Industry body, the EEF, has warned that UK manufacturers believe it will be 2011 before the industry returns to pre-recession levels. It was recently announced that manufacturing output remained flat for a second consecutive month in November. On an annual basis, manufacturing output declined by 5.4%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed a rise in factory prices for the month of December. According to the ONS, the prices of goods leaving UK factories grew at a faster pace than expected at 0.5%. The monthly rise takes the annual rate of output price inflation to 3.5% – exceeding forecasts [...]
Figures published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed a fall in UK car production. Car output declined 6.7% in October compared with a year ago, however, it was the smallest monthly drop this year. According to the SMMT, there were 106,400 cars made in October and so far this year, [...]
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) today announced an annual fall of 31.5% in the number of new cars made in the UK last month. The decline in production was worse than the 17.9% fall seen in July, but this was partly due to car plants having extended shutdowns in August. According to [...]
Influential think tank, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said today that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.2% in the third quarter after a 0.3% fall in the April to June period. The NIESR specialises in estimating GDP prior to the release of figures from the Office for National Statistics. However, while [...]
The Office for National Statistics has today revealed a rise in UK manufacturing output during July, boosted by a sharp improvement up in car production. Factory output rose by 0.9% in July when compared with the previous month – treble the figure that analysts had forecast and the fastest rate in 18 months. However, output [...]
The Chinese economy received a boost today after the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to a 16-month high of 54 points in August, up from 53.3 the previous month. August represented the sixth consecutive month that the official PMI figure was above the crucial 50 level – which represents growth and suggests that the [...]
The Bank of England’s Governor, Mervyn King, is to give the latest growth and inflation forecasts for the UK economy later today, with one analyst expecting it to be a “downbeat affair“. Its quarterly Inflation Report will give the latest predictions on both the country’s economic output and the rate of inflation. It is also [...]
Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that UK public sector borrowing soared by £13 billion in June, up from £7.5 billion a year ago. This takes the nation’s net debt to £798.8 billion – an increase of £157 billion compared with a year earlier. While the figure was lower [...]
Japan’s central bank has voted unanimously to keep interest rates on hold at 0.1%, as widely expected. However, while the Bank was optimistic for the future, it noted the continued weakness in consumer spending, as well as a sharp fall in capital spending by companies. Private consumption, which makes up for over half of the [...]
The Office for National Statistics has today revealed that the cost of goods leaving UK factories fell at the sharpest pace in 8 years in June due to a slump in demand. Output prices fell by a larger than expected 1.2%, quadruple the 0.3% decline recorded in the year to May and puts further downward [...]
There are hopes that the UK’s beleaguered manufacturing industry is recovering after the Purchasing Managers’ Index from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) said output in the industry rose for the first time since March 2008 in June. The index showed a reading of 52.1 – anything above 50 is positive and indicates [...]
The world’s second largest economy received some good news today with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announcing that industrial production was up 5.9% in May from a month earlier. The gain was the third consecutive monthly rise with manufacturers predicting that output will rise 3.1% in June and 0.9% in July. However, despite [...]
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is forecasting that the UK’s recession will end in this year but said recovery is likely to be “weak and fragile” for some time. The OECD is forecasting that output will decline by 4.3% this year, revised upwards from its March forecast of a 3.7% fall. The [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported that British manufacturing output fell by 0.1% in March compared with the previous month. While the figure showed a decline, it was not as bad as expected with analysts forecasting a fall of 0.8%. However, output fell 5.5% in the first three months of 2009 when compared [...]
For the 12th consecutive month, UK manufacturing output fell in February according to the Office for National Statistics, and the quarterly measure has recorded the biggest drop since records began in 1968. Manufacturing, utilities and mining have dropped by 12.5 percent in February from a year ago. Car manufacturers have been hit particularly hard, although [...]
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed manufacturing output in the UK fell for the eleventh consecutive month in January, and shrank at its fastest annual pace since January 1981. According to the ONS, output fell 12.8% compared with a year ago as the downturn continues to have a devastating affect on [...]
Economists at Strathclyde University believe Scotland could be hit hard by the recession with 159,000 jobs expected to go over the 2008 to 2011 period. The alarming survey, conducted by the Fraser of Allander Institute, said the downturn could be worse than the recession in the 1980s and is predicting that Scottish net output could [...]
Official figures from the Commerce Department have revealed that the world’s largest economy contracted at its sharpest rate in over 26 years in the last three months of 2008. The figures show that US economic output plummeted 3.8%, the worst quarterly contraction since 1982, when output fell by 6.4%. While the figure was not as [...]
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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