A survey of 2,000 individuals, conducted between July 1 and 10, has revealed a fall in consumer confidence. According to the survey of consumer attitudes, carried out by GfK NOP Social Research, confidence dived by 5 points to -30 in July – edging closer to the -31 seen in April. The index was also worse [...]
A survey of 2,000 individuals, conducted between June 3 and 12, has revealed a fall in consumer confidence. According to the survey of consumer attitudes, carried out by GfK NOP Social Research, confidence dipped by 4 points to -25 in June after May’s 10 point rise, which represented the biggest increase since May 1993. The [...]
A survey conducted between May 6 and 15 revealed a strong rise in consumer confidence. According to the survey of consumer attitudes, carried out by GfK NOP Social Research, confidence jumped to -21 from April’s two-year low of -31. May’s reading represents the biggest increase since May 1993 and surprised analysts who had expected a [...]
A survey conducted between February 4 and 13 revealed a slight rise in consumer confidence. According to the survey of consumer attitudes, carried out by GfK NOP Social Research, confidence rose one point to minus 28 – an improvement on January’s fall which represented the biggest since the last recession in 1992. However, the reading [...]
A survey showed today consumer confidence remains at low levels with the GfK NOP December consumer confidence index unchanged at -21. While it was marginally better than the -22 expected by analysts, it is two points lower than this time last year. Meanwhile, the survey’s “climate for major purchases” index surged ahead by 10 points, [...]
Christmas shopping could be hit with the expected return of heavy snowfall over the next few days, according to a report today. A survey by market research company, GfK NOP, found that almost one third of Christmas shopping in Britain is done in the two weeks prior to Christmas. Should the bad weather return, retailers [...]
British people continue to be concerned about the economic outlook after the GfK/NOP Consumer Confidence index fell for the fifth straight month in July. The index fell 3 points to -22 – the lowest reading since August 2009 – when the economy was in the midst of recession. The survey was conducted after the new [...]
A survey by GfK NOP for the European Commission revealed a fall in consumer confidence for April. It was the second consecutive month that morale was low – as uncertainty surrounds the economy ahead of next week’s general election. The consumer confidence index gave an overall score of -16, a fall of one point from [...]
A survey by GfK NOP for the European Commission has revealed a fall in consumer confidence for December. It was the second consecutive month that morale was low – the last time confidence fell for two consecutive months was in July 2008. The consumer confidence index fell from -17 in November to -19 in December [...]
UK consumer confidence has rebounded for the third consecutive month bringing April’s consumer confidence to its highest level for more than a year. Research carried out by GfK NOP for the European Commission showed that confidence in the general economic situation was at -15, which was a 16-point improvement on the strongest previous assessed date [...]
Research involving 60,000 UK homeowners has led to claims that almost four million households are already in, or close to, negative equity. In terms of UK mortgage holders, the figure equates to one in three, which is double the number seen during the housing market downturn of the 1990s. Research firm, GfK NOP, found that [...]
The recent 2.5% cut in VAT has been criticised by Olivier Blanchard, an International Monetary Fund economist. VAT was cut from 17.5% to 15% from Monday, December 1 for 13 months in an attempt to boost spending. However, Mr Blanchard believes the temporary cut in VAT is not a good idea would not significantly change [...]
For the second consecutive month, UK consumer confidence has improved, indicating that the huge reduction in interest rates and the recent cut in VAT are having a positive effect. The consumer confidence index from market research group GfK NOP rose two points to -33 in December, taking it to the highest level since September. However, [...]
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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