Lloyds Banking Group has announced it will close down its Equity Markets division – as part of its strategy to dispose of non-core assets. The division has around a dozen employees and the announcement comes shortly after the bank said 200 jobs would go at its insurance arm. Since the onset of the financial crisis, [...]
Banking giant Barclays is reducing headcount further – this time at its credit card arm, Barclaycard. The announcement comes just a week after the bank said it will axe 1,000 jobs as it ceases to offer financial planning advice in its branches. Meanwhile, the job losses within the credit card division are the result of [...]
US pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer has today announced plans to close its Viagra R&D facility in Sandwich, Kent, which will result in the loss of 2,400 jobs. The company said the majority of the staff will be made redundant, however, “several hundred” may be transferred to other Pfizer sites. The move is aimed at saving $1.5 [...]
Telecoms company Talk Talk has today announced plans to axe 580 administration jobs as part of a major restructure. The job losses, which represent 13% of its UK workforce of 4,500, are due to overlap within the company after acquiring three separate businesses via acquisitions, which includes Tiscali last year. “This has created a level [...]
Banking giant Barclays has announced it will axe 1,000 jobs as it ceases to offer financial planning advice in its branches. The job cuts will take place countrywide from February 18 as the bank focuses its investment service online. The announcement comes just a week after the bank was fined £7.7 million by the Financial [...]
A new report has revealed the UK’s recovery is a mixed picture with some cities facing a slow recovery from the recession, while others which have proved to be resilient. The report by Centre for Cities discovered cities including Hull, Doncaster and Northampton were now in recovery mode but Liverpool, Birkenhead, Swansea and Newport could [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK unemployment rose in the three months to November. The ONS said unemployment grew by 49,000 in the three month period to 2.498 million. The latest figures means the unemployment rate is unchanged from last month at 7.9% – in line with forecasts. In the meantime, [...]
A report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG has revealed employment for both temporary and permanent workers rose during December. The survey of 400 recruitment consultancies showed permanent staff vacancies rising at their fastest level in four months, while demand for temporary staff saw its biggest rise in six months. However, the [...]
Job losses resulting from the Government’s spending cuts is expected to bring widespread industrial action next year, unions have suggested. In his New Year message, Brendan Barber, the TUC’s general secretary, claimed 2011 would be a “horrible” year of cuts and will also be tough for the Government. Unemployment will undoubtedly rise, said the union. [...]
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has provided a gloomy assessment for UK unemployment, suggesting it could hit a 17-year high of 2.7 million next year. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show UK unemployment at just over the 2.5 million mark – at a rate of 7.9%. However, [...]
Online search giant Yahoo has confirmed it will reduce its headcount by 4% – or 600 people, as part of a cost-cutting exercise. The job losses represent the fourth round of staff cuts that the company has made in three years, as it endeavours to cut costs and increase profits. The company’s revenues have grown [...]
Defence giant BAE Systems has today announced plans to reduce its workforce by 1,400 – primarily the result of the Government’s decision to cut back on defence spending. The jobs will go in Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Moray, Ayrshire, Hampshire, Rutland and Somerset. In a statement, the company said: “Following a detailed review of the implications [...]
The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR), which was established in May, has today revised its growth forecast for the UK for the 2010 year. The independent body, which was set up by the coalition Government to assess the state of public finances, has lifted its economic growth forecast from 1.2% to 1.8% – slightly higher [...]
Ireland’s Government has today, as expected, outlined its four-year austerity plan, in a move designed to bring down the country’s ballooning budget deficit. Ireland is aiming to save €15 billion (£13 billion) between 2011 and the end of 2014 – 11% of the economy‘s annual output. The measures include a reduction in the minimum wage [...]
Banking giant Lloyds has today revealed it is shedding 420 positions at its Black Horse personal finance unit. This brings the total number of job losses to 22,000 since its merger with HBOS in autumn 2008, which resulted in 41% ownership by the taxpayer. Commenting on today’s announcement, the Unite union, said it was “appalled” [...]
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has said the private sector will be hit severely hard as a direct result of the Government’s spending cuts. Last month, Chancellor George Osborne unveiled his Comprehensive Spending Review – in what has been described as the most savage spending cuts since the Second World War. The [...]
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which is 83% owned by the taxpayer, is understood to be looking at selling a £1 billion Spanish property loan portfolio, as it looks to offload unwanted assets. The speculation comes as the bank has been selling assets under the orders of the European Commission, as a punishment of [...]
Respected economic forecaster, the Ernst & Young Item Club, has today warned of a gloomy outlook for consumers but a double-dip recession is unlikely. The think tank said economic growth will be hampered due to massive spending cuts – introduced by the Government to tackle the budget deficit. The Ernst & Young Item Club is [...]
Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) has today announced it will reduce headcount by 4,500 in its IT division – a move which has angered unions. The banking giant, which is 43% owned by the taxpayer, has now axed 20,000 jobs since the start of 2009, some of which were due to overlap following the bank’s takeover [...]
A report by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) today revealed around one million jobs could be lost in the UK, as a result of the massive spending cuts introduced by the Government. PwC said around half a million jobs will be lost in the private sector due to the impact on firms supplying the public sector. [...]
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
