The euro zone’s woes appear to be far from over today after the area’s third largest economy, Italy, unexpectedly contracted by 0.2% in the final three months of 2009, causing concern over its economic recovery. The news comes shortly after Germany, which is the euro zone‘s largest economy, said GDP remained flat in the three [...]
Official figures have today revealed Germany’s GDP remained flat in the last three months of 2009, with growth unchanged compared with the third quarter. Germany, which is the euro zone’s largest economy, emerged from recession in the second quarter of 2009 after experiencing positive growth. However, in the fourth quarter, GDP fell below expectations of [...]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has confirmed that the bank bonus tax will not apply to staff of non-banking firms such as insurers, assets managers and stockbrokers. There were queries about which organisations would be affected by the 50% tax, which was announced the Pre-Budget Report, but it has been confirmed that it will apply [...]
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde has today unveiled details of a 50% tax on bankers’ bonuses. After a cabinet meeting today, Ms Lagarde told reporters that a bill detailing the new tax would be presented to parliament early in the New Year. Any bonus above €27,500 (£24,000) will be taxed at a rate of 50% [...]
The German Government has named Joachim Metternich as the country’s new credit mediator in a bid to boost business lending. Mr Metternich, who currently heads up the public investment bank for the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, will take up his role in March 2010. The appointment comes after Germany’s Economy Minister, Rainer Bruederle, and [...]
Japan’s economy grew by 1.2% in the third quarter confirming that it has officially exited recession. The news comes just a few days after France and Germany’s economies also experienced positive growth in the third quarter, while it was confirmed on Friday that the euro zone had emerged from recession in the third quarter. The [...]
Official figures have today revealed that the euro zone economy experienced positive growth of 0.4% in the third quarter, and therefore exiting from recession. The 16 nations that use the euro was boosted by strong growth in Germany, and joins other major economies, such as the US and Japan, which have also exited recession. However, [...]
France’s economy grew by 0.3% in the third quarter confirming that it has officially exited recession. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told Europe 1 radio that the economy would shrink in 2009 but enter 2010 “with elan”. France, along with Germany and Japan, also experienced positive growth in the second quarter, with them all “unofficially” [...]
The BBC has reported that French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, wants to introduce a levy called Tobin Tax, aimed at curbing the bonus culture in the City. Tobin tax is the suggested tax on all trade of currency across borders and was named after the economist James Tobin in the 1970s. The proposal was suggested by [...]
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called on world leaders to scrap economic growth as a measure of progress. Measuring a nation’s well-being through gross domestic product (GDP) has resulted in an economic system that is destroying more than it is creating, Sarkozy said. The president made the comments at the launch of a report he [...]
France’s proposal of a series of mandatory caps on bank bonuses was rejected at this weekend‘s meeting of G20 finance ministers. While the proposals made by French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, received strong European support, UK Chancellor Alistair Darling dismissed them as “unenforceable”. Instead, the G20 group of leading economies have agreed on new regulatory measures [...]
There are tentative signs that the manufacturing sector in the euro zone may be emerging from recession after a rise in industrial orders has been reported for the month of June. According to Eurostat, the European statistics agency, new orders (a key indicator of industry’s future growth) rose by 3.1% during the month when compared [...]
Hong Kong has emerged from recession after the economy grew 3.3% in the second quarter. The seasonally adjusted 3.3% compares with a revised contraction of 4.3% for the first quarter of the year. The news follows that of Singapore, France and Germany, who have also emerged from recession. Singapore’s economy grew an annualised 20.7% in [...]
Following the news that Germany and France had emerged from recession yesterday after experiencing economic growth during the second quarter of 2009, it has now been revealed that the euro zone continued to contract. Figures from Eurostat revealed that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the 16-member nation was down by 0.1% in the April to [...]
The German and French economies, Europe’s two largest, have both experienced economic growth during the second quarter of 2009. The news has surprised many economists and French Finance and Economy Minister, Christine Lagarde, comments: “The data is very surprising. After four negative quarters France is coming out of the red.” Ms Largarde said that consumer [...]
The European Union statistics office has today revealed that euro zone unemployment has hit a 10-year high as the 16-member nation grapples with recession. The latest figures take the unemployment rate to 9.2% in April, up from 8.9% in March. Almost 400,000 more people lost their jobs, taking the number of people out of work [...]
As the recession continues to grip many economies, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures are being released this week with the euro zone the latest to provide figures. According to the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat, the euro zone economies contracted by 2.5% in the first quarter of 2009 – higher than the 2% fall predicted by [...]
The Federal Statistics Office has reported that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Germany’s economy fell 3.8% in the first three months of 2009, compared with the previous quarter when GDP fell 2.2%. On an annual basis, the economy shrank by 6.7%. The fall in GDP for the first three months of the year is the [...]
Industrial production in France and Italy have experienced sharp falls in March. National statistics office INSEE said output in France fell 1.4% in March compared with the previous month, nearly treble the 0.5% which had been expected by economists. In the meantime, Italian national statistics agency ISTAT said monthly production in the country fell for [...]
In April, business morale in France increased following record lows in previous months and this has increased the speculation that the worst of the recession is seemingly over. The French national statistics office announced today that its business confidence index increased to 71 points in April, three points higher than in March and two points [...]
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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