It has been confirmed that 46-year-old Francois Baroin will take over from Christine Lagarde as France’s finance minister. French President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed the appointment yesterday. The announcement comes after Ms Lagarde became the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – the first ever woman in the role. Ms Lagarde replaced Dominique Strauss-Kahn [...]
The Government has announced a new tax-free savings account for children, known as the Junior ISA. The Junior Individual Savings Account (ISA), which will be available from 1 November, will allow parents to invest a maximum of £3,000 each financial year in cash and shares. The Junior ISA will replace Child Trust Funds (CTFs) which [...]
The Treasury has today announced Ben Broadbent will join the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Mr Broadbent, a Goldman Sachs economist, will assume his position in time for the June rate-setting meeting and replaces Andrew Sentance after his term ends on 31 May. Broadbent’s research at Goldman has suggested there will be three [...]
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has today confirmed John Cridland will take over the role as director general, when Richard Lambert steps down in January. Earlier this year, Mr Lambert said he would step down when his five-year term ends at the start of 2011. Mr Lambert has been with the lobby group since [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is tomorrow expected to keep UK interest rates on hold at the historically low level of 0.5% for the 17th consecutive month. Furthermore, all members of the MPC are expected to keep the quantitative easing programme (QE) on hold. QE, also known as printing money, is a [...]
The Treasury has today announced Martin Weale will join the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Mr Weale will assume his position in time for next month’s rate-setting meeting and replaces Kate Barker after her term ended on 31 May. Consequently, the Bank’s June meeting only comprised eight members but it will resume to [...]
Virgin Money, which is set to launch as a retail bank later this year, has announced it will charge a monthly fee for current account customers. However, the company said the fees will be low and will replace high overdraft charges. Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Money recently acquired regional bank Church House Trust. Virgin Money, [...]
The renowned brand, Norwich Union (NU), has gone for good today after it has been replaced by Aviva. Last April, Aviva stunned the insurance sector by announcing it was to scrap the NU brand, which as been one of the country’s best-known financial services brands for over 200 years. According to Aviva’s chief executive, Andrew [...]
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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