The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK retail sales beat forecasts in September, led by spending on electrical goods such as laptop computers. According to the Statistics Office, sales rose by 0.6% last month, reversing the 0.4% fall in August. Furthermore, the figure was 0.6% higher on an annual basis. Retail sales [...]
The Commerce Department today revealed US retail sales grew at their quickest pace in seven months in September. According to the Department, sales gained 1.1% on a monthly basis – boosted by clothing and car sales. The figures were better than the 0.7% rise expected by analysts. Furthermore, August retail sales were revised up to [...]
Minutes of the Bank of England’s September 7-8 meeting have been released today and have revealed all nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to keep interest rates at the historic low of 0.5%. This was the second consecutive month that the Committee voted unanimously to keep rates at the record low after [...]
Debenhams, which is Britain’s second largest department store after John Lewis, has today exceeded market expectations after reporting growth of 0.4% in the nine week period to the end of August on a like-for-like basis. The retailing giant said aggressive summer discounting and promotions had helped increase its market share. The company said growth came [...]
The European Commission has today warned that euro zone growth will almost grind to a halt in the second half of the year. Its prediction comes amid the ongoing debt crisis in the 17-member region. It slashed growth forecasts for the third quarter to 0.2%, while growth for the final quarter has been revised down [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK public sector net borrowing fell last month. According to the ONS, public sector net borrowing came in at £20 million in July – down from £3.5 billion in the same month a year ago. The figure was much lower than analysts’ expectations and was boosted [...]
Official figures today revealed Japan’s exports fell more than expected last month resulting in the country’s second consecutive month of trade surplus. According to the Ministry of Finance, exports were 3.3% lower on an annual basis in July – the fifth consecutive monthly fall – and lower than forecasts of a 2.4% fall. The figures [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK unemployment rose in the three months to June. The ONS said unemployment rose by 38,000 in the three month period to 2.49 million. The latest figures take the unemployment rate from 7.7% to 7.9%. Economists had expected the rate to stay flat at 7.7% Meanwhile, [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today announced Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to annual rate of 4.4% last month after easing to 4.2% in June. Analysts had expected the figure to rise slightly to 4.3%. Higher inflation continues to be led by rising food costs – which grew by 6.2% in July, while clothes [...]
The Labor Department has revealed the unemployment rate in the US dipped in July to 9.1%, down from 9.2% in June. The world’s largest economy created 117,000 jobs last month – much better than forecasts. Analysts had been expecting an increase of 85,000, while the unemployment rate was expected to remain at 9.2%. Manufacturing, retail, [...]
Credit Suisse, which is Switzerland’s largest bank, has today revealed it will axe 2,000 jobs after unveiling poor results in the second quarter. The job cuts represent approximately 4% of its 50,700-strong global workforce. The Swiss banking giant has been hit by weak trading activity and the strong Swiss franc. Net profits dived to SwFr [...]
Wall Street banking giant Morgan Stanley has today reported a rise in quarter two revenues – beating forecasts. The US bank reported a 17% rise in revenues for the three months to the end of June totalling $9.3 billion (£5.7 billion) – up from $8 billion in the same period a year ago. However, the [...]
The US housing market remains depressed after figures today revealed sales of previously owned homes plunged 15% on an annual basis last month, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The industry body also said sales were down 3.8% on the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million units – [...]
Leading business group, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), has downgraded its growth prospects for the UK economy. The BCC now expects the economy to grow by 1.3% this year, slightly lower than a previous forecast of 1.4%. The figures are much lower than the 1.7% expected by the Office of Budget Responsibility but are [...]
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has revised its growth forecasts for the global economy. The US, which is the world’s largest economy, is expected to see growth this year of 2.6% – revised upwards from a previous estimate of 2.2%. It maintained its 2012 growth forecast at 3.1%. “Growth in the [...]
British retailing giant Marks and Spencer (M&S) has today reported like-for-like sales, which strip out new store openings, grew 0.1% in the 13 week period to 2 April. The figures were marginally better than expected and sent shares up 13.3p today to 353.5p. The 127-year-old retailer which sells clothes, food and homewares said general merchandise [...]
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 [...]
Japanese core private-sector machinery orders – a highly volatile series seen as an indicator of corporate spending – rose 4.2% in January on a monthly basis – easily beating expectations of a 3.1% increase. The increase in orders represented the second consecutive monthly rise, according to the Cabinet Office, and follows December’s 1.7% rise and [...]
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has again revised its forecasts for the airline industry. However, the forecasts have been revised on the back of surging oil prices, according to the industry body. IATA said global airlines will make a profit of $8.6 billion (£5.3 billion) for 2011 – down from the $9.1 billion it [...]
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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