The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas fell in June on an annual basis, by 4.5% – albeit slower than the 4.6% drop in May. The figure was slightly better than the 4.6% decline expected by the market. The US housing market has remained subdued for some time now and many have [...]
The US trade deficit swelled in June to $53.1 billion (£32.9 billion) from an upwardly revised $50.8 billion the previous month, as exports slumped. The deficit was much higher than the $48 billion expected by analysts. According to the Commerce Department, the trade deficit rose to the highest level since October 2008. Exports fell by [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported the number of loans for house purchase rose in June. According to the Council, there were 46,700 loans advanced for house purchase in the month – a rise of 22% compared with the previous month but 11% lower on an annual basis. However, despite the annual [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK trade gap widened to £8.8 billion in June – the biggest deficit since December 2010 and higher than expectations of £8.1 billion. The figures come on the same day the ONS revealed UK factory output fell by 0.4% in June after rising by 1.8% [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK factory output fell by 0.4% in June after rising by 1.8% in May. The reading surprised economists who had expected a 0.2% rise. Meanwhile, the ONS said out of 13 categories in manufacturing, five increased and eight fell with the biggest falls in transport equipment, [...]
The Commerce Department has today reported an unexpected fall in consumer spending in the US for the month of June. Spending fell 0.2% on the month – the first fall in almost two years – suggesting the economic recovery is losing momentum. Furthermore, the figures confounded analysts’ expectations for a 0.1% increase. Consumer spending is [...]
Annual growth in banks’ gross mortgage lending stood at £7.6 billion in June, with the figure 11% lower than a year earlier, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). Early signs of growth in the buy-to-let market were evident but both house purchase and remortgaging approvals continued to be weak, and with repayments still at [...]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has today revealed a marginal rise in the number of homes sold in June in the UK. According to HMRC, 73,000 homes worth at least £40,000 or more were sold in the month – 5,000 higher than May’s level of 68,000. However, it is 12,000 lower than June 2010’s figure. [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK public sector borrowing rose last month. According to the ONS, public sector net borrowing rose to £14 billion last month compared with £13.6 billion June 2010. The figure was higher than analysts’ expectations and was attributed to a fall in income tax receipts. The figure [...]
The latest survey from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed a fall in UK consumer confidence for the month of June. The building society’s consumer confidence index lost 4 points to 51 last month, which reverses some of the 11 point rise seen in May, which represented one of the largest gains on record. The [...]
Early summer sales on the High Street have led to a modest rise in retail sales, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today. According to the ONS, like-for-like sales excluding petrol rose 0.8% in May, while they were 0.2% higher on an annual basis due to heavy discounting. The figures were broadly in line [...]
Official figures today revealed Japan’s exports recovered last month as the economy starts to rebound from the devastating earthquake and tsunami, which hit on 11 March. Exports rose by 5.4% on a monthly basis but were 1.6% lower on an annual basis – but this represented the slowest fall in four months. Analysts had forecast [...]
The US housing market remains depressed after figures have revealed sales of previously owned homes fell 0.8% on a monthly basis to a 7-month low, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The industry body said the fall in sales was attributed to contract cancellations with sales running at an annual rate of 4.77 [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported a pick up in mortgage lending for the month of June. According to the Council, gross mortgage lending last month totalled £12.9 billion – this represented a 16% rise on a monthly basis but was 3% lower compared with June 2010. Meanwhile, the CML said mortgage [...]
The Labor Department has revealed the US Consumer Price Index, the core rate of inflation, fell 0.2% in June. The fall was attributed to a drop in energy costs and was the first monthly fall in a year. Meanwhile, the annual inflation rate remained steady at 3.6%. However, the gain in core inflation (which strips [...]
Retail sales fell in June as households continue to be squeezed by higher inflation and rising unemployment. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)/KPMG retail sales monitor, sales fell by 0.6% on an underlying basis last month, while total sales (including VAT) rose 1.5%. Food sales growth eased a little last month but a strong [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today announced Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) unexpected fell to annual rate of 4.2% last month from May’s 2½-year high of 4.5%. Analysts had expected the figure to remain at 4.5%. However, the figure remains more than double the target of 2% and has been above this level since December [...]
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
