The Commerce Department has today revealed sales of new homes in the US dived to a record low last month. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales plunged 16.9% to an annual rate of 250,000 units – the lowest since records began in 1963. Analysts had expected a rate of 290,000 units. However, [...]
The European Central Bank (ECB) today elected to keep interest rates on hold at the record low of 1% for the 20th consecutive month. The move came despite inflation exceeding the Bank’s target. Earlier this week, the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat revealed inflation in the euro zone rose more than expected in January. Inflation [...]
As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) today elected to keep interest rates on hold at the record low of 1% for the 19th consecutive month. There were suggestions that the bank might have taken drastic action in order to address the debt crisis, currently engulfing the euro zone. However, the ECB said it will [...]
The Federal Reserve yesterday elected to keep US interest rates at the historically low level of between 0% and 0.25%, as widely expected. Interest rates in the world’s largest economy have been at the low level since December 2008 and the bank has previously said that as a result of subdued inflation and high unemployment, [...]
The Federal Reserve has elected to keep US interest rates at the historically low level of between 0% and 0.25%, as widely expected. Interest rates in the world’s largest economy have been at the low level since December 2008 and the bank has previously said that as a result of subdued inflation and high unemployment, [...]
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) today said its Pending Home Sales Index fell by 18.6% in June on year. On a monthly basis, the index fell by 2.6% to 75.7 points based on contracts signed in June compared with May. As a result, the index fell to the lowest level since records began in [...]
Respected economic forecaster, the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, is predicting that interest rates will stay at the historic low of 0.5% until 2014. “A base rate of 0.5% will begin to look like the new normal,” Professor Peter Spencer from the ITEM Club said. Interest rates have stood at the record low since March [...]
The Commerce Department has revealed a record fall in sales of new homes in the US for the month of May. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales fell by 32.7% on year to an all-time low of 300,000 units – the lowest since records commenced in 1963. However, a fall was expected [...]
US central bank, the Federal Reserve, will end its two-day meeting today and are likely to leave interest rate at the record low of 0% and 0.25%. Rates have been at this level since December 2008, as a result of subdued inflation and high unemployment. It has reiterated its policy to maintain low interest rates [...]
A survey among UK companies has found that confidence has plunged to a level not seen since 1995, as a result of the Government’s tough spending cuts. BDO’s Business Trends index, which covers 11,000 companies from a range of industries, slumped to 97 in May from 103.3 in April – the largest fall since the [...]
After a two-day policy board meeting, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has elected to keep interest rates at 0.1%, as widely expected. Interest rates in the world’s second largest economy have been at the low level since December 2008 in a bid to fight off deflation. Deflation remains a problem for the economy. Japanese core [...]
The Federal Reserve has this week elected to keep US interest rates at the historically low level of between 0% and 0.25%, as widely expected. Interest rates in the world’s largest economy have been at the low level since December 2008 and the bank has previously said that as a result of subdued inflation and [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed a fall in sales of new homes in the US for the month of February. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales fell by 2.2% on the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 308,000 units – the lowest since records commenced in 1963. Meanwhile, the [...]
Shares in troubled Japan Airlines (JAL) plummeted by 11% today to a record low of 85 yen amid reports that the carrier could be forced to file for bankruptcy. The stock has lost almost 60% of its value this year. The airline, which is Asia’s largest carrier, has been struggling amid the global economic downturn [...]
Bank Rossii, Russia’s central bank, has cut interest rates by 50 basis points to 9% – a record low and the ninth time rates have been cut since April in bid to boost demand. Russia’s economy, which is heavily reliant on oil exports, has suffered from a severe downturn but the economy appears to now [...]
Struggling Japan Airlines (JAL) yesterday saw its shares close at a record low of 87 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after it emerged that Mitsui & Co broking house had sold all its shares in the carrier. A spokesperson for Mitsui & Co said it had sold all of its 11.7 million shares between [...]
Influential think tank, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), believes interest rates will remain at their current historic level of 0.5% until 2011. Meanwhile, rates will not reach 2% until 2014 as a result of the severe fiscal squeeze on the UK economy which will result in tax rises and spending cuts. According [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has today elected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the record low of 0.5% for the sixth month in a row. The move was widely expected after a raft of positive economic news this week, suggesting that the UK is beginning to emerge from recession. Meanwhile, [...]
As widely expected, the Bank of England has kept interest rates unchanged at 0.5% today for the fourth month in a row. Prior to April, the Bank embarked on aggressive cuts to bring inflation down and fight off a prolonged recession. Rates currently stand at the lowest level since the Bank was established over 300 [...]
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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