A survey by LSL Property Services has revealed rents in England and Wales continue to surge, with the average rent hitting a further record high last month. September represented the eighth consecutive month that the average rental cost rose. Lenders’ deposit requirements, together with unaffordable house prices, has meant the rental sector has been in [...]
A survey by LSL Property Services has revealed rents in England and Wales continue to surge, with the average rent hitting a further record high last month. August represented the seventh consecutive month that the average rental cost rose. Lenders’ deposit requirements, together with unaffordable house prices has meant the rented sector has been in [...]
A survey by LSL Property Services has revealed rents in England and Wales continue to surge, with the average rent hitting a record high last month. July represented the sixth consecutive month that the average rental cost rose. According to LSL, the average rent stands at £705 – an all-time high. However, rental costs vary [...]
The price of gold rose to an all-time high of $1,589.56 an ounce in early trading today, before falling to $1,584.51. The dollar also fell against the Japanese yen and a weakening US dollar typically results in a rise in the price of gold as the currency generally moves in the opposite direction to the [...]
The US trade deficit narrowed sharply in April, figures showed today, due to a record increase in exports. According to the Commerce Department, the trade deficit narrowed to $43.7 billion from March’s figure of $46.8 billion – surprising analysts who had expected a rise to $48.7 billion. Exports rose 1.3% on a monthly basis to [...]
Statistics office Destatis has today revealed German exports rose to a record high in March, driving its trade surplus up. Exports rose 7.3% in March on a monthly basis to €98.3 billion (£87 billion), while imports also rose to a record high, by 3.1% on a monthly basis, to €79.4 billion. A statement said: “That [...]
Speculation is mounting again that Portugal may need financial assistance after a rise in bond yields. Yields on Portuguese 10-year bonds climbed to 8.17% yesterday – a record high after last week’s rise to 8%. The country’s borrowing costs have risen in recent months – mimicking what happened in Greece and Ireland – just before [...]
The yuan has risen to an all-time high against the US dollar today – trading in a range from 6.5552 (a record high) to 6.5596 and up from Monday’s close of 6.5611. The currency has now risen about 4.1% since last summer and 0.2% this week alone. Beijing has been under pressure to let its [...]
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS)/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) has today revealed UK manufacturing activity held its record high in February. The record level was attributed to higher factory costs, indicating pricing pressures are growing. The closely-watched CIPS/Markit manufacturing PMI remained at 61.5 in February – which represents the highest reading [...]
The Munich-based Ifo think tank has announced confidence among German firms rose in February to another record high. The closely-watched Business Climate Index climbed to 111.2 in February, up from 110.3 in January – the ninth consecutive monthly increase and the highest reading for the former West Germany since 1969. The results confounded analysts expectations [...]
A new report has revealed the British High Street is suffering after shop vacancies rose to a record high in 2010. According to the Local Data Company, the number of vacant shops in Britain increased to 14.5% at the end of last year, up from 12% at the end of 2009 and compares with 5% [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK’s trade deficit hit a record high in December – fuelled by a sharp rise in imports of aircraft. According to the ONS, the goods trade gap widened to £9.247 billion in December from a revised £8.460 billion the previous month. The December figure represented [...]
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS)/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) has today revealed UK manufacturing activity surged at a record pace in January. The closely-watched CIPS/Markit manufacturing PMI jumped to 62.0 in January from December’s upwardly revised reading of 58.7. Not only was the reading the highest since records began in 1992, [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK’s trade deficit widened to a record high in November. According to the ONS, the goods trade gap widened to £8.736 billion in November from an upwardly revised £8.591 billion the previous month. This represented the biggest deficit since monthly records began more than 30 [...]
The Munich-based Ifo think tank today announced confidence among German firms rose in December to a record high. The Business Climate Index rose to 109.9 in December, up from 109.3 the previous month. Not only did the reading exceed expectations of 109.4, it represented the seventh consecutive increase. The closely-watched expectations index also rose to [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed public sector net borrowing totalled £15.302 billion in August – a record high for the month. The figure was higher as interest payments on gilts rose because of higher inflation. It was also much higher than the £12.51 billion expected by analysts. However, despite this, receipts [...]
The European Union’s statistics agency has today announced unemployment in the 16-member euro zone rose to 10.1% in April – the first time it has reached this level since the common currency was introduced in 1999. The rise in the jobless rate highlights the sluggish recovery within the euro zone. Eurostat said 15.86 million people [...]
RealtyTrac has revealed the number of homes being repossessed in the US hit a record high in April. The real estate data company said banks took control of 92,432 properties last month – a rise of 1% compared with March but a massive 45% increase compared with a year ago. Meanwhile, there were far fewer [...]
The European Union’s statistics agency has today announced unemployment in the 16-member euro zone rose to 10% in February – the first time it has reached this level since the common currency was introduced. The rise in the jobless rate highlights the sluggish recovery within the euro zone. The economic downturn has hit the euro [...]
Operating profits at British Gas soared by 58% last year to £595 million, compared with £379 million in 2008. Its parent company Centrica said the figures beat the previous high of £573 million in 2007. While British Gas announced earlier this month it was reducing its gas prices by 7%, the results will no doubt [...]
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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