The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has today elected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5%, as widely expected. Interest rates have now been at this low level since March 2009 – when the economy was in the midst of recession. Recent figures showed the economy [...]
The European Central Bank (ECB) today elected to keep interest rates on hold at the record low of 1% for the 21st consecutive month. The move came despite inflation exceeding the Bank’s target. Inflation in the 17-member euro zone rose to 2.4% in January – above the ECB’s target of just below 2%. The bank [...]
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has today elected to keep interest rates on hold at 4.75% – for the fourth consecutive month. The move, which was widely expected, comes as inflationary pressures subside and the rate is expected to remain within its target this year. Australia was the first economy to raise rates from [...]
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has today said the economy is emerging from a slowdown and is optimistic about future prospects. The statement comes just a day after figures revealed Japan’s economy, which is now the world’s third largest, contracted by 0.3% in the final three months of 2010. While it was marginally less than [...]
South Korea’s central bank has elected to keep interest rates on hold despite rising inflation. The move surprised analysts who had expected a further rate rise after last month’s increase to 2.75%. However, analysts believe rates will be increased next month, with many predicting rates to be between 3.5% and 3.75% by the end of [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has today elected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5% – primarily due to sluggish economic growth, according to economists. Recent figures showed the economy contracted in the fourth quarter of 2010 so it was thought that the central bank [...]
The European Central Bank (ECB) today elected to keep interest rates on hold at the record low of 1% for the 20th consecutive month. The move came despite inflation exceeding the Bank’s target. Earlier this week, the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat revealed inflation in the euro zone rose more than expected in January. Inflation [...]
Influential think tank, the Ernst & Young Item Club, is urging the Bank of England not to be pressurised into lifting UK interest rates as it could threaten the economic recovery. Interest rates have been at the historic low of 0.5% since March 2009 – when the economy was in the midst of recession. Despite [...]
As widely expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) today elected to keep interest rates on hold at the record low of 1% for the 20th consecutive month. Rates are expected to be kept on hold for the medium-term at least to boost the area’s economic recovery. However, there are still fears that the debt crisis [...]
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has today left interest rates at almost zero, in a bid to boost the economy and continue its battle against deflation. The Japanese recovery has been faltering of late and exports, a crucial driver for economic growth, continue to slow. In addition, a strong yen could be damaging for the [...]
The Federal Reserve’s policy-setting arm, the FOMC, elected to keep interest rates on hold between 0% and 0.25% – a move which was widely expected. The Federal Open Market Committee also reaffirmed its commitment to buy $600 million in Government bonds – a policy which was branded “QE2“ (quantitative easing) and designed to boost the [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has today elected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5% – where they have been since March 2009. Furthermore, the Bank opted not to inject any more funds into the economy via its quantitative easing (QE) scheme – introduced to [...]
According to economists, the Bank of England is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold for the medium-term. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will start its two-day meeting tomorrow and rates are expected to be kept at the historic low of 0.5% – where they have been since March 2009. In addition, analysts expect [...]
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has today elected to keep interest rates on hold at 4.75% – a move which was widely expected. Australia was the first economy to raise rates from a 50-year low as the economic downturn eased. Other major economies opted for lower interest rates to boost their economies. The country [...]
As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) today elected to keep interest rates on hold at the record low of 1% for the 19th consecutive month. There were suggestions that the bank might have taken drastic action in order to address the debt crisis, currently engulfing the euro zone. However, the ECB said it will [...]
Minutes of the Bank of England’s November meeting have been released today and have revealed that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) were split three ways – for the second consecutive month. Adam Posen, again, called for an injection of £50 billion via the Bank’s quantitative easing (QE) programme to boost the economy. Furthermore, for the [...]
The European Central Bank (ECB) today elected to keep interest rates on hold at the historic low of 1% – where they have been since May 2009. Interest rates are expected to remain on hold until at least 2011, as a result of uneven growth and low inflation. The news comes after the Bank of [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has today elected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5% – where they have been since March 2009. Furthermore, the Bank opted not to inject any more funds into the economy via its quantitative easing (QE) scheme – introduced to [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is tomorrow expected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5%, where they have been since March 2009. Furthermore, it is expected to hold off, for the short-term at least, with its quantitative easing (QE) programme. Recent strong data from the [...]
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has today opted to keep interest rates on hold between zero and 0.1%. The move comes just weeks after the Bank surprised analysts and cut rates to this level. The measures come as the economy continues its battle with deflation. Deflation is also a concern for the Japanese economy. Recent [...]
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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