The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK trade deficit narrowed in August as export values hit an all-time high and imports fell. The goods trade gap shrank to £7.77 billion in August from £8.15 billion the previous month, said the ONS. Total exports of goods reached £25.5 billion, led by fuels [...]
Nationalised lender Northern Rock Plc has today unveiled its results for the half-year. The crisis-torn bank, which was the first victim of the credit crunch, said pre-tax profits for the six months to 30 June totalled £68.5 million, against a loss of £142.6 million in the same period a year ago. However, lending was lower [...]
The US trade deficit narrowed sharply in April, figures showed today, due to a record increase in exports. According to the Commerce Department, the trade deficit narrowed to $43.7 billion from March’s figure of $46.8 billion – surprising analysts who had expected a rise to $48.7 billion. Exports rose 1.3% on a monthly basis to [...]
Australia’s Bureau of Statistics today revealed retail sales recovered in April, hitting a 17-month high. Sales grew 1.1% in April on a monthly basis – the biggest rise since November 2009 and nearly three times more than expected. The figures come just a day after the Bureau revealed the economy contracted in the first quarter [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK’s trade deficit narrowed in February. According to the ONS, the global goods trade gap narrowed to £6.8 billion in the month from £7.8 billion in January. Analysts had expected a widening in the deficit to £8.1 million. Stripping out oil and erratic items, the [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK’s trade deficit narrowed more than expected in January, as exports surged. According to the ONS, the global goods trade gap narrowed to £7.09 billion in the month from £9.69 billion in December. The deficit represents the smallest in almost a year and economists had [...]
Figures today from the customs authorities revealed Chinese exports surged 17.9% in December to $154.15 billion on an annual basis. However, this was much slower than the 34.9% rise reported in November. Imports, meanwhile, also rose, by 25.6% on a yearly basis to $141.07 billion, narrowing the country’s controversial trade surplus to $13.1 billion in [...]
The Commerce Department today announced the US trade deficit narrowed by 5.3% in September to $44 billion – slightly less than the $45 billion expected by analysts. The figures led to a politically sensitive gap with China of $27.8 billion – hovering near a record high. The previous record trade deficit with China was $27.9 [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK’s trade deficit narrowed slightly in September as exports outpaced imports. According to the ONS, the goods trade gap narrowed to £8.2 billion in September, down from the £8.5 billion reported in August and July. Analysts had expected a deficit of £8 billion. The ONS [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK’s trade deficit narrowed slightly in August, after reaching a five-year high the previous month. According to the ONS, the goods trade gap widened to £8.2 billion in August, down from the £8.7 billion reported in July. Analysts had expected a deficit of £8.05 billion. [...]
China’s trade surplus narrowed to $20 billion (£13 billion) last month as imports surged ahead. However, August still represented the third consecutive month in which China’s trade surplus exceeding $20 billion. Imports soared 35.2% on an annual basis – far exceeding the 26.1% expected by analysts. Meanwhile, exports slowed to 34.4% on an annual basis, [...]
The Commerce Department today announced the US trade deficit narrowed in July by 14% to $42.8 billion (£27.8 billion) from $49.90 billion the previous month. The figure is much improved from June’s figure when the trade gap reached a 20-month high. According to the Commerce Department, the narrowing in the trade deficit was primarily due [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK’s trade gap narrowed in June, due to a surge in exports. According to the ONS, exports of goods to non-EU countries were at an all-time high at £10.750 billion, while exports to the rest of the world were the highest in almost two years [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK’s trade gap narrowed in February, due to a recovery in exports. According to the ONS, goods exports surged 9.5% in February, following on from a wintry January which affected trade. The ONS said the February deficit on goods trade narrowed to £6.17 billion, down [...]
State-owned bank Northern Rock has today announced losses for the 2009 year fell to £258 million, compared with £1.36 billion in the previous year. Despite the loss, the Newcastle-based bank said it is awarding staff £14.9m in bonuses but Gary Hoffman, the chief executive of Northern Rock, is waiving his payout. Northern Rock said Mr [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today reported that British exports rose at their fastest monthly pace in July, bringing further hopes of a recovery. According to the ONS, exports rose 5% on the month to £19.187 billion – the fastest rise since January 2008, while the value of imports grew by 3.5% to [...]
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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