The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK’s trade deficit narrowed more than expected in January, as exports surged. According to the ONS, the global goods trade gap narrowed to £7.09 billion in the month from £9.69 billion in December. The deficit represents the smallest in almost a year and economists had [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which is 84% owned by the taxpayer, has today reported a net attributable loss of £1.13 billion for the 2010 year. While the loss is down from the £3.6 billion reported for 2009, it was higher than analysts had expected. The results are also a significant improvement on the £24.1 [...]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has reported that the number of homes sold in the UK during 2010 was 885,000. While this was a slight improvement on 2009 levels, it was just over half of the peak seen during the housing boom years of 2006 and 2007. The figures are evidence that the housing market [...]
After a two-day policy board meeting, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has elected to keep interest rates at 0.1%. Interest rates in the world’s second largest economy have been at the low level since December 2008 in a bid to fight off deflation. Deflation remains a problem for the economy. Japanese core consumer prices fell [...]
The Bank of Japan’s closely watched quarterly Tankan survey has revealed an improvement in business confidence in Japan. The Tankan index revealed business confidence among major manufacturers had picked up for the fourth consecutive quarter, rising to -14 in March from -25 in December and significantly higher than the record low of -58 seen this [...]
Figures published by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) have revealed a sharp fall in the deficit of the UK’s defined benefit pension schemes. According to the PPF, the deficit was trimmed to £15.1 billion at the end of February from £51.9 billion at the end of January. It is also a significant improvement on February [...]
The world’s largest advertising group WPP has seen an improvement in profits after a ‘brutal’ 2009. The advertising giant said pre-tax profits had tumbled by 16% year-on-year to £812 million. However, this was better than the £780 million forecast. Meanwhile, revenue grew by 16% to £8.7 billion, while like-for-like sales fell 8%. The company was [...]
A report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG has revealed February was the seventh consecutive month in which permanent places rose. According to the report, more full-time jobs were added in February than at any time since July 2007. The index, which is produced by Markit for the REC and KPMG, grew [...]
Figures released by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) revealed an improvement in the UK’s 7,400 defined benefit (DB) schemes in December, with the collective deficit falling to £33 billion in December from £92.5 billion the previous month. The PPF said not only is this is an improvement on the month, it is significantly better than [...]
The latest report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and financial services firm, KPMG, shows that there is still no indication that the labour market is anywhere close to returning to its former health. However, the report does show that while job losses will continue this quarter, it will be at a [...]
Crisis-torn Northern Rock, which is due to be split after receiving approval from the European Union, provided an upbeat statement after it said that in the three months to the end of September, losses from bad loans being written off had lowered, its costs remained under control and net income had risen. Northern Rock collapsed [...]
The latest Consumer Confidence Index, released by market research company Nielsen and the British Retail Consortium (BRC), has revealed a rise in consumer confidence. The index shows an increase to 75, which is 10 points higher than the all-time-low reported in April this year. However, the BRC cautioned that despite the bounce in confidence, consumers [...]
The latest publication of the US Federal Reserve’s influential Beige Book reported that the world’s largest economy had improved by the end of last month, albeit labour markets remained weak. The Beige Book, which is compiled eight times a year, is based on reports and comments from businesses throughout the US and said that the [...]
The latest distributive trades survey by the Confederation of British Industry has revealed a fall in UK retail sales in August – the fourth consecutive month of declines. According to the survey, the balance of retailers who had seen a fall in sales rather than a rise had dipped to -16 in August, from -15 [...]
In its latest Credit Conditions Survey, the Bank of England reports that the availability of mortgages with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios above 75% remained broadly unchanged during the three months to mid-June. However, improvements in the cost and availability of funds meant that a small majority of lenders reported an increase in the availability of secured [...]
The UK manufacturing sector is showing some signs of improvement after the CIPS/Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 39.1 last month, up from 34.9 in February. Anything below the 50 mark represents a contraction in activity, but the pace of decline last month slowed at a faster rate than economists had predicted by economists. [...]
Prior to today’s part nationalisation of Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Lloyds TSB, the Intermediary Mortgages Lenders’ Association (IMLA) had reported a slight improvement in its members’ expectations. According to an IMLA poll of 486 intermediaries, mortgage brokers expect volumes to decline by 2.3% for first-time buyers over the next two months. In the [...]
The Government wants to improve Home Information Packs (HIPs) to reduce the likelihood of problems emerging well into the sales process. Under the proposals, HIPS could include a property information questionnaire that would relate to such issues as building work carried out, energy and utility suppliers, parking arrangements and Council Tax banding. A consultation has [...]
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, [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
