The German Government has today slashed its growth forecasts for the euro zone’s largest economy. The Government said it now expected the economy to expand by 1% in 2012, down from an earlier estimate of 1.8%. Meanwhile, this year’s forecast has been lowered slightly to 2.9% from 3%. Its downgrade comes just a week after [...]
Growth in the Germany economy, which is the euro zone’s largest, is expected to slow sharply next year as the ongoing debt crisis persists. In a closely monitored twice-yearly report, Germany’s leading economic institutes have slashed their growth forecasts for the economy from 2% next year to 0.8%, citing the debt problems in the euro [...]
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 [...]
Official data has revealed unemployment in Germany dropped to its lowest level in more than 20 years in September. The country’s unemployment rate fell from August’s rate of 7% to 6.6%. Unemployment now stands at 2.79 million – the first time since 1992 that the jobless total has been below 2.8 million. It was also [...]
The Munich-based Ifo think tank has today revealed confidence among German firms fell for the third consecutive month in September. The closely-watched Business Climate Index dipped to 107.5 this month from August’s reading of 108.7 – this represented the lowest level since June 2010. However, the fall was not as bad as the 106.5 economists [...]
The Zew economic sentiment index has revealed German analyst and investor confidence fell to a 2½ year low in September as the ongoing euro zone debt crisis and fears of a global slowdown dampened sentiment. The index, which measures expectations of economic activity over the next six months, fell for the seventh consecutive month to [...]
The European Central Bank (ECB) has today opted to leave interest rates unchanged at 1.5% – for the second consecutive month. Rates were lifted from the historic low of 1% in April and then raised further to 1.25% in July in a bid to curb rising inflation. Many major economies are battling with higher inflation, [...]
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has revised its growth forecasts for major economies. The US, which is the world’s largest economy, is expected to see growth in the third quarter of 1.1% and 0.4% in the fourth – this is far lower than the previous estimates of 2.9% and 3%. However, [...]
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 [...]
Germany, which is the euro zone’s largest economy, has today reported slower growth for the second quarter. According to figures from Destatis, the German economy grew by just 0.1% in the April to June period – much less than the 0.5% expected by analysts. The figures will undoubtedly be a disappointment since Germany has been [...]
According to a preliminary estimate from Eurostat today, euro zone inflation eased in July to 2.5% from 2.7% in June. The figures come despite figures earlier this week suggesting German inflation crept up to 2.4%. Despite the fall, inflation remains higher than the ECB’s target of just below 2% – and is expected to remain [...]
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 [...]
Statistics office Destatis has today revealed German exports and imports recovered in May, giving a trade balance of €14.8 billion from €10.8 billion the previous month. According to Destatis, exports were 4.3% higher on the month at €92.1 billion (£82 billion), higher than forecasts of a 1.5% rise and recovering from April’s fall of 5.6%. [...]
The Munich-based Ifo think tank has revealed confidence among German firms unexpectedly rose in June. The closely-watched Business Climate Index grew to 114.5 in June from May’s reading of 114.2, confounding analysts’ expectations of a fall to 113.4. The index is now close to a record high of 115.4 recorded earlier this year. However, a [...]
Statistics office Destatis has today revealed German exports and imports fell in April, giving a trade surplus of €10.9 billion. According to Destatis, exports fell by 5.5% on a monthly basis to €84.3 billion (£75.6 billion) – much more than analysts had expected and the sharpest decline since January 2009. Meanwhile, imports were 2.5% lower [...]
The Munich-based Ifo think tank has revealed confidence among German firms remained flat in May. The closely-watched Business Climate Index remained unchanged at 114.2 in May, surprising analysts’ who had expected the index to slip to 113.7. Ifo surveys around 7,000 German manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail companies each month. Export demand helped to bring [...]
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 – [...]
Statistics office Destatis has today revealed German exports rose to a record high in March, driving its trade surplus up. Exports rose 7.3% in March on a monthly basis to €98.3 billion (£87 billion), while imports also rose to a record high, by 3.1% on a monthly basis, to €79.4 billion. A statement said: “That [...]
Consumer confidence in Germany, which is the euro zone’s largest economy, is expected to fall further in May, according to the GfK research group. The market research company said its forward looking consumer sentiment index, based on a survey of about 2,000 people, will fall to 5.7 in May from April’s reading of 5.9. The [...]
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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