A new study suggests that a family with two children now needs to earn £36,800 a year in order to achieve a “socially acceptable” standard of living. A quarter of the UK population now live below the minimum income standard (MIS), an increase of three million since 2008. The MIS study, which was commissioned by [...]
The gap between the value of pensions received by men and women has narrowed, according to a survey by the Prudential. While this looks like good news on the surface, women are only catching up with men because the average male annual pension has fallen in value, rather than because women’s retirement income has increased. [...]
Figures today revealed India’s wholesale price inflation eased to annual rate of 9.72% last month, down from August’s rate of 9.78%. However, the rate is still significantly above the central bank’s target of between 4% and 5% and represented the tenth consecutive month that inflation has been above the 9% mark. Stubbornly high inflation has [...]
According to the finance ministry, India’s economy expanded by 7.7% in the April to June period – much slower than the 8.8% growth in the same period a year earlier. It was the weakest growth in six quarters and was attributed to a slowdown in construction activity. Construction saw an increase of just 1.2% during [...]
According to the World Bank, soaring food prices have pushed more than 40 million people into poverty in the last year. Worryingly, a further 10% increase in food prices would push 10 million below the extreme poverty line - defined as an income of less than $1.25 a day. Robert Zoellick, World Bank president, was [...]
The Indian economy is projected to expand 8.6% in the current fiscal year, according to Government estimates. The Indian economy, which is the world’s second fastest-growing major economy behind China, grew by a staggering 8.9% on an annual basis in the July to September period. However, the economy faces headwinds – the country’s inflation rate [...]
India’s Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, has expressed his optimism for the economy’s return to growth. According to the FM, the economy should experience growth of 9% but should make it past the double digit barrier in the next two years. He added that the economy was “on a path to rapid recovery” after the latest [...]
Government plans to review the welfare system with a view to simplifying benefits have been given a guarded welcome by the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). The CAB said simplifying the system will help more people claim the benefits they are entitled to. However, it warned that the reforms must continue to provide support for the [...]
The Bangladeshi anti-poverty banker Muhammad Yunus is to feature in an episode of hit TV cartoon The Simpsons. Yunus, whose pioneering work on micro-finance earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, will appear in the TV show as a cartoon version of himself. The episode will focus on his micro-credit work in Bangladesh, which [...]
India’s first microfinance institution (MFI) to issue public shares has announced its initial public offering (IPO) will open on 28 July. SKS Microfinance will announce the issue price on 26 July and is considering offering a discount to retail investors. The company plans raise Rs. 1,500cr ($320 million) from the IPO with the shares sold [...]
Investors looking to profit from microfinance are no better than loan sharks, a pioneer of the industry has claimed. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus said he is concerned that investment funds are viewing microfinance as a way to make a profit. “Poor people should not be presented as an opportunity to make money,” said the Bangladeshi [...]
India-based SKS Microfinance has announced an initial public offering (IPO) which is expected to raise $250-$350 million in shareholder investments. The IPO is the first by an Indian microfinance company, and has sparked a debate around the ethics of profiting from the poor. Some argue that the IPO is necessary after microfinance firms (MFIs) reach [...]
Eleven industry leading sustainable banks have pledged to deliver banking services to the world’s poorest people. The banks made the promise at the second summit of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, earlier this month. “Fighting poverty will remain the first priority for the banking sector in the [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed that the number of pensioners living in poverty has shrank by almost a third to two million in 2007/08 from 2.9 million in 1998/99. Poverty is officially defined as living on 60% of the average income - once housing costs have been paid. The ONS also [...]
A new microfinance bank in Bahrain is set to help thousands of needy families. The Family Bank, a joint initiative between Bahrain’s Social Development Ministry and the Grameen Bank, will offer loans of between 150 and 7,000 Bahrain Dinars (between £250 and £11,500). “The idea is to make needy and creative Bahraini families self dependent [...]
Pensioners are missing out on up to £5.4 billion per year in benefits they are entitled to, Age Concern said this week. The over-50s charity said thousands of pensioners are refusing to claim benefits because they are too proud to do so. Many pensioners would feel like they were taking handouts if they accepted benefits [...]
The average person seeking debt advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is nearly £17,000 in the red and would need 93 years to pay back the money at an affordable rate. This is compared to an average debt of £10,600 in 2001, and CAB expects the situation to deteriorate further in the year ahead. [...]
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have established that half of all single pensioners receive an annual income of under £6,000. The ONS figures, which cover 2005/06, also revealed that 62% of pensioner couples had a total pension income of less than £10,000. The research is highlighting the need for a private pension [...]
Co-op bank boosts high street presence
The Co-op’s long-awaited deal with Lloyds Banking group has taken a major step forward with the sealing of a Heads of Terms agreement, under which the Co-op will pay around £750m for 632 Lloyds branches. Lloyds Banking Group was ordered to sell the branches under the terms of the bail-out it received from the government [...]
UK trade minister drawn into HSBC money laundering scandal
UK trade minister, Lord Green, will have to answer some “serious questions” over HSBC’s involvement in money laundering, Chris Leslie, the shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, said. Lord Green was chief executive of HSBC from 2003 and 2006, and was chairman until 2010 when he resigned to become part of the coalition government. A [...]
M&S bank launches £20 a month current account
Marks and Spencer is opening its first in-store bank branch this week and will launch its first current account this autumn. M&S bank will make its debut at the retailer’s flagship store in Marble Arch, London, with 49 more branches expected to open over the next two years. Its current account is targeted firmly at [...]
Pot-follows-worker plan raises pension concerns
As part of its preparations for the introduction of auto-enrolment in October, the government has outlined plans for pension pots to follow workers when they move jobs. Auto-enrolment will require employers to enrol their workers into a qualifying workplace pension scheme and this is expected to lead to an increase in the number of pension [...]
Outlook improves for UK economy
The UK economy could recover more quickly than expected according to economic forecasting group the Ernst & Young Item Club. The Item Club expects the UK to return to growth in the second half of this year, marking an end to the double-dip recession. However this depends on a solution being found to the debt [...]
Ulster Bank resumes normal service after IT glitch
Service at Ulster Bank should now be back to normal for most customers, following a computer failure almost a month ago at parent company RBS. The technical problem left 100,000 Ulster Bank customers without access to their accounts. NatWest and RBS customers also experienced problems after the computer failure on 19 June, but most of [...]
ABI says Labour’s pension warning is misleading
A new report by the Labour Party on pensions has been criticised by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) as badly timed and misleading. The report, by shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne, supports earlier comments by Ed Miliband that pension fees and charges could erode half of a retiree’s pension fund. The Labour [...]
Rightmove reports fall in house prices
Property website Rightmove recorded a drop in the average asking price for residential property this month, representing the first fall since January. Average prices have fallen by 1.7 per cent, a drop of £4,138, with demand low due to the wet weather deterring potential buyers from viewing properties. The website also blamed the Olympics for [...]
Sharp fall in car insurance costs
The average cost of comprehensive car insurance was £797 in spring 2012, a fall of more than 7 per cent, or £60, compared with a year ago. The fall reverses a steady rise in the price of motor insurance premiums since 2009. A survey by Confused.com and professional services company Towers Watson revealed that men [...]
Funding for lending scheme to launch next month
The Treasury and the Bank of England have revealed details of their multi-billion pound ‘funding for lending’ scheme which will begin in August and run for 18 months. The initiative is designed to make it easier and cheaper for businesses and individuals to secure loans and mortgages. It is hoped that it will help to [...]
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