Minutes of the Bank of England’s February meeting have been released today and have revealed the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 6-3 to lift interest rates and 8-1 to restart the Bank’s quantitative easing (QE) scheme. Adam Posen, again, called for an injection of £50 billion via the QE scheme to boost the economy. However, [...]
Minutes of the Bank of England’s January meeting have been released today and have revealed that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-2 to lift interest rates and 8-1 to restart the Bank’s quantitative easing (QE) scheme. Adam Posen, again, called for an injection of £50 billion via the QE scheme to boost the economy. [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK economy contracted by 0.5% in the October to December period. The figures shocked economists who had expected growth of between 0.2-0.5% following growth of 0.7% in the third quarter and 1.1% in the April to June period. Meanwhile, economic growth rose by 1.7% on [...]
The initial reading of fourth quarter economic growth will be published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Analysts expect growth to have slowed significantly to 0.2% in the quarter, down from 0.7% in the third quarter and 1.1% in the April to June period. Today’s estimate, however, is the first of three and [...]
According to economists, the Bank of England is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold this month. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) commences its two-day meeting today and interest rates are expected to be kept at the historic low of 0.5% – where they have been for almost two years. In addition, analysts expect [...]
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has today warned of a fragile economic recovery in the UK with growth expected to slow in the final quarter of 2010. There has been suggestions that economic growth will be severely hampered because of the Government’s massive spending cuts. There is a possibility that the Bank of England’s [...]
Minutes of the Bank of England’s December meeting have been released today and have revealed that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) were split three ways – for the third 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 [...]
US industrial production recovered in November – rising by 0.4% after a 0.2% contraction in October. The result beat expectations of a forecast of 0.3% and represented the biggest gain since July. Meanwhile, the Labor Department today revealed consumer prices slowed in November. The Consumer Price Index edged up 0.1% – slightly below the forecast [...]
The Federal Reserve’s policy-setting arm, the FOMC, is scheduled to announce its decision on monetary policy today, with economists expecting no change in interest rates or to its quantitative easing programme. Last month, the Federal Open Market Committee, opted to restart its stimulus programme. The measures, introduced to stimulate the economic recovery, saw the central [...]
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 Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK economy grew by 0.8% in the July to September period – unrevised from its initial estimate last month. Today’s estimate is the second reading, a third and final estimate will be available next month. The ONS also confirmed that the economy grew by 2.8% [...]
The core measure of inflation in the US slowed further last month, posting a 0.6% annual rise – the lowest year-on-year gain on record and way below the Federal Reserve’s target of about 2%. Core prices, which exclude food and energy costs, have now remained flat for three consecutive months, the Labor Department said today. [...]
The Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King, is urging the group of G20 nations to address the issue of trade imbalances. His comments echoed those of the US who said it wants the G20 group of nations to agree to curtail “excessive imbalances” in world trade. Mr King said: “We are very much in the [...]
Several topics are set to be high on the agenda at today’s G20 gathering in South Korea. The group of G20 nations, which accounts for about 85% of the global economy, comprise the world’s 19 leading national economies (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, [...]
Presenting today’s Quarterly Inflation Report, the Bank of England’s Governor, Mervyn King, said inflation will continue to stay high, while the economy will remain weak. The report stated that inflation will remain stubbornly high, as a result of the rising price of raw materials, higher energy bills and the decision to hike VAT to 20% [...]
The Labor Department has revealed the world’s largest economy added 151,000 new jobs last month. The news was gratefully received after concerns of a sluggish recovery, which led the Federal Reserve to introduce a fresh round of stimulus this week. However, the latest figures means the unemployment rate continues to hold steady at 9.6% – [...]
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has today left interest rates at almost zero, in a bid to boost the economy and continue its battle deflation. The move follows its surprise decision last month to cut interest rates to this level. The Japanese recovery has been faltering of late and exports, a crucial driver for economic [...]
Addressing the Treasury Select Committee today, Chancellor George Osborne suggested the Bank of England could resume its quantitative easing (QE) scheme next year if economic growth slows. There has been suggestions that economic growth will be severely hampered because of the Government’s massive spending cuts – many have even said a double-dip recession is likely. [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
