British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is urging European leaders to take “decisive steps” to deal with the debt crisis. Mr Cameron said the crisis is putting the global economy in a “precarious” situation and told leaders of the 17-member nation they had a “collective responsibility” to avoid a disaster. Mr Cameron told the Financial Times [...]
Statistics office Destatis has today revealed German exports and imports fell in July – more than expected. According to Destatis, exports fell by 1.8% in July on a monthly basis compared with a 1.2% drop in June. Economists had forecast a 0.1% fall for the month. The sharp fall in exports will be of grave [...]
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have pledged to put an end to the debt crisis and restore confidence in the euro. The two leaders of the euro zone’s largest economies last night called for “true economic governance” for the region and wants bi-annual meetings of the 17 leaders of the euro [...]
France’s economic growth showed a reading of zero in the April to June quarter, compared with 0.9% in the previous three months, according to Insee, the national statistical agency. The reading was short of forecasts of a 0.3% rise for the quarter. The lack of growth was attributed to a fall in household consumption, which [...]
Late night talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have led to a common position on a second bailout for Greece. After seven hours of talks in Berlin, sources said both parties had also discussed their efforts to prevent the debt crisis spreading through the rest of Europe. However, full details [...]
It has been confirmed that 46-year-old Francois Baroin will take over from Christine Lagarde as France’s finance minister. French President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed the appointment yesterday. The announcement comes after Ms Lagarde became the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – the first ever woman in the role. Ms Lagarde replaced Dominique Strauss-Kahn [...]
The euro zone’s largest economy, Germany, grew by 1.5% in the January to March period – much better than forecast, according to Destatis today. On an annual basis, growth jumped 5.2% – the largest increase since reunification in 1990. Export demand helped to bring Germany out of recession in the second quarter of 2009 – [...]
Germany’s Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle has today said the economy will perform better than expected in 2011. According to the minister, the economy is predicted to grow by 2.6% this year – better than a previous estimate of 2.3% in January. However, growth will ease slightly in 2012, slowing to 1.8%, said Mr Bruederle. The [...]
France’s Economy Minister Christine Lagarde has said the economy will expand 2.25% in 2012, revised down from a previous estimate of 2.5%. The revision was based on the fact that global demand for French goods is likely to weaken. In an interview with Les Echos reported, the minister said: “Our forecast for two percent growth [...]
Europe’s largest economy, Germany, looks set to be continuing its strong recovery after Federal Statistical Office, Destatis, reported the economy grew by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. For the 2010 year, the economy expanded by 3.6%, said Destatis. However, both figures were slightly below forecasts with economists expecting quarterly growth of 0.5% and annual growth [...]
Budget airline easyJet has today said it was hit by the severe wintry weather in Europe last month and was hit by costs of £31 million, which also included strike action by French air traffic controllers. However, taking this into account, the airline said revenue in its first quarter (the final three months of 2010) [...]
The European Union’s statistics office, Eurostat, has today revealed growth in the 16 countries that use the euro slowed in the third quarter. According to Eurostat, the euro zone grew 0.4% in the July to September period, compared with 1% in the second quarter. On an annual basis, growth was recorded at 1.9%. It follows [...]
Official figures today showed Italian economic growth slowed in the July to September period. Italy’s statistics office, Istat, said the economy expanded by 0.2% in the third quarter, slowing from the 0.5% growth recorded in the second quarter. The growth rate was half the 0.4% expected by analysts. On an annual basis, meanwhile, the economy [...]
Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, saw a slowdown in quarter three economic growth after a record second quarter. German statistics office, Destatis, said the economy grew 0.7% in the July to September period – compared with the record expansion of 2.3% in the April to June quarter – which represented the fastest since German [...]
The French Government has today warned that strikes against pension cuts are costing the economy between €200 and €400 million per day. Ongoing protests and strikes against the Government’s changes to pensions have resulted in fuel shortages and travel chaos throughout the nation. France’s Finance Minister, Christine Lagarde, said: “Today, we shouldn’t be weighing down [...]
The euro zone’s second largest economy has lowered its economic growth forecast following a meeting between the President Sarkozy and senior finance ministers. The French President requested that ministers interrupt their summer holidays to discuss how France is going to tackle its deficit. Following the meeting, a statement said the economy will expand by 2% [...]
Paris-based statistics office INSEE has today announced economic growth in France grew by 0.6% in the April to June period. The figures were higher than the 0.4% expected by analysts. In addition, first quarter growth was revised upwards from 0.1% to 0.2%, said INSEE. France’s economy has now grown for five consecutive quarters after the [...]
Further concerns for euro zone debt was raised today after the national statistics bureau INSEE said France’s public debt rose to 80.3% of national output in the first quarter of the year. EU rules state that debt should not exceed 60% of GDP. According to INSEE, at the end of March, French gross public debt [...]
The French Government has announced the country’s retirement age will be lifted from 60 to 62 by 2018, as part of a sweeping overhaul to its pension system. The new measures are to be implemented to cut France’s pension costs and reduce public borrowing. However, the shake-up has met with public anger after tens of [...]
Official figures have revealed the euro zone economy grew just 0.1% in the final three months of 2009, suggesting the economic recovery is faltering. The news came after poor GDP figures from the euro zone’s largest economies. Germany, which is the euro zone‘s largest economy, said GDP remained flat in the three month period, with [...]
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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