The Baltic republic of Estonia adopted the euro yesterday – becoming the euro zone’s 17th member. Estonia, a country of 1.3 million people, had hoped to join the euro in 2007 but was prevented from doing so by high inflation. However, its entry into the euro zone comes at a time when the region is [...]
Influential think tank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has today said the number of unemployed in the 33-member OECD countries hit 45.5 million in August. The Paris-based organisation said the jobless rate in August for the area was 8.5%, falling from 8.6% in July. A statement from the Organisation noted that the [...]
Professor David Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), has today said he still doesn’t rule out a double dip recession. In June, Mr Blanchflower, who is professor of economics at Dartmouth College in the US, warned the coalition Government that tough spending cuts could pose a threat to [...]
Professor David Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), has warned that cutting the deficit too quickly risks putting the UK back into recession. Mr Blanchflower, who is professor of economics at Dartmouth College in the US, told Sky News today that further investment is required to build growth. [...]
The Baltic republic of Estonia has been given the go ahead to adopt the euro on 1 January 2011 and will become the euro zone’s 17th member. “Estonia will become the 17th member of the euro area on 1 January, 2011,” Euro group president and Luxembourg Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker told a news conference. “The [...]
Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member, Adam Posen, has warned that the UK is facing a Japan-style lost decade. Japan, which is the world’s second largest economy, endured a so-called “Lost Decade” in the 1990s, whereby economic expansion grinds to a halt. In a speech, Mr Posen warned that Britain’s dysfunctional banking system [...]
David Blanchflower, the former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), believes job losses in the UK are set to soar, with unemployment among the young becoming a “national tragedy”. Mr Blanchflower’s bleak forecast comes ahead of unemployment figures, due to be released tomorrow. Furthermore, other reports out today have revealed some [...]
David Blanchflower, the former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), has warned that the latest green shoots in the economy are “tentative” and that unemployment in the UK will continue to rise. Mr Blanchflower has been speaking to the BBC after his three-year term as MPC member came to an end [...]
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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