The future of the cheque book remains uncertain again today after the charity, Age UK, said cheques could still “wither away”. Last month, it was announced that cheques would not be phased out after the Payments Council announced it would abolish them in 2018. The Council said it would keep cheques in place after criticism [...]
The Norwich and Peterborough Building Society (N&P) is to repay £57 million in compensation to customers who were sold its Keydata product. N&P sold Keydata products from 2005 but it was placed into administration in 2009, with 30,000 UK investors facing the loss of £450 million. The collapse of Keydata represents the largest investment failure [...]
Yesterday’s meeting in Brussels of euro zone finance ministers concluded with failing to convince Ireland to ask for financial aid. The Irish Government continues to reject a bailout, insisting it is fully funded until at least the middle of next year. However, the country’s financial situation was described as “our most pressing challenge” by EU’s [...]
Nobel prize winner, Joseph Stiglitz, has expressed his concern for the euro and the euro zone’s fragile recovery. Sixty-seven-year-old Stiglitz, the former chief economist of the World Bank, warned that the future of the single currency is bleak, while the region’s recovery is threatened by a series of austerity measures, which have been introduced by [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is scheduled to publish GDP figures for the second quarter today – the first G7 country to do so. Analysts expect growth of 0.6% for the April to June quarter – which would represent the strongest performance since before the credit crunch. Strong growth is expected to come from [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed a slight rise in retail sales for the month of April – boosted by stronger clothing and department store sales. According to the ONS, sales volumes including fuel grew 0.3% in April – slightly beating analysts’ forecasts of a 0.2% rise and follows a revised increase [...]
The use of the cheque book continues to decline as consumers opt for quicker payment methods and, as a result, the cheque clearing system could end by 2018. Major retailers such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s no longer accept cheques, arguing that phasing out the use of cheques in stores resulted in quicker service and improved [...]
WHSmith has abandoned talks with bookshop chain Borders, which is set to see Borders UK enter administration unless a sale is imminent. Borders is understood to not have sufficient cash to see it through to Christmas as it has suffered amid increased competition from supermarkets and online retailers, such as Amazon. As a result, the [...]
Free evening newspaper, London Lite, has seen its future thrown into doubt today after its owner Associated Newspapers said it would begin a consultation with its employees. London Lite, which is currently losing almost £10 million a year, was launched on 30 August 2006 but its owner has recently expressed concern about the “commercial viability” [...]
HSBC Insurance is warning consumers to review their finances amid the current economic climate. The fact remains that many have had to tighten their purse strings but HSBC Insurance is urging consumers to review their finances in order to limit the adverse impact of the economic downturn on their finances in the future. The insurer [...]
It appears that many consumers believe the worst of the recession could be over after the Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index rose from a revised 65 in August to 71 in September – the highest level since April 2008. According to the Nationwide, the index is also 24 points higher than it was this time last [...]
The US Federal Reserve has yet again unanimously kept interest rates on hold at between 0% and 0.25% – as widely expected. The US Central Bank said that the current low levels of interest rates will likely continue “for an extended period” to aid the continuing recovery of the world‘s largest economy. The Fed also [...]
Banking giant Barclays, which has so far turned down financial help from the Government, has today announced pre-tax profits of £2.98 billion for the first six months of the year. While the bank’s profits came slightly under analysts’ forecasts of over £3 billion, they were up 8% compared with the same period a year earlier. [...]
Japan’s central bank has voted unanimously to keep interest rates on hold at 0.1%, as widely expected. However, while the Bank was optimistic for the future, it noted the continued weakness in consumer spending, as well as a sharp fall in capital spending by companies. Private consumption, which makes up for over half of the [...]
People are becoming more positive about the economy after the Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index recorded a rise in June. The reading increased from 54 in May to 58 in June and reflects the fact that consumers are becoming more upbeat about the future. According to the Nationwide, the main driver behind the rise in confidence [...]
Japan’s economy looks set to be improving after it has experienced a rise in exports, production and public investment. The export-dependent economy has been hit by a slump in demand for its products overseas, particularly cars and electrical goods but this looks set to change after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) said “the country’s economic [...]
It is understood that the West Bromwich Building Society is to be rescued within days after weeks of speculation about its future. However, savers and mortgage borrowers have been assured that it’s business as usual since the rescue will not affect customers. There were talks last month that the country’s eighth largest building society was [...]
Nokia, the largest mobile phone company is struggling through the recession as sales have slumped leaving huge holes in sales forecasts as revenues have fallen by 27 percent to just €9.3bn (£8.2bn). This has been caused by the fact that 18 million fewer handsets were sold in the first quarter of 2009 – a fall [...]
The Bank of England’s twice-yearly Financial Stability Report has been published and has revealed that tougher regulation and constraints on lending are required in order to safeguard against future risk. Looking at the longer-term credit crunch issues, according to the Bank of England, banks would need to increase their deposit bases to make them less [...]
Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis has been in rescue talks over the weekend after concerns have been raised about its future. The Belgian government, regulators, and the Dutch central bank are all involved in the talks with a deal to be announced by tomorrow morning. Fortis, which is Britain’s third-largest private car insurer, based on volume, [...]
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, [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
