A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that households will be squeezed for the next decade as they suffer from the harsh spending cuts introduced by the Government. It said households are suffering one of the worst attacks on their finances since the Second World War and that the impact of [...]
Global stocks have fallen to a one-week low today with banks among the worst performers. Concerns that the euro zone may not be able to contain its debt crisis, together with fears of the US slipping back into recession sent European shares falling this morning. Deutsche Bank lost 7.3% in early trading today, Societe Generale [...]
According to the Labor Department, the world’s largest economy added no new jobs last month, which was a surprise after markets had expected 70,000 new jobs. This represented the first time since 1945 that there has been a zero payrolls figure after 17,000 jobs were added in the private sector last month but these were [...]
Confidence among British businesses has declined as both UK and global economic turmoil impact on firms’ plans for the future. The latest ICAEW/Grant Thornton UK Business Confidence Monitor shows confidence at its lowest level since the third quarter of 2009, when the UK was still in recession, with firms seeing turnover and profit growth weakening [...]
Almost 40% of UK households saw their finances deteriorate in August, according to the latest Markit Household Finance Index, with the rate of deterioration faster than at the height of the recession. Worsening finances were evident across all income groups, age ranges and regions, as the survey registered the fastest fall in cash available to [...]
US banking giant Morgan Stanley today downgraded its forecast for global economic growth, sending stock markets falling throughout the world. The American bank lowered its expectations for world growth for the 2011 year to 3.9% from 4.5%, while also downgrading 2012 growth to 3.8% from 4.5%. The downgrade sent shockwaves through stock markets as double-dip [...]
Japan’s economy performed better than in expected in the second quarter, suggesting the country is slowly recovering after the earthquake and tsunami, which struck in March. According to the Cabinet Office, the economy contracted by 0.3% in the April to June period – less than the 0.7% expected by analysts. On an annual basis, meanwhile, [...]
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS)/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) has today revealed UK manufacturing contracted in July – the first time since the UK was in recession two years ago. The closely-watched CIPS/Markit manufacturing PMI fell to 49.1 last month from a revised 51.4 in June. The index is now below [...]
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has today revised its growth forecast for the economy following the earthquake and tsunami which struck in March. The twin disasters forced the country back into a recession after industrial output suffered a record drop and spending dived as consumer and business confidence took a battering. The Japanese economy, which [...]
Figures today have revealed Ireland’s economy returned to growth in the January to March period, following a 1.4% contraction in the final quarter of last year. According to the Central Statistics Office, the economy grew by 1.3%, partly attributed to net exports, which grew 20% on an annual basis. However, consumer demand continues to be [...]
Japanese core private-sector machinery orders – a highly volatile series seen as an indicator of corporate spending – unexpected declined in April. According to the Cabinet Office, orders were down 3.3% in April on a monthly basis – far lower than forecasts of a 1.2% rise. Analysts say the fall in orders is attributed to [...]
The Statistics Bureau has today revealed Japan has overcome deflation for the first time in 25 months after consumer prices rose by 0.6% last month – in line with forecasts. A short period of deflation (where prices fall rather than increase) is a serious threat to an economy because it deters consumers and businesses from [...]
Vince Cable has spoken of how bad the British economy has been hit after the global financial crisis. According to the Business Secretary, the crisis and the recession has meant the country is poorer and it has been a “challenge” for the Government to explain what a bad state the economy is in. Speaking to [...]
The Japanese economy, which is the world’s third largest, has slipped back into recession following the devastating earthquake and tsunami which happened on 11 March. The Cabinet Office has today revealed the economy contracted by 0.9% in the January to March period. The economy has now contracted for two consecutive quarters – meaning it has [...]
According to statistics agency Eurostat, Greece’s public deficit reached 10.5% of GDP at the end of 2010 – higher than the 9.5% forecast. The Greek finance ministry has previously attributed the larger deficit to a deeper than expected recession, which cut into tax revenues and social security contributions. The figures suggest the country continues to [...]
Last month’s earthquake and tsunami has resulted in a fall in Japan’s trade surplus after exports declined. However, a fall in exports was expected after the twin disasters forced some of Japan’s largest exporters to halt production. According to the Ministry of Finance, exports were 2.2% lower at 5.87 trillion yen on an annual basis [...]
Figures today revealed Australia’s unemployment rate fell to 4.9% in March – the lowest level since December 2008. The drop comes despite the recent flooding and cyclones which has affected farming and mining and is likely to impact negatively on economic growth. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the economy created 37,800 jobs in [...]
According to the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER), business sentiment fell between January and March, following the 6.3 magnitude earthquake which hit Christchurch on 22 February. A net 11% of companies surveyed said they were pessimistic about the general business situation in the three month period. This compares with a net 1% showing [...]
The Australian dollar has hit a 29-year high against the US dollar to $1.0318 – a level not seen since it was floated in 1983. Analysts have attributed the rise to increasing demand for the country’s commodities. Australia has benefited from an increase in commodity prices, while exports have received a boost due to demand [...]
Figures today have revealed Ireland’s economy contracted by 1.6% in the October to December period, following a 0.6% growth rate in the previous quarter, according to the Central Statistics Office. The latest figures are a further blow to the former “Celtic Tiger” economy which suffered a prolonged recession and was one of the last euro [...]
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 [...]
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