Official data has today revealed that US consumer prices fell for the second consecutive month in May, by 0.2% on a monthly basis. The fall was attributed to declines in fuel costs, after energy prices dropped sharply, according to the Labor Department. The fall in May was the biggest monthly drop since December 2008. Meanwhile, [...]
Official data has today revealed that US consumer prices fell in April by 0.1% on a monthly basis – the first decline in 13 months. The fall was attributed to declines in petrol, housing, car and clothing prices according to the Labor Department. Petrol prices fell by 2.4%, clothing costs fell 0.7%, while food costs [...]
The Labor Department revealed the world’s largest economy added 290,000 jobs last month, primarily in manufacturing, healthcare and hospitality. It was the biggest monthly total in four years but despite the rise, the unemployment rate has risen from 9.7% in March to 9.9% in April. According to analysts, as confidence grows in the economy, those [...]
The Labor Department today revealed the world’s largest economy added 162,000 jobs last month – the largest job gain since March 2007. The unemployment rate remains at 9.7% – the third consecutive month it has been at this level. The news sent oil prices soaring to an 18-month high of $85.89 a barrel and was [...]
The Labor Department has announced the number of US workers filing for jobless benefits fell last week. According to the Labor Department, initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell in the week ended March 20 to 14,000 to 442,000 – boosting hopes that the recovery in the world’s largest economy is gathering momentum. Commenting on [...]
The US Labor Department has today reported a fall in producer prices of 0.6% in February – the biggest fall since July 2009. The fall, which was worse than expected, was attributed to a 2.9% decline in energy costs. Compared to February 2009, producer prices grew 4.4%, but they slowed from a 4.6% annualised rise [...]
Official data has revealed US consumer prices rose by a slower-than-expected 0.2% in January. On an annual basis, prices were up 2.6% – also below expectations. The increase was the result of a hike in energy prices, which rose for the ninth month in a row. Over the last year, energy prices have soared 19.1%, [...]
The Labor Department has today revealed that the US unemployment rate fell from 10% in December to 9.7% in January – its lowest level in five months. According to the Labor Department, employers cut 20,000 jobs last month – many analysts had predicted the economy to add jobs. US President Barack Obama has pledged to [...]
The Commerce Department has revealed a fall in housing starts for the month of December but building permits rose. According to the Commerce Department, construction of new US homes fell 4% during the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 557,000 properties. The fall was primarily due to bad weather which hit most of [...]
Figures published today by the US Labor Department revealed that the world’s largest economy lost more jobs than expected in December. Today’s figures means the unemployment rate remains at 10%. US employers cut 85,000 jobs in the month, surprising analysts after the economy added 4,000 jobs, rather than the initial estimate of losing 11,000 jobs [...]
Figures published today by the Labor Department revealed that the US economy lost fewer jobs in November with the unemployment rate falling to 10% from a rate of 10.2% in October. Figures show that US employers cut the lowest number of jobs during the month since the onset of the recession two years ago. The [...]
The recovery in the US was thrown into doubt today after the Commerce Department revealed housing start figures for the month of September. While construction of new US homes rose during the month, it was below economists’ expectations. According to the Commerce Department, construction of new US homes rose 0.5% during the month to a [...]
The Labor Department has today revealed that the US unemployment rate has hit a 26-year high of 9.7% – analysts had been expecting a rise to 9.5%. Figures show that 216,000 jobs were lost in August in the world’s largest economy and since the start of the recession in December 2007, the economy has lost [...]
Government figures released today revealed a shock rise in the number of US workers filing new claims for jobless benefits. The Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits rose 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 576,000 in the week ending August 15, up from 561,000 the previous week. Linda Duessel, market strategist at [...]
The Commerce Department today announced a rise in US retail sales in June of 0.6% and follows on from the increase of 0.5% in May. Analysts had forecast a rise of 0.4% for the month. Sales were driven by higher petrol costs, cars and car parts, when stripping out these items, sales declined 0.2% – [...]
Figures from the US Labor Department have revealed that the unemployment rate in the US rose from 9.4% in May to 9.5% in June. While the rate of 9.5% was slightly lower than had been expected – it is still the highest since August 1983 with a total of 14.7 million people unemployed in June [...]
The world’s largest economy received some good news today after the Commerce Department revealed that gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an annualised rate of 5.5% in the first three months of 2009. The figures were much better than previously thought and follow a 6.3% fall in the final quarter of 2008 and a fall [...]
Figures released today from the US Labor Department show that the US economy shed 345,000 jobs in May, taking the unemployment rate up to a 25-year high of 9.4%. However, the number of jobs lost were far fewer than expected and follow the 539,000 jobs lost in the previous month. Service sector industries axed 120,000 [...]
The US Labor Department has announced today that US consumer prices remained unchanged in April – in line with expectations. However, on an annualised basis, inflation fell 0.7% on April last year – the steepest decline in 54 years. Core prices, excluding energy and food, rose by 0.3% in April compared with March, which was [...]
The Commerce Department revealed that US retail sales fell 0.4% in April and follows a fall of 1.3% in March. April’s figure was worse than analysts had expected and show no evidence of an actual recovery, according to Paul Dales, US economist at Capital Economics. Consumer spending makes up for nearly 70% US GDP and [...]
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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