [...]
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has today revised its growth forecast for the economy following the earthquake and tsunami which struck in March. The twin disasters forced the country back into a recession after industrial output suffered a record drop and spending dived as consumer and business confidence took a battering. The Japanese economy, which [...]
The Federal Reserve yesterday opted to keep interest rates at the record low of between 0% and 0.25% and hinted that they will stay this way for the medium-term. US interest rates have now been at this rate since December 2008 in an effort to stimulate economic growth. The US central bank also lowered its [...]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has today published its annual assessment for the UK economy and is estimating growth of 1.5% this year, down from 1.7% in April. The estimate is roughly in line with other forecasts for the UK economy with the British Chambers of Commerce expecting growth of 1.3%, the Organisation for Economic [...]
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has again revised its forecasts for the airline industry. The forecasts have been revised on the back of surging oil prices, according to the industry body, and could force some airlines out of business. Many airlines went bust when fuel prices rose in 2008. Oil prices reached a peak [...]
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has today said the Bank of England should lift interest rates to combat stubbornly high inflation. UK economic growth is being hampered by soaring inflation, which is having a major impact on consumer spending. As a result, the Organisation revised its growth forecasts for the UK, [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK public sector borrowing was higher than expected last month, due to a decline in tax receipts. According to the ONS, public sector borrowing was £10 billion in April, compared with £7.3 billion last year. Last year’s figure was boosted by £3.5 billion by the tax [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed US housing starts slumped in April – much worse than forecast. Housing starts dived 10.6% in the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 523,000 units, analysts had expected an annual rate of 563,000. In the meantime, applications for building permits, a barometer of future home construction, also [...]
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has today reported a slump in premium air travel, attributed to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami and the political unrest in Libya and the Middle East. Passengers travelling business or first class on international routes were 2.9% higher on an annual basis in March, compared with a 7.8% rise [...]
As widely expected, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has today left interest rates in the range of zero to 0.1%, in a bid to boost the economy following the twin disasters which hit the north-east part of the country last month. The country is battling to restore calm after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami [...]
The Bank of Korea has lifted its inflation forecast for the 2011 year as food and oil prices rise. Inflationary pressures are rife in Asia and many central banks have opted to hike interest rates in an attempt to combat rising prices. The latest figures from Statistics Korea showed the consumer price index rose by [...]
Following the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami on 11 March, the Japanese Government has today downgraded its growth forecast for the economy. The twin disasters have caused billions of pounds worth of damage and is set to impact on the country’s economic growth. As a result, the Japanese Government has downgraded its assessment of the [...]
The Zew economic sentiment index has revealed German analyst and investor confidence fell more than forecast in April – the second consecutive monthly drop. The index, which measures expectations of economic activity over the next six months, plunged to 7.6 from 14.1 points in March. Analysts had expected the index to hover around the 10 [...]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has today said while the global economy is recovering, challenges remain. The challenges the global economy face are rising oil prices amid the ongoing civil unrest in Libya and the Middle East. Inflationary pressures also pose a threat to economic growth – particularly in Asia, the IMF said in its [...]
Influential think tank, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), has today suggested the UK economy recovered in the first quarter of the year after bad weather conditions led to a shock contraction in the final quarter of last year. The economy contracted by 0.5% in the October to December period after the [...]
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has today delivered its forecasts for British public borrowing, economic growth, inflation and unemployment. The independent OBR, which was set up by the coalition Government to assess the state of public finances, lowered its 2011 economic growth forecast to 1.7% from its previous estimate of 2.1%. The latest estimate [...]
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 [...]
Influential think tank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has cut its forecast for UK economic growth. The Organisation estimated growth this year of 1.5%, down from its November prediction of 1.7%. The reduction was attributed to Government spending cuts, which will hamper growth. However, the OECD described the cuts as “ambitious and [...]
The European Commission today said the 17-member euro zone economy will grow at a better than expected rate this year. The upbeat statement comes as the Commission said there are “better prospects for the global economy” and positive “EU business sentiment.” Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said the euro zone is expected to [...]
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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