Supermarket giant Tesco today announced like-for-like sales, excluding petrol, grew by just 0.6% in the six week period to 8 January compared with a year earlier. The figures were worse than expected for the Christmas period and the company blamed the heavy snowfall which gripped most of the country during the build up to the [...]
British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has warned that next year will be “difficult” as he delivered his new year speech. However, Mr Cameron said Britain has a “really bright future to look forward to” and defended his Government’s spending cuts as tough but necessary, in order to trim the budget deficit. The cuts have received [...]
The Daily Mail has reported that the Bank of England is set to extend its quantitative easing (QE) scheme by as much as £25 billion next year. QE, also known as printing money, is a process whereby the Treasury injects funds into the financial system to ease pressure on banks by giving them extra capital. [...]
Richard Pym, the chairman who was appointed to stabilise Bradford & Bingley last year, is to oversee Northern Rock’s ‘bad bank’ operations. It was announced earlier this month that nationalised Northern Rock would be split into two, after receiving the necessary approval from the European Union (EU). New Years Day is the date that has [...]
With the average British household debt rising by £6.30 every day, Fairinvestment.co.uk is urging people to make sorting out their finances a priority. The price comparison website offers a free debt management service, which it claims could help people who have made a New Year’s resolution to get out of debt. According to the site, [...]
Almost half of Brits have made a New Year’s resolution to save more in 2009, according to research by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). Forty seven percent of those polled said they have resolved to save more this year, whilst 51% felt that the recession will make them ‘more likely’ to boost their savings. [...]
Price comparison site Moneysupermarket.com has said that Brits should pile on the pounds in 2009 by switching their financial services suppliers. Research by the website found that people in the UK could save up to £2,500 in the next year if they search around for the best deals available on financial products. Remortgaging could save [...]
UK credit card holders will transfer over £7 billion between cards in the New Year to take advantage of introductory interest rate offers. Research by Abbey found that 3 million Brits will take part in the great credit card shuffle, with a higher proportion of Scots and Northerners taking part. According to Abbey, ‘shifting the [...]
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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