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 [...]
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Money has announced it is to buy regional bank Church House Trust for £12.3 million and will invest £37.3 million into the business. Virgin Money, which was unsuccessful in acquiring crisis-torn Northern Rock two years ago, already offers savings, credit card and investment products to around 2.5 million customers. The purchase [...]
Swiss pharmaceuticals group, Novartis International, has started the New Year on a high with one of Europe’s largest ever takeovers. Novartis has agreed to take full control of Alcon, a leading maker of eye care products, in a deal worth $40 billion (£24.8 billion). Novartis bought 25% of eye care specialist Alcon, which is also [...]
The chairman of the Financial Services Authority is supporting a new tax on banks, aimed at curbing the bonus culture in the City. In an interview with Prospect magazine, Lord Turner attacked the industry and said some of the City’s activities had “swollen beyond its socially useful size” and was happy to consider taxing it. [...]
Lloyds Banking Group is announcing further job losses today with the closure of all its 160 UK Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G) branches with the loss of 1,500 jobs. Since April, Lloyds has axed almost 3,000 jobs which resulted in the Unite union accusing the banking giant of a embarking on a strategy of “death by [...]
Confused.com has welcomed Alistair Darling’s cash for scrapped cars scheme, announced in this week’s budget. The price comparison site described the initiative – which pays motorists up to £2,000 for handing in their old car to update to a brand new model – as ‘fantastic’. It is hoped that in addition to giving a boost [...]
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Britain’s largest drugs company, has agreed to buy Stiefel Laboratories in a deal worth $3.6 billion (£2.5 billion). GSK is paying $2.9 billion in cash and will take on $400 million of Stiefel’s net debt. Stiefel, the US skincare specialist based in Florida, produces skin treatments for acne and psoriasis. The group is [...]
A trend of Australians not taking their full annual leave has worsened following the onset of the economic downturn and, as a result, has collectively accrued 123 million days leave which amounts to AUS$33 billion in wages. The Tourism Minister, Martin Ferguson, has revealed that he is currently considering spending the $900 stimulus payment in [...]
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed manufacturing output in the UK fell for the eleventh consecutive month in January, and shrank at its fastest annual pace since January 1981. According to the ONS, output fell 12.8% compared with a year ago as the downturn continues to have a devastating affect on [...]
Figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have revealed further bad news for the UK car industry. According to the organisation, new registrations fell 21.9% in February, compared with the same month last year. The industry has been hit badly as the economic downturn has meant that consumers have cut [...]
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have revealed that the number of new cars registered in the UK in January fell 30.9% year-on-year. The continued fall highlights the fact that the economic downturn continues to have a major impact on new car sales. According to the organisation, a total of 112,087 new cars [...]
This afternoon, Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, unveiled a rescue package of £2.3 billion for the UK’s ailing car industry. The package comes after months of pressure on the Government to take action after the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) warned that the industry was “battling” for its survival. Many car manufacturers have been [...]
Estate agents that have so far survived the housing market downturn can look forward to a review of the market by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), in 2009. The watchdog has promised to take a comprehensive look at the sector and will be involving both consumer groups and industry bodies. In a similar study [...]
Switzerland’s largest investment bank, UBS, has announced it is to axe a further 1,900 jobs in its investment banking, equities and fixed income units. The news follows that yesterday from PricewaterhouseCoopers, administrators of Lehman Brothers’ European division, who said 750 workers are to lose their jobs with immediate effect. With regard to the job losses [...]
The UK economy has ground to a halt after data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that it did not grow at all in the second quarter of 2008. The ONS said growth was 0% in the second quarter, below the 0.3% figure recorded for the first quarter of the year. Many analysts [...]
According to industry body, Association of British Insurers (ABI), dishonest drivers face a nasty surprise as detection of fraudulent claims has increased by 70% over the last 3 years. Last year, the ABI uncovered 24,000 fraudulent motor insurance claims worth £260 million, or £5 million every week. Nick Starling, the ABI’s Director of General Insurance [...]
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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