A survey has revealed Europe’s powerhouse, Germany, continue to leads the recovery after the economy’s services sector rose to a 55-month high. Early findings from the business survey, Markit’s Flash Purchasing Managers’ Index for the 17-member nation rose to 55.2 in January from 54.2 in December, beating forecasts of a 54.3 reading. The index remains [...]
At yesterday‘s EU summit, leaders agreed to establish a permanent mechanism to bailout any nation whose large public deficits threaten the 16-member euro zone. The agreement comes after Greece and Ireland have already been the recipients of multi-billion euro bailouts from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. EU President Herman Van Rompuy said [...]
Shares have fallen across Britain, Europe and the US today after concerns about austerity measures in Greece, Portugal and Spain have re-surfaced. The euro also fell against the US dollar to $1.25 – the first time since March last year. The euro has already shed 12% this year against the dollar and is set to [...]
EU finance ministers have agreed a €500 billion (£433 billion) emergency rescue package, designed prevent the Greek debt crisis from spreading to other euro zone nations. The bail-out came after 11 hours of discussions in Brussels last week as fears grew for other heavily indebted European countries such as Ireland, Spain and Portugal. The 16 [...]
A deal designed to prevent Greece from defaulting on its massive debt has been agreed over the weekend. It is also hoped the €110 billion (£95 billion) three-year rescue package will strengthen the single currency, which has been plummeting over recent months as a result of Greece’s debt crisis. The EU will provide €80 billion [...]
Moody’s Investors Services has today announced the credit ratings of the world’s four largest AAA-rated nations are viewed as safe. According to Moody’s, the world’s four largest AAA-rated sovereign nations, which include Germany, France, the UK and the US are currently “well positioned despite their stretched finances”. In its quarterly report assessing the prospects of [...]
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has today revealed that the unemployment rate in its member countries has crept up from 8.5% in July to 8.6% in August, up from 6.3% in August 2008. The OECD, which includes 30 territories such as the US, Australia, Japan, Canada, New Zealand and European countries, is [...]
At last week’s G20 summit, the world’s leading nations agreed to “tough new regulations”. Following the summit, which took place in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday, US President Barack Obama announced that in order to prevent another financial crisis: “We have agreed tough new financial regulations to ensure that the reckless few can no longer [...]
At a meeting in Italy yesterday for the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations, it was acknowledged that there are signs of stabilisation in the world’s leading economies. G8 ministers said stock markets were rising, interest rates more stable, and consumer confidence was returning. However, finance ministers reluctantly admitted that the global situation still “remains [...]
G7 ministers, which comprise the US, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada have met in Washington, and issued a five-point plan to unfreeze credit markets. The nations have pledged to take ‘decisive action and use all available tools‘ to support financial organisations. The plan is intended to protect major banks and other financial institutions [...]
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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