Brazil, which is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, recently admitted that inflation is spiralling out of control. Yesterday, the central bank lifted its key interest rate to 11.75% from 11.25%, in a bid to tame inflation, which at 5.91% exceeds the Government’s target of 4.5%. The move, which was widely expected, is the [...]
Figures published by the Insolvency Service have revealed personal insolvencies climbed to a new high in 2010. According to the Insolvency Service, there were 135,089 personal insolvencies in 2010 – a rise of 0.7% compared with 2009. This was also double the number of people declared insolvent in 2005 and represented the highest figure since [...]
A study by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) has found that Britain has the highest rate of “workless” households of all major EU countries. A jobless households means those without any adults in employment. According to the Centre, one in eight British adults lives in a workless household, and the study established that a [...]
Andrew Sentance, one of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members, has once again spoken of stubbornly high inflation. Minutes of the Bank’s meeting earlier this month, again showed that Mr Sentance had voted to lift interest rates to combat inflation. It was the fourth consecutive month he had voted for a rise. [...]
According to research by watchdog Consumer Focus, the number of people taking out a payday loan has quadrupled in the last 4 years. The consumer group said 1.2 million people are now taking out a payday loan every year – borrowing more than £1 billion. Payday loans are becoming more popular and are seen as [...]
Bank of England policymaker, Andrew Sentance, today said the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) faces some “interesting debates” in the latter half of 2010 as high inflation persists. The latest official data shows that British annual consumer price inflation (CPI) reached a 17-month high of 3.7% in April. The CPI inflation rate is [...]
Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Sir Philip Hampton, has admitted that bankers’ pay is too high. However, while conceding that bankers’ pay is “astonishingly high”, he said it is difficult to defend the gap between what most people earned and what some bank staff were paid. Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Sir [...]
In its latest forecast for the world’s largest economy, the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, has said economic growth will be between 2.8% and 3.5% in 2010 – better than its previous forecast of 2.5% to 3.5%. However, the Fed has warned that despite strong growth for this year, unemployment will remain high. Earlier [...]
First-time buyers are finding it easier to get a foot on the property ladder, according to independent mortgage adviser, Mortgageforce.co.uk. Better deals for high loan to value (LTV) borrowers meant that in November, 14% of all transactions arranged by the online broker were for those buying their first home, compared to the usual 10%. The [...]
Chinese state media has reported that annual car production in China has accelerated and topped the 10 million mark for the first time and is set to overtake the world’s leading economies. Only the US and Japan (the world’s number one and two economies) have produced 10 million cars in a single year. China’s car [...]
The FTSE 100 Index rose to 5231.16 today – a new record for the year to date. London’s FTSE responded to strong gains seen on the Dow Jones Industrial Average last Friday, which hit a 12-month high. Since its low point in March this year, the FTSE 100 Index has risen around 50% with companies [...]
The yen hit 88.23 against the dollar today – the highest level since January when the currency hit a 13-year high of 87.10 per dollar. However, while a strong yen is good news for the economy, it makes Japanese exports less competitive – but means imports are more affordable to Japanese consumers. Earlier this month, [...]
Individual insolvencies are at a record high with an average of 330 people going bust everyday, with the latest insolvency data for the first three months of 2009 showing a 19 percent year-on-year rise inclusive of Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) and bankruptcies. KPMG has stated that 51 per cent of people entering into IVAs are [...]
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 [...]
The anxiously awaited recovery of the UK housing market is still blighted by mortgage lenders’ demands for high deposits. Latest figures from financial website, Moneyfacts, show the number of home loans on offer increasing to 1,485, up from 1,398 in March. However, over two-thirds of the deals on the market require a deposit of at [...]
Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have revealed that the number claiming unemployment benefit in Ireland reached the highest monthly level on record in January. The CSO said 326,100 people made unemployment claims in January, up from 293,100 in December. Meanwhile, the CSO said the unemployment rate increased to 9.2% in January compared with [...]
Over half a million jobs were lost in the US in December, taking the jobless rate to 7.2%, up from 6.8% in November – the highest since January 1993. The figures have sparked concern that the world’s largest economy will be in recession for a long time to come. Figures from the US labour department [...]
Figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed that the UK’s public finances deteriorated sharply again in November, with net borrowing rocketing to a high of £16 billion. The figure was far higher than analysts expectations who forecast £13.7 billion. Borrowing for the first eight months of the financial year now totals £56.1 billion, [...]
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that UK unemployment is at an 11-year high. According to the ONS, in the three months to September the number of people out of work in the UK soared by 140,000 to 1.82 million, the highest level since 1997. Meanwhile, claims for Jobseeker’s Allowance rose [...]
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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