Disability charity Scope is to launch a £20 million bond programme to produce a new source of funds for its charitable activities. The move will see the charity become one of the first in the UK to enter the capital markets. The charity will team up with Investing for Good, a specialist social finance intermediary, [...]
Banking giant HSBC has today announced plans to axe 3,000 jobs at its Asian headquarters in Hong Kong over the next three years. The reduction in headcount is part of an ongoing global cost-cutting plan after comes shortly after the bank said it would axe 30,000 jobs by 2013. The bank, which is Europe’s largest, [...]
Following a two-day meeting, US central bank, the Federal Reserve, has announced it will introduce a fresh round of stimulus. The move was widely expected after concerns for the US economic recovery amid low inflation and rising unemployment. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has agreed to inject an additional $600 billion (£373 billion), albeit [...]
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% for the 20th consecutive month. Many economists expect no movement on interest rates until early 2011. However, in terms of quantitative easing programme (QE), Bank of England policymakers, Adam Posen [...]
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has today announced second quarter profits almost doubled after completing its restructuring programme ahead of schedule. Shell posted profits of $4.5 billion (£2.9 billion) – a rise of 94% on the $2.3 billion reported a year ago. The Anglo-Dutch firm, which is Britain’s second largest oil company, has undergone a [...]
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% for the eleventh month in a row. In addition, it has put the brakes on its quantitative easing (QE) scheme – introduced to stimulate growth within the economy. QE, also [...]
Minutes of the Bank of England’s December meeting have been released today and have revealed that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously this month to keep interest rates at the historic low of 0.5%. Furthermore, the Bank also opted to leave its quantitative easing (QE) programme unchanged at £200 billion. In November, the MPC [...]
The Daily Mail has reported that the Bank of England is set to extend its quantitative easing (QE) scheme by as much as £25 billion next year. QE, also known as printing money, is a process whereby the Treasury injects funds into the financial system to ease pressure on banks by giving them extra capital. [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is today expected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5% for the ninth month in a row. Last month, the Bank announced that it would pump another £25 billion into the economy under its quantitative easing programme. The amount was [...]
As part of its ongoing global cost-cutting programme, Swedish telecoms equipment maker Ericsson is to eliminate 700 jobs from its research and development operation in Coventry. The cuts will be made by the middle of next year and the company said after that time, the facility would no longer be viable. Ericsson has been in [...]
The Government has announced a £925 million initiative that could allow work to recommence on 270 stalled development projects across England. According to Housing Minister, John Healey, the scheme could get building work on 22,400 homes back on track and create 20,000 jobs. Every region already has projects shortlisted under the Kickstart programme, which forms [...]
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, [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
