London-based bank Standard Chartered today announced record first quarter profits and income. The bank, which has a strong presence in Asia, said wholesale banking showed robust results in the three months ending 31 March. In wholesale banking, which includes advisory, trade finance and other investment banking business, client income was up by more than a [...]
Chipmaker Intel has reported record results for the first three months of 2010, boosted by demand for new chips for computer servers. The company, which is based in Santa Clara, California, said profits quarter one profits increased almost fourfold with net income totalling $2.4 billion (£1.5 billion), compared with $629 million in the same period [...]
Anglo Irish Bank, which was nationalised in January 2009, has admitted to experiencing a difficult 15-months. The bank has announced it made a loss of €12.7 billion (£11.4 billion) for the 15 months to the end of December. The news came just a day after the Bank of Ireland reported a loss of €1.8 billion [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today reported a sharp fall in business investment. According to the ONS, business investment fell by 4.3% in the fourth quarter of 2009 to £27.3 billion – the steepest annual fall since records commenced in 1967. Meanwhile, on an annual basis, business investment fell by a record 23.5%. [...]
The latest Bank of England quarterly lending survey has revealed lending to British businesses slumped in January. According to the report, net lending fell by 9.3% during the month – the sharpest decline since records began in 1999. Banks and building societies lent £6.5 billion in January and followed a drop of £3.4 billion in [...]
Britain’s largest mutually-owned retailer, the Co-operative Group, has today posted “record sales and profits” for the 2009 year after its acquisition of Somerfield and its merger with the Britannia building society. The group said underlying operating profits before significant items soared 20% to £473 million over the year, while revenue was £13.7 billion. Meanwhile, the [...]
Figures published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have revealed a severe decline in passenger numbers across UK airports in 2009. According to the CAA, the UK’s airports handled 7.4% fewer passengers in 2009 than in 2008 – marking the biggest drop since records began just after World War II. It was also the first [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said shops in Central London enjoyed their best December since records began in 2002, with sales up 12% on year. The report came just a week after the BRC reported that Britain experienced an annual 4.2% rise in sales during December. Both sets of figures will boost hopes that the [...]
Shares in troubled Japan Airlines (JAL) plummeted again today to a fresh low of 5 yen as a bankruptcy filing seemed unavoidable. The airline, which is Asia’s largest carrier, is expected to file for bankruptcy protection tomorrow as part of a Government rescue plan. Like many other airlines, it has been struggling amid the global [...]
The Federal Statistics Office has today revealed that the German economy, which is Europe’s largest, contracted by a record 5% in 2009 – the first time in six years the economy had shrunk and the deepest since World War II. The record contraction was due to a slump in demand in exports and investment. In [...]
Shares in troubled Japan Airlines (JAL) plummeted to a fresh low today, losing 24% to 67 yen. The stock plummeted for a second consecutive day amid reports that the carrier is heading towards bankruptcy under a state restructuring plan. The airline, which is Asia’s largest carrier, has been struggling amid the global economic downturn which [...]
Shoppers were out looking for bargains on Boxing Day after millions flooded the High Street. Shoppers were queuing from 4am at the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham, while shoppers queued at Lakeside shopping centre in Essex as early as 5am. Retail analysts said around 12 million people hit the High Street on Saturday – with [...]
Capital Shopping Centres (CSC), which has stakes in 14 regional shopping centres including the Manchester Arndale, Lakeside in Essex and the Gateshead MetroCentre, said despite the snowfall over the weekend, retailers experienced their busiest weekend of the year. Figures show that shoppers braved the weather after figures revealed that over seven million people have visited [...]
Iceland’s economy plummeted at its fastest pace on record in the third quarter, falling by 5.7% compared to the previous quarter. However, on an annual basis the economy contracted by 7.2% – the biggest fall on record. The news comes as many economies throughout the world are now recovering as they emerge from recession. However, [...]
The John Lewis Partnership, which is seen as a barometer of British retailing, has experienced its biggest ever weekly sales figures despite the recession. In the week to December 5, the chain reported sales of £102.4 million – up 13.8% on the same week a year earlier and nearly £1 million more than the previous [...]
The price of gold continues to surge to record highs and has touched $1,201.63 an ounce on the London Bullion Market as the US dollar continues to be a turn off for investors. The rise of the price of gold over recent weeks has been attributed to a weakening US dollar, which typically moves in [...]
Lloyds Banking Group has today embarked on the biggest rights issue on record by asking shareholders to buy 1.34 new Lloyds shares for each one they already own. The rights issue price of 37p is slightly higher than expected but still heavily discounted at 59.5% on Monday’s closing price of 91.47p. According to Lloyds, the [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed that the UK’s public sector net borrowing rose by a higher than expected £11.4 billion in October. According to the ONS, the figure was the highest for the month of October since it began gathering data 16 years ago, and takes public sector net borrowing for [...]
Supermarket giant Morrisons has announced that a record number of customers visited its stores in the three months to November. The UK’s fourth-largest supermarket said 10.8 million customers visited its stores during the period and the group said its sales “continued to grow well ahead of the market”. The group announced that like-for-like sales, excluding [...]
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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