Savers have once again been hit after Government-backed National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has announced its index-linked bond has been withdrawn from the market. NS&I, which runs Premium Bonds and a variety of savings products, said its index-linked bond (which gives savers protection against inflation) has been pulled. NS&I’s website and call centres ceased accepting [...]
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has again revised its forecasts for the airline industry. The forecasts have been revised on the back of surging oil prices, according to the industry body, and could force some airlines out of business. Many airlines went bust when fuel prices rose in 2008. Oil prices reached a peak [...]
New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English has today warned last week’s earthquake in Christchurch will impact negatively on economic growth. Speaking to Radio New Zealand, Mr English, who is also deputy prime minister, said: “June-to-June could be close to zero growth.” The disaster, which occurred on 22 February, is believed to have taken more than [...]
Australia, which is one of the few developed economies not to have fallen into recession like its counterparts throughout the world, could see its economy contract in the January to March period. The warning came from Treasurer Wayne Swan after the country has been hit by flood and cyclone disasters, which has led to a [...]
Irish budget airline Ryanair has today posted a loss of €10.3 million (£8.8 million) in the October to December period, due to the severe wintry weather in Europe last month, as well as the strike action by French air traffic controllers. However, the loss was lower than the €10.9 million reported in the year ago [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today reported UK retail sales were hit by the severe wintry weather in December and rising prices. According to the ONS, retail sales during December were down by 0.8% from the previous month – much worse than expected. It was the worst annual performance for any December since [...]
According to experts, the forthcoming VAT hike will have resulted in the purchase of big-ticket items – boosting retail sales in December and the first few days of January. However, the VAT rise from 17.5% to 20%, which kicks in tomorrow, is expected to mean consumers will cut back on their spending over the coming [...]
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 [...]
The European Central Bank (ECB) today elected to keep interest rates on hold at the historic low of 1% – where they have been since May 2009. Interest rates are expected to remain on hold until at least 2011, as a result of uneven growth and low inflation. The news comes after the Bank of [...]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has today warned that economic growth will be hit due to deep spending cuts. Olivier Blanchard, the IMF’s chief economic counsellor, said massive spending cuts may have to be revisited if growth in the UK is hampered. However, Mr Blanchard did highlight that his comments applied to all advanced economies, [...]
Norwich & Peterborough Building Society has been hit with claims of mis-selling of investments between 2006 and 2009. The building society, which is Britain’s tenth largest, is expected to receive letters tomorrow from solicitors acting on behalf of 250 customers, demanding compensation for investment advice they received in the society’s branches about its Keydata products. [...]
A survey by Scottish Widows has found that the squeeze on household incomes, as a result of the economic downturn, has hit pension savings with nearly half of people in the UK saving less. According to the Edinburgh-based life and pensions provider, 41% of people saved less for their pensions – many of them blaming [...]
There are fears that the debt crisis in the euro zone could hit the global economy but Australia believes its economy will be unaffected. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor, Glenn Stevens, the country’s strong trade connections with East Asia means it will be relatively unaffected by the events in the euro [...]
A survey by Westpac bank and the Melbourne Institute has revealed that Australian consumer confidence has been hit by the recent hike in interest rates. The study, which questioned 1,200 people, found that consumer morale in May fell for the second consecutive month – by 7% to a reading of 108. This represented the biggest [...]
There were hopes that the personal computer market is staging a recovery after chipmaker Intel said net income in the three months to 26 December was £1.4 billion – surging ahead of the £143 million reported a year earlier. Furthermore, the company, which is based in Santa Clara, California, exceeded analysts’ expectations after sales soared [...]
Budget airline easyJet has posted a severe fall in profits for the full-year to the end of September as a result of rising fuel costs. The airline posted underlying pre-tax profits of £43.7 million, compared with £123.1 million in the same period a year earlier – a fall of 64.5% However, the no-frills airline said [...]
UK airports operator BAA has reported a pre-tax loss of £784.7 million for the first nine months of the year, compared with a £519 million loss a year earlier. The group said it had lost £225 million on Gatwick Airport, which it confirmed it had sold last week for £1.51 billion. However, today BAA said [...]
Stockmarkets have been hit today by the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico sending airline and travel stocks plummeting while pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Shire and Smith & Nephew have soared. In London, the FTSE 100 index was down 60 points in early trading with the biggest losers including TUI, British Airways and Thomas [...]
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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