Talks of an EU bailout for Ireland triggered a recovery in shares today, while yields on 10-year Irish bonds also fell back on emergency funding speculation. Earlier today, UK and Europe stock markets followed losses in Asia and the US overnight after Irish borrowing costs surged to record highs. However, claims that Ireland will have [...]
Finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s top 20 developed and emerging economies are meeting this weekend in Busan, South Korea, with the euro zone debt crisis set to be high on the agenda. Markets have been in turmoil in recent months by worries over the debt crisis. The crisis led to the [...]
The European Commission today gave the Baltic republic of Estonia the go ahead to adopt the euro on 1 January 2011. The announcement comes at a time when many nations in the euro zone are implementing tough austerity measures in order to cut their budget deficits. A €500 billion (£433 billion) emergency rescue package was [...]
EU finance ministers have agreed a €500 billion (£433 billion) emergency rescue package, designed prevent the Greek debt crisis from spreading to other euro zone nations. The bail-out came after 11 hours of discussions in Brussels last week as fears grew for other heavily indebted European countries such as Ireland, Spain and Portugal. The 16 [...]
Despite Friday’s general election result, which failed to give any political party a clear majority, sterling has gained on the US dollar today, while London’s FTSE recovered from the sharp falls on Friday. The pound rose by nearly a cent against the dollar to $1.4865 but fell against the euro to 1.1510 euros. The pound [...]
A deal designed to prevent Greece from defaulting on its massive debt has been agreed over the weekend. It is also hoped the €110 billion (£95 billion) three-year rescue package will strengthen the single currency, which has been plummeting over recent months as a result of Greece’s debt crisis. The EU will provide €80 billion [...]
The 10,000 Presbyterian Mutual Society (PMS) members who lost their savings after the society collapsed will welcome the news that the Northern Ireland Executive has agreed a £50 million rescue package. After a run on withdrawals, the PMS was forced into administration in 2008 and its members lost access to their savings. The run began [...]
In a test debt issue today, Greece saw strong demand for an over-subscribed bond which, according to Finance Minister, George Papaconstantinou, demonstrates that Athens is able to meet its borrowing targets “without hindrance”. The “successful” bond issue was a key test of investor confidence in the debt-ridden economy but the yield was far higher than [...]
Greece’s woes intensified today after ratings agency Fitch downgraded the country’s credit rating amid fears over its rescue plan. Fitch downgraded Greece’s rating by two notches, from BBB+ to BBB-, as the cost of Greek borrowing continues to soar. The BBB- rating is significant since it is the lowest rating that qualifies as an investment [...]
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the World Bank have all pledged today to invest €24.5 billion (£21.9 billion) into the banking sectors in Central and Eastern Europe. In particular, the funds are aimed at supporting small firms and helping them to survive the global economic downturn. [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which today entered the history books with the largest UK corporate loss, is set to receive a further £13 billion injection from the Government in return for more shares. The latest injection of funds means the taxpayer’s stake in Britain’s second largest bank could reach as high as 95% and [...]
Last week, Barclays announced it was looking to raise £7.3 billion, primarily from Middle East investors. The bank has secured a £5.8 billion cash injection from investors in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi’s Royal Family, is investing up to £3.5 billion in the bank, while [...]
Icelandic bank, Landsbanki, collapsed earlier this month as a result of the global credit crunch, resulting in thousands of savers unsure whether they would get their money back. It was announced over the weekend that Britons with deposits in Icesave, the e-savings brand of Landsbanki, should receive their funds in full by the end of [...]
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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