According to a report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of people paying into an occupational pension has slumped to a level not seen since 1956. Last year, there were 8.3 million people contributing to an occupational pension (3 million in the private sector and 5.3 million in the public sector). This [...]
According to a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), Government welfare changes will mean there will be 3.1 million children in poverty in the UK by 2013. Typical families will see their annual income fall by around £2,000 by the year 2013, warned the IFS, pushing 600,000 more children into poverty. The independent [...]
According to the BBC, financial institution NBNK is to submit a second bid for the 600+ branches which Lloyds Banking Group is putting up for sale. It is understood the branches could fetch around £1.5 billion, according to sources close to the matter. Lloyds is selling the branches under the orders of the European Commission [...]
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 [...]
Unions have vented their anger at directors today after a report found that the average annual bonus for a director in a FTSE 100 company has soared by 187% in the last decade. The findings were in a report by the High Pay Commission and discovered that top executives received a bonus worth 90% last [...]
Leading think tank, the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, believes the proposed ring-fencing of retail and investment banks will reduce economic growth. The think tank’s prediction comes just a week before the publication of the Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB’s) final report on ring-fencing. The ICB, which was established in June 2010, is considering forms [...]
Accountancy firm BDO has warned Britain’s retailers should prepare themselves for some tough times as pressure builds on consumers in the run-up to Christmas. According to the firm’s High Street Sales Tracker, sales figures for August fell 2.2% among mid-market retailers, attributed to the riots and cooler weather during the month. The riots, in particular, [...]
A report by the World Bank has revealed food prices are up 33% in the year to July on the back of volatile oil costs. Crude oil prices are up 45% on the year (due to political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa) and this has affected production and transport costs, all contributing [...]
A report by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revealed 827,000 mortgage borrowers are in negative equity (a mortgage worth more than their property). However, the figures which relate to the first quarter of the year, are not as bad as they were in the early 1990s, when around 1.6 million households were trapped [...]
The latest Beige Book report, published by the Federal Reserve, has revealed widespread signs that US economic growth is slowing. The Fed said: “Economic activity continued to grow; however, the pace has moderated in many districts.” The economic recovery of the US remains sluggish in the face of higher unemployment and a depressed housing market, [...]
According to a report today, banking giant HSBC is to axe more than 10,000 jobs as part of the bank’s strategic review. The report from Sky News said some of the cuts will come from its head office while others will be the result of closing some retail banking operations. However, a spokesperson for the [...]
A report has revealed that the majority of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are successful when applying for credit. According to the study, more than half (59%) of applicants were successful when applying for a loan, while 72% who applied for an overdraft were successful. The figures come from the latest SME Finance Monitor report [...]
A report by accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has waned that the pension age may have to rise to 70 by 2046 in order to deal with Britain’s debts. Current plans introduced by the coalition Government will see the state pension age lifted to 66 for both men and women by 2020. The pension age will then [...]
According to the Fawcett Society, the gender equality charity, lone parents are set to be squeezed by the Government’s austeirty measures, which include cuts to benefits and tax hikes. A report by the Society explains the public service cuts will result in lone mothers losing an average 8.5% of their income after tax by 2015. [...]
In his Mansion House speech this evening, Chancellor George Osborne is expected to confirm that banks will have to ring-fence their retail operations so they are protected from losses from investment banking. The Chancellor is also expected to suggest that banks will have to hold more capital – a recommendation of the Independent Commission on [...]
In its influential Quarterly Bulletin, the Bank of England said interest rates can be held at the historic low of 0.5% in order to prevent growth from stalling. The statement comes despite inflation being more than double the target of 2% and many business groups are calling on the bank to lift rates to combat [...]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has today published its annual assessment for the UK economy and is estimating growth of 1.5% this year, down from 1.7% in April. The estimate is roughly in line with other forecasts for the UK economy with the British Chambers of Commerce expecting growth of 1.3%, the Organisation for Economic [...]
It has been reported that banking giant Barclays is considering purchasing one of Spain’s ailing regional savings banks. According to the Sunday Times, the bank’s chief executive, Bob Diamond, met with the Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, last week. However, Barclays has declined to comment on the report and it is unknown which [...]
According to Knight Frank LLP, 59% of new-build property in London has been acquired by Asian buyers in the six month period to April. This is up from 48% a year earlier as buyers seek alternatives from rocketing property prices in China and Singapore. The estate agent said Asian buyers are taking advantage of the [...]
A report by letting agency network LSL Property Services has revealed tenant demand has risen in recent weeks after April’s long bank holiday weekends and warm weather led to a surge in would-be tenants looking for property. According to the agency, rents grew by 0.8% in April to £692 per month compared with the previous [...]
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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