The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed a rise in UK industrial production for the month of November. The official data showed that output rose by 0.4% in November compared with October and was slightly higher than analysts expectations of a 0.3% rise. The figures will boost hopes that the UK emerged from [...]
Figures released by the Commerce Department today revealed a rise in US imports in November, rising to $174.6 billion from $170.2 billion the previous month – a rise of 2.6%. The surge in imports to the US reflected an increase in demand for industrial materials and consumer goods. Meanwhile, exports totalled $138.2 billion – a [...]
Further good news for the UK economy emerged today after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said exports in November soared to £20.2 billion – the highest since October 2008. The rise was fuelled by sales of consumer goods and chemicals, according to the ONS. The ONS said that Britain’s global goods trade gap narrowed [...]
Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, saw exports rise for the third consecutive month in November. Exports, on a seasonally adjusted basis, totalled €70.6 billion (£63 billion) during the month – an increase of 1.6% compared with the previous month. The monthly gain was double economists’ forecasts of a 0.8% rise and followed gains of [...]
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) today said its Pending Home Sales Index fell sharply by 16% in November to 96.0 from 114.1 in October, ending a nine-month rise. The NAR attributed the fall on the end of a rush to beat the original expiration of the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers. The tax [...]
Figures published today show that people in the UK continue to repay debt as the incentive to save remains low in the current historically low interest rate environment. According to the Building Societies Association (BSA), its members withdrew more money than they saved for the ninth consecutive month in November. The BSA said there was [...]
Land Registry data for November show the average house price in England and Wales rising for the sixth consecutive month, to £161,554. The value of a typical home increased 0.9%, taking the annual decline to just 0.3%, or £8,800 above its April nadir. Wales experienced the greatest monthly rise with a positive movement of 2.9%. [...]
Official figures published yesterday revealed Japan’s factory output rose for the ninth consecutive month in November. Factory output was up by 2.6% in the month and was slightly above analysts expectations of a 2.5% rise. The rise extended the longest unbroken growth since a 12-month rise to March 1997 and was attributed to growing overseas [...]
According to the Commerce Department, US consumer spending rose 0.5% in November after a 0.6% rise in October. The rise in consumer spending, which makes up for more than two-thirds of overall economic activity in the US, was slightly under analysts expectations of 0.7%. Analysts had expected a higher jump in spending amid the Thanksgiving [...]
There were concerns over a recovery in the US housing market today after the Commerce Department revealed a fall in sales of new homes for the month of November. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales dived by 11.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 355,000 units, down from a revised 400,000 [...]
Gross mortgage lending in November showed a slight monthly rise, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). The figure stood £9.2 billion but was still 12% down on a year earlier. However, banks approved £6.6 billion in house purchase loans, up from £6.1 billion in October and a 200% increase on November of last year. [...]
New figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) show the number of homes sold in the UK falling to 87,000 in November, compared with 90,000 in October. However, last month’s total for properties worth £40,000 and above is the second-highest so far in 2009, and the dip still leaves completed transactions at over twice the [...]
The Commerce Department today revealed that the world’s no.1 economy grew at a slower rate in the third quarter than previous estimates showed. According to official figures, the US economy grew by 2.2% between the July and September period, rather than the 2.8% previously reported and the original estimate of 3.5%. The figures come on [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed that the UK’s public sector net borrowing hit a record high of £20.3 billion in November. While the figure was less than the £23 billion analysts had expected, it was still the highest for any month since the ONS began gathering data over 16 years ago. [...]
Figures published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed a rise in UK car production. Car output rose 15.7% in November compared with a year earlier – the first time car output rose since September 2008. According to the SMMT, there were 112,948 cars made in November and so far this [...]
Gross mortgage lending fell to an estimated £12 billion in November, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported. The total represents a 10% decline from £13.3 billion in October and is 14% below the gross figure for November 2008. The lenders’ body suggests a modest seasonal decline between October and November is typical, but [...]
First-time buyers were in short supply during November, according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). Figures from the body show only 19% of house sales involved those getting a foot on the property ladder, a substantial drop from a May peak of 45%. The proportion is also at its lowest since December 2008, [...]
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed a fall in UK retail sales for the month of November. There were hopes that November would see early Christmas shoppers flooding the High Street but according to the ONS, sales volumes fell by 0.3% compared with October, less than analysts forecasts of a 0.4% rise. [...]
In its November 2009 Housing Market Survey, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reports that prices continue to rise, despite a modest increase in the number of properties coming up for sale. According to the research, a net balance of 35% of chartered surveyors agreed that prices were increasing, up from 34% in October. [...]
The Office for National Statistics has today announced that Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose again for the second consecutive month to 1.9%, up from 1.5% in October and a sharp rise from the 5-year low of 1.1% in September. The latest figure means CPI is just slightly under the Bank of England’s target of 2% [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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