Influential think tank, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), has said higher inflation and low pay rises means British households face their biggest squeeze since 1921. The report suggests a typical British family will have £910 less to spend this year than they did in 2009 due to higher food and energy prices [...]
The reporting season for US banks has got off to a flying start after JPMorgan announced income surged 47% in the fourth quarter. Fourth-quarter profit increased to $4.8 billion, or $1.12 a share, from $3.3 billion, or 74 cents a share, compared with the year ago period. Analysts expected $1 a share. Meanwhile, revenue grew [...]
Online search giant Yahoo has published its second quarter results which disappointed the market, sending its shares diving more than 7%. Profits at the company grew by more than 50% in the quarter, but net revenues missed expectations. Revenue in the three months ending June 30 totalled $1.6 billion (£1.05 billion), compared with $1.57 billion [...]
In its May affordability index, FindaProperty.com has reported that first-time buyer house prices have increased for the fourth consecutive month, taking the average asking price of a starter home to £155,677. The figure is 1.2% higher than a year ago and at its highest since February 2009. At the same time, affordability has improved for [...]
Figures published by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) revealed the recession had a severe impact on personal pension contributions. According to figures, workers put £1 billion less into their personal pensions last year – the first fall since the mid 1990s and was primarily due to lower employee contributions. Higher unemployment during the period and [...]
London-based bank Standard Chartered today announced record first quarter profits and income. The bank, which has a strong presence in Asia, said wholesale banking showed robust results in the three months ending 31 March. In wholesale banking, which includes advisory, trade finance and other investment banking business, client income was up by more than a [...]
The assumption that downsizing from the family home as old age approaches can help fund a comfortable retirement has been challenged by Standard Life. The insurer has recently conducted an “extensive analysis” of the UK property market to calculate how much retirement income downsizing can generate, and is warning those whose retirement dreams are dependent [...]
According to The Times, the Land Registry is to axe a further 800 jobs, on top of the 1,500 job losses it announced last October. The Registry, which has 20 offices across the country and covers England and Wales and records and guarantees the ownership of domestic and commercial property, said staff would fall further [...]
Home buyers needed to use less of their income to cover their mortgage interest in November than at any time for more than five years, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported. Home movers were particularly well placed, typically needing only 10.6% of gross income to cover mortgage interest payments, down from 11.1% in [...]
The US banking reporting season has got off to a flying start after JPMorgan Chase, the second-largest US bank, reported a net income of $3.6 billion (£2.5 billion) in the third quarter, compared with $527 million in the same period a year ago – exceeding analysts expectations. The bank, which acquired Washington Mutual’s assets for [...]
In presenting its 2008/09 annual report, the Land Registry describes its core businesses as having “collapsed” as the property downturn deepened. The service’s work registering new homes in England and Wales plummeted by 75% compared to a year earlier and total applications handled in the year to the end of March fell to 26.7 million, [...]
The half of Brits who currently can’t afford to save would have to earn an extra £500 per month before they’d consider putting anything aside for the piggy bank, new research has discovered. The poll by moneysupermarket.com found that 52% of UK adults don’t have enough cash to save on a regular basis. On average, [...]
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
