Credit Suisse, which is Switzerland’s largest bank, has today revealed it will axe 2,000 jobs after unveiling poor results in the second quarter. The job cuts represent approximately 4% of its 50,700-strong global workforce. The Swiss banking giant has been hit by weak trading activity and the strong Swiss franc. Net profits dived to SwFr [...]
Following a review, City watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced financial advisers must hold accreditation if they want to provide independent or restricted advice from the start of 2013. The FSA said retail investment advisers will need to possess a Statement of Professional Standing (SPS) if they want to give independent or restricted [...]
Banking giant Barclays has received a fine of £7.7 million – imposed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) over poor investment advice. The City Watchdog has also ordered the bank to compensate up to £60 million to customers of two investment funds. The bank has apologised for the failures and said it will “put things [...]
The coalition government’s spending cuts will hit the vulnerable and needy the hardest, according to a leading social commentator. Polly Toynbee, columnist at the Guardian newspaper, challenged the “myth” that frontline services will be protected, adding that 100,000 people could lose their jobs as a result of the cuts. Targets of the cuts include government [...]
Figures published today by the European Union’s statistics office, Eurostat, have revealed a poor quarter one performance for many euro zone nations. According to Eurostat, Greece’s debt-ridden economy contracted by 0.8% in first three months of the year, while Spain just emerged from recession with 0.1% growth. Meanwhile, France grew by just 0.1%, slowing from [...]
Telecoms giant BT has today announced plans to axe 15,000 jobs this year – with the majority being in the UK. The group also announced a full-year loss of £134 million due to a poor performance within its Global Services unit – which has written down £1.3 billion within the division. The loss of £134 [...]
The government has announced that there will be a £41 rise in council tax, which has been heavily criticised as it will hit already struggling households the hardest, as Band D homes will see bills increase by 3 percent from £1,373 to £1,414. There will be an overall rise of 2.6 per cent from £1,145 [...]
The Government is drawing up plans to help Britain’s poorest families in the form of vouchers to help them with soaring fuel bills. Vouchers worth between £50 and £100 could be sent to around six million who claim child tax credit and would be redeemed directly against fuel bills. However, the proposed scheme has met [...]
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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