The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK retail sales beat forecasts in September, led by spending on electrical goods such as laptop computers. According to the Statistics Office, sales rose by 0.6% last month, reversing the 0.4% fall in August. Furthermore, the figure was 0.6% higher on an annual basis. Retail sales [...]
The Commerce Department today revealed US retail sales grew at their quickest pace in seven months in September. According to the Department, sales gained 1.1% on a monthly basis – boosted by clothing and car sales. The figures were better than the 0.7% rise expected by analysts. Furthermore, August retail sales were revised up to [...]
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has today said the fresh round of quantitative easing (QE) announced by the Bank of England last week may not be enough to prevent the economy from slipping back into recession and “more radical measures” are required. BCC Chief Economist David Kern said in an e-mailed statement in London [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today announced retail sales saw a slight improvement in September According to the BRC/KPMG retail sales monitor, like-for-like sales (which exclude the impact of sales at new stores) rose 0.3% on an annual basis. However, clothing sales suffered while demand for big-ticket items remained weak due to fragile consumer [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK retail sales fell by 0.2% in August after riots earlier in the month affected trade. The fall followed slower growth in the previous two months after sales rose just 0.2% in July and 0.8% in June. In the meantime, food sales were also down – [...]
There is further evidence of a slowdown in the world’s largest economy after retail sales stagnated last month. Sales were flat from the month earlier after July’s figure was revised down to 0.3% from 0.5%. August’s figure was also worse than expected after car sales fell and excluding this item, sales rose just 0.1%. However, [...]
The latest Beige Book report, published by the Federal Reserve today, has revealed widespread signs that US economic growth continues to slow. The Fed said: “Economic activity continued to expand at a modest pace, though some districts noted mixed or weakening activity.” The economic recovery of the US remains sluggish in the face of higher [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today reported weak retail sales for August. According to the BRC, like-for-like sales (which exclude the impact of sales at new stores) fell 0.6% last month on an annual basis. Overall sales rose 1.5%, however, this was much lower than the 2.8% rise noted in August 2010. Commenting, Stephen [...]
The Commerce Department has revealed a rise in US retail sales for the month of July. Sales grew 0.5% last month – the best reading since March and follows June’s upwardly revised figure of a 0.3% rise. The rise, which was better than forecasts of a 0.2% gain, was partly attributed to strong demand for [...]
Retail sales rose in July but conditions remain challenging as households continue to be squeezed by higher inflation and rising unemployment. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)/KPMG retail sales monitor, like-for-like sales rose 0.6% last month on an annual basis. On a total basis, meanwhile, sales were 2.5% higher, against a 2.6% increase in [...]
Early summer sales on the High Street have led to a modest rise in retail sales, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today. According to the ONS, like-for-like sales excluding petrol rose 0.8% in May, while they were 0.2% higher on an annual basis due to heavy discounting. The figures were broadly in line [...]
Retail sales fell in June as households continue to be squeezed by higher inflation and rising unemployment. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)/KPMG retail sales monitor, sales fell by 0.6% on an underlying basis last month, while total sales (including VAT) rose 1.5%. Food sales growth eased a little last month but a strong [...]
Retail sales in the 17-member euro zone fell in May as consumers cut back on spending in the face of higher inflation and rising unemployment. According to the European Union’s statistics, Eurostat, sales in the euro zone fell 1.1% in May on a monthly basis – the biggest fall since April 2010 – with the [...]
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has today elected to keep interest rates on hold at 4.75% – for the seventh time since November. The move, which was widely expected, comes as the economy slows and pressures mount over inflation. Australia was the first economy to raise rates from a 50-year low as the economic [...]
Australia’s Bureau of Statistics today revealed retail sales showed a surprise fall in May sending the dollar and shares down after the announcement. Sales suffered the largest fall in seven months, declining by 0.6% on a monthly basis, confounding analysts’ expectations of a 0.3% rise. According to analysts, today’s figures will lead the Reserve Bank [...]
Higher prices at the petrol pumps and economic uncertainty has led to a fall in UK retail sales for the month of May, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today. The ONS said retail sales dived 1.4% last month, reversing the strong rise seen in April due to the late bank holidays, good [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed US retail sales fell in May for the first time in 11 months, hit by weak car sales. According to official figures, sales fell 0.2% to $387.1 billion on a monthly basis as consumers opted out of buying big-ticket items such as cars. Car sales were almost 3% lower, [...]
Higher inflation has led to a fall in retail sales for the month of May, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) today. The fall was also attributed to consumers overspending in April due to the long bank holiday weekends and hot weather. The BRC said annual like-for-like retail sales fell by 2.1% in May [...]
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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