Beleaguered oil giant BP saw it shares surge 6% today after speculation mounts that rival Royal Dutch Shell is considering a takeover bid. Shares in the firm closed at 492.90p on London’s FTSE 100 – which, incidentally, closed at just above the key 6,000 mark – its highest level since June 2008. Meanwhile, Shell has [...]
Fears have been mounting for Spain and Portugal over recent days as borrowing costs surge but spreads on Italian and Belgian bonds have now risen as Ireland’s bailout does little to reassure the markets. The euro continues to slide, hitting a two-month low of $1.31, while London’s FTSE dived nearly 118 points to 5,550. Nick [...]
Research has revealed that the average FTSE 100 executive is earning 88 times that of the average full-time UK worker. The revelation comes despite the recession where companies have been forced to make major cutbacks. According to Incomes Data Services (IDS), in the year to June 2010, executives in FTSE 100 companies took home an [...]
Ongoing fears that the euro zone debt crisis could spread throughout the world sent Asian markets falling today with Japan’s Nikkei index down 246 points to 9,784.54. Over the week, the index has lost over 6.5% – its largest weekly drop since January 2009. On Wall Street yesterday, the Dow Jones industrial average slumped 376.36 [...]
According to sources this evening, the Conservative party is close to forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats after talks between the latter and the Labour Government broke down at lunchtime today. The news comes after Friday’s hung parliament result, which failed to give any political party a clear majority. As a result, the political [...]
Today the world’s largest economy received a boost after the Commerce Department revealed that the US economy shrank at a far slower rate in the second quarter than previous estimates showed. According to the Commerce Department, the US economy contracted by 0.7% between the April and June period rather than the 1% previously reported and [...]
Despite major losses among FTSE 100 companies, directors at these companies saw their basic salaries soar 10% last year. In the midst of the worst global recession in decades, these companies lost nearly a third of their value but their salary continued to rise. The Guardian’s annual survey of boardroom pay discovered that full-and part-time [...]
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply’s monthly index of manufacturing fell to 49.7 in August from 50.2 in July – a figure below 50 indicates contraction. Today’s figures have surprised many analysts who predicted a rise to 51.5, after growth was reported in July for the first time since April last year. Meanwhile, the [...]
With the number of people out of work between October and December 2008 rising to 1.97 million (the highest figure in well over a decade), it’s no surprise that further bad news in the jobs market comes via a survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) who found that vacancies at UK employment agencies [...]
It is believed that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this week, which has boosted shares worldwide following a severe decline earlier this week on fears of a global recession. The Fed is widely expected to cut rates by half a percentage point to 1%. This resulted in a sharp rise on Wall [...]
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the British economy shrank for the first time since 1992 as the UK flirts with recession. Many reports this week have confirmed that the UK is on the brink of recession with Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, issuing a recession warning. However, a forecast published over [...]
The turmoil in the stock markets continues this morning after shares in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) plummeted by over 35% to below the £1 mark. The bank is now worth just £16 billion, compared to £75 billion a year ago. RBS shares plunged to 95p, the lowest point since the recession of the early [...]
The FTSE 100 plummeted today to close at 4,589.2, after falling 391.1 points – or 7.85%. The fall marks the biggest one-day points fall ever and was the third-worst percentage fall since the FTSE 100 was launched in 1984. The fall comes despite Chancellor Alistair Darling announcing that the Government will do whatever it takes [...]
It has been yet another weekend full of news in the banking sector which has sent shares in London and Europe crashing. Meltdown Monday saw the FTSE 100 index down by over 6% by mid-morning to 4675 – a fall of 304.6 points. Banks including HBOS fell 32p, while Royal Bank of Scotland lost 26p. [...]
Shares in Halifax banking group, HBOS, lost 30% at one point today, following its fall of 18% yesterday. Banking stocks throughout the world are falling as the turmoil continues on Wall Street due to the collapse of Lehman Brothers yesterday, and fears of the future of insurance giant, AIG. In a second day of panic [...]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than [...]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. [...]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees [...]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on [...]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages [...]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit [...]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE [...]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings [...]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though [...]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A [...]
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