The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK industrial output grew at its fastest rate since March 2010 last month after plunging in April due to the Royal Wedding and the impact of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, which disrupted the supply chain. April’s fall represented the biggest since August 2009. However, output rose [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK manufacturing output experienced a shock fall in February after recovering in January following December’s weather related fall. According to the ONS, manufacturing output fell 1.2% on the month – attributed to a sharp drop in oil and gas production. However, analysts believe the fall is [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK manufacturing output bounced back in January after December’s weather related fall. According to the ONS, manufacturing output rose 1% in January – its fastest monthly pace in 10 months. It also beat analysts expectations who forecast a rise of 0.8%. In the meantime, output was [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK manufacturing output fell in December – due to the severe wintry weather during the month. However, the coldest December for a century resulted in a sharp rise in energy production leading to an overall rise in output. According to the ONS, manufacturing output fell 0.1% [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK manufacturing output grew by 0.6% in October compared with September – the biggest gain since March. It was also better than the 0.3% rise expected by analysts. Meanwhile, overall industrial production, which also includes utilities, mining and quarrying, fell 0.2% on the month – the [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has today elected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5% – where they have been since March 2009. Furthermore, the Bank opted not to inject any more funds into the economy via its quantitative easing (QE) scheme – introduced to [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK manufacturing output grew by 0.3% in August compared with July – the highest gain since November 2008. Not only was this better than the 0.2% rise expected by analysts, it follows the revised 0.4% gain in July. Out of 13 categories of manufacturing, nine grew [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK manufacturing output grew by 0.3% in July compared with June, recovering from a drop caused by an early start to oil rig maintenance in June. The figures, which were in line with expectations, meant the annual rise stood at 4.9% – the best annual gain [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed UK industrial output fell unexpectedly in June. According to the ONS, output fell 0.5% on the month against forecasts of a 0.2% rise. However, the fall was attributed to a 6% decline in oil and gas output. Following the announcement, the pound lost fell half a cent [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today revealed a fall in retail sales for the month of August due to the rainfall which kept shoppers away from the High Street. UK like-for-like sales (which excludes new stores) fell 0.1% compared with August 2008, according to the BRC. Sales of clothing and footwear lost ground, while [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed a fall in British manufacturing output. According to the ONS, manufacturing output fell 0.5% in May compared with April. Analysts had forecast a fall of 0.2%. Meanwhile, on an annualised basis, output in May was down 12.7%, while market expectations had been for an annual drop of [...]
Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have triggered hopes of an economic recovery after UK industrial output showed a surprise increase in April – the first month-on-month rise for 14 months. According to the ONS, industrial output rose 0.3% from March – analysts had forecast a decline of 0.1%. Furthermore, the [...]
Figures released today by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed that spending by British households fell by 1.2% in the first three months of 2009 – the largest fall since 1980. According to the ONS, the only positive contribution to growth was Government spending. In addition to the fall in household spending, the ONS [...]
The latest Bank of Japan’s quarterly Tankan survey has revealed that business confidence among major manufacturers in Japan has hit the lowest level ever. The survey of 10,000 companies, which is seen as a key indicator of the health of the country’s economy, revealed that confidence has plummeted to a 35-year low. The world’s second [...]
There is more bad news for Japan today after the statistics bureau in Tokyo announced that the unemployment rate has risen to a 3-year high of 4.4%, up from 4.1% in January. The Government said that the number of people out of work in Japan last month stood at 2.99 million, up by 330,000 from [...]
The Bank of England is under severe pressure to cut interest rates this week after figures revealed that the service sector shrank in October. The service sector, which makes for almost three quarters of output, fell for the sixth consecutive month and was at its lowest level since 1996, according to an index compiled by [...]
Official data has revealed that manufacturing production fell in May triggering fears that the UK economy is heading towards a recession. The figures were much worse than anticipated as output fell by 0.5% during the month, while the wider measure of industrial production, including energy and water output, dropped 0.8%. The latest fall in manufacturing [...]
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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