Japanese shares rose more than 3% earlier today following some much needed good news. Stock markets were boosted by the news that Japanese carmakers, Toyota and Honda, may restart production this week, while it was revealed that progress is being made in containing radiation leaks. In the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami on 11 [...]
Finance ministers of the group of seven nations have agreed to intervene to stabilise the Japanese yen – which has reached record highs this week. Earlier this week, the yen reached a post-war record high against the US dollar following last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. The disasters also sent global shares into freefall earlier this [...]
The Japanese yen reached a post-war record high against the US dollar following last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. The disasters have sent global shares into freefall but the worry for the world’s third largest economy is a strong yen, which continues to weaken demand for exports. Today, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell a further 1.4% [...]
Influential think tank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), has today said the global economic recovery is slowing faster and has therefore revised its growth forecast downwards for the G7 leading economies. However, the think tank has said a return to recession is unlikely but “great uncertainty” remains. It has therefore slightly revised [...]
The Bank of Canada has elected to raise interest rates for the third time in as many months, despite a slowdown in economic growth. The Bank raised rates from 0.75% to 1% but explained that further rate hikes would need to be carefully considered because of an uncertain outlook. The rise comes just a week [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK economic growth for the second quarter today surged ahead by 1.1% – almost double the rate analysts had forecast. Meanwhile, economic growth rose by 1.6% on an annualised basis – the highest in two years. The UK is the first G7 country to release its [...]
The Canadian economy, which only entered a mild recession last year, appears to be performing well after figures show the unemployment rate continues to fall. Statistics Canada said on Friday that the country’s unemployment rate fell in April to 8.1%, from 8.2% in March. The economy added a better than expected 93,000 jobs last month [...]
The Bank of Canada has today elected to raise interest rates by one quarter of a percentage point to 0.5%, as widely expected. As a result, Canada has become the first G7 central bank to raise rates since the onset of the recession. Yesterday, it emerged that the Canadian economy expanded by an annualised 6.1% [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is today expected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5% for the 13th consecutive month. In addition, the Bank is expected not to inject any more money into the economy through its quantitative easing (QE) scheme. In February, the Bank [...]
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has today said the UK economy will outperform its G7 rivals in the second quarter of 2010. The forecast comes despite the UK economy lagging behind other major economies and being one of the last to emerge from recession – in the fourth quarter of 2009. However, [...]
G7 ministers, which comprise the US, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada have met in Washington, and issued a five-point plan to unfreeze credit markets. The nations have pledged to take ‘decisive action and use all available tools‘ to support financial organisations. The plan is intended to protect major banks and other financial institutions [...]
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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