The UK’s biggest retailers are currently reporting their Christmas trading figures, and it has been a mixed bag so far. Today, British retailing giant Marks and Spencer (M&S) said sales in the final quarter of 2010 were up despite the heavy snowfall which gripped much of the country last month. The 127-year-old retailer which sells [...]
The Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) closely watched quarterly Tankan survey has revealed business confidence continues to rise, despite concerns about a strong yen. The Tankan index revealed business confidence among major manufacturers had picked up for the sixth consecutive quarter, rising to a better than expected reading of 8 in September, from 1 in June. [...]
General Electric (GE) has revealed a poor performance between the July and September period as the US conglomerate’s finance arm was hit hard by the economic downturn. The group, which is seen as barometer of US economic health, reported earnings of $2.5 billion (£1.5 billion) for the quarter, compared with $4.3 billion in the same [...]
Internet search giant Google believes the worst of the recession is over after it posted a rise in third quarter profits. Google’s results suggest that the demand for online advertising is growing after the company reported net profit of $1.64 billion (£1 billion) during the 3-month period – a 27% increase compared with the same [...]
Business investment in Britain fell by 10.4% in the April to June period – the biggest quarterly fall since 1985. Official figures show that the amount spent by businesses on a range of investments, such as new computers and building works, fell to £29.8 billion during the period. According to economists, the figures will raise [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today announced a fall in the number of homes repossessed in the second quarter of the year compared with the previous three months. According to the CML, 11,400 homes were repossessed in the second quarter of the year. While this was a rise of 14% compared with the [...]
Oil giant BP has announced a sharp fall in quarterly profits as oil prices fall and demand weakens. Net profit for the first quarter was $2.4 billion (£1.64 billion), a fall of 62% compared with the same period in 2008. However, today’s results have exceeded analysts expectations and shares in the company were up 1.1% [...]
Investment bank Goldman Sachs has exceeded analysts expectations by announcing a $1.8 billion (£1.2 billion) net profit for the three months ending 27th March. In the previous quarter, Goldman posted its first quarterly loss since going public in 1999. The markets are expected to respond positively to the results, which kicks-off some much needed good [...]
Japan’s largest stockbroking firm, Nomura, has reported its worst ever quarterly loss blaming the integration of Lehman Brother’s Asian and European operations, which it bought last September. Its quarterly loss (which related to the October to December 2008 period) amounted to 342.9 billion yen (£2.7 billion), compared with 400.37 billion yen for the same period [...]
A survey by the National Association of Pension Funds has revealed that a quarter of major private sector companies will close their doors to existing members in the next five years. A final salary pension scheme is deemed attractive since it promises to pay a percentage of earnings on retirement and those who join believe [...]
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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