The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK public sector net borrowing fell last month. According to the ONS, public sector net borrowing came in at a lower than expected £14.1 billion in September, boosted by tax receipts. Analysts had expected borrowing to total £14.5 billion. Furthermore, the ONS revised down the borrowing [...]
The German Government has today slashed its growth forecasts for the euro zone’s largest economy. The Government said it now expected the economy to expand by 1% in 2012, down from an earlier estimate of 1.8%. Meanwhile, this year’s forecast has been lowered slightly to 2.9% from 3%. Its downgrade comes just a week after [...]
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has revised its growth forecasts for major economies. The US, which is the world’s largest economy, is expected to see growth in the third quarter of 1.1% and 0.4% in the fourth – this is far lower than the previous estimates of 2.9% and 3%. However, [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK public sector net borrowing fell last month. According to the ONS, public sector net borrowing came in at £20 million in July – down from £3.5 billion in the same month a year ago. The figure was much lower than analysts’ expectations and was boosted [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed the world’s largest economy grew by 1.3% on an annual basis in the April to June period. The figure was far short of expectations of a reading of 1.8%. However, today’s reading is the first estimate and could be revised up or down in the coming months. Meanwhile, first [...]
Spanish banking giant Santander has today revealed its first half profits were hit by costs relating to its mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). The controversial insurance has been a hot topic for some time now and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) introduced a review of the insurance after millions of policies were mis-sold and [...]
Respected think tank, Ernst & Young ITEM Club, has lowered its growth forecast for the UK economy after warning that the UK is at a “critical juncture”. The ITEM Club now believes the UK economy will expand by 1.4% this year, down from an earlier estimate of 1.8%. Furthermore, it is predicting growth of 2.2% [...]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has today revealed the unemployment rate in the US rose in June to 9.2% from 9.1% in May. According to the Bureau, the number of new jobs created in the world’s largest economy last month represented the lowest in 9 months. The economy created just 18,000 jobs in June – [...]
The Bank of England has today revealed mortgage approvals remained weak in May. According to the Bank, there were 45,940 loans approved in the month – slightly higher than April’s 45,447 but lower than forecasts of a level of 46,100. Furthermore, May’s figure was lower than the average for the previous six months. Today’s figures [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK public sector borrowing fell slightly last month. According to the ONS, public sector borrowing fell to £15.15 billion last month compared with £16.46 billion in May last year. The figure was lower than analysts’ expectations of £15.75 billion and was attributed to an increase in [...]
As widely expected, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has today left interest rates in the range of zero to 0.1%, in a bid to boost the economy following the twin disasters which hit the north-east part of the country last month. The country is battling to restore calm after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has today revealed a slight rise in the number of new mortgages approved by the major banks in February. According to the BBA, the number of new mortgages approved in the month stood at 29,923 – marginally better than January’s level of 29,159, albeit lower than economists forecast of 29,350. [...]
The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat has today revealed inflation in the euro zone rose to 2.3% in January – albeit lower than an earlier projection of 2.4% and compares with 2.2% in December. However, the rate remains above the European Central Bank’s target of just below 2%. The ECB has previously suggested inflation in [...]
HSBC has today posted pre-tax profits of $19 billion (£11.8 billion) for the 2010 year, compared with $7.1 billion for the 2009 year. While the banking giant saw profits double, the results disappointed investors as they were slightly below the $20 billion analysts had expected. Shares in the bank were up 2% prior to the [...]
The Commerce Department has revealed US retail sales grew for the sixth consecutive month in December. Sales grew by 0.6% on the month – although this was less than the 0.8% expected by analysts. December’s increase was less than in the previous two months, as retailers started their sales early, while parts of the country [...]
Figures published today revealed a slowdown in industrial output in India – which fell to a 16-month low. India’s statistics office said output grew 4.4% on an annualised basis in September – less than expected and down from August’s 6.9% growth. Federal finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, described the industrial slowdown as a “matter of concern” [...]
British insurance giant Prudential has failed to renegotiate the price of its takeover of AIA, the Asian arm of US company American International Group (AIG). The deal now looks set to collapse after AIA snubbed the lower price tag of $30.375 billion. It emerged last week that the Pru, which is Britain’s second largest insurer, [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed a disappointing performance for the High Street for the month of December. Official figures showed that UK retail sales rose by just 0.3% in December compared with the previous month. On an annual basis, sales were up 2.1% but both monthly and annual figures were lower [...]
Exxon Mobil is the latest oil giant to report its third quarter profits and has announced a 68% fall in net profit to $4.73 billion, compared with $14.8 billion a year ago. Exxon, which is the world’s largest oil company, has been hit by weaker oil prices. Although oil prices have increased recently to around [...]
Figures from the National Association of Realtors have revealed a surprise rise in US home sales in December, as buyers took advantage of lower house prices. The organisation said sales of existing homes rose 6.5% to an annual rate of 4.74 million, from 4.45 million in November. According to the National Association of Realtors, for [...]
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
