The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today reported UK retail sales rose 0.3% in November – albeit slower than the revised 0.7% in October. However, the figure was in line with expectations and was driven by sales of toys, sporting accessories and jewellery. Demand for clothing, footwear and households goods remained weak The ONS [...]
The Federal Reserve’s policy-setting arm, the FOMC, is scheduled to announce its decision on monetary policy today, with economists expecting no change in interest rates or to its quantitative easing programme. Last month, the Federal Open Market Committee, opted to restart its stimulus programme. The measures, introduced to stimulate the economic recovery, saw the central [...]
The Commerce Department has revealed US retail sales grew for the fifth consecutive month in November. Sales grew by 0.8% – exceeding the 0.5% expected by economists and will boost hopes that the economic recovery picked up pace in the final quarter of the year. High unemployment remains a major concern in the world’s largest [...]
China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed the consumer price index rose 5.1% in November on an annual basis – much faster than expected. It represented the fastest increase since July 2008 – when inflation exceeded the 6% mark. Inflation is still well in excess of the 3% target set by the Government. Last [...]
Falling temperatures led to a slowdown in retail sales in November, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed today. According to the BRC, values were just 0.7% higher compared with November 2009 as consumers are cautious about the uncertainty surrounding the economy and are fearful of spending cuts and rising taxes. The cold weather and snowfall [...]
Eurostat has today revealed a rise in euro zone retail sales for the month of October, after two months of declines. Retail sales grew 0.5% in October on the month and were 1.8% higher on an annual basis, according to the European statistics office. The increase also beat analysts’ expectations of a 0.2% rise. Europe’s [...]
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), UK retail sales grew in October for the first time in three months. The ONS said sales rose 0.5% in October on a monthly basis – beating analysts expectations of a 0.4% gain. Stripping out volatile fuel prices, retail sales grew 0.3% in the month. However, on [...]
The Commerce Department has revealed US retail sales grew by a better than expected 1.2% last month – this followed an increase of 0.7% in September. The rise, which was the fourth consecutive monthly gain, was fuelled by an increase in car sales. Retail sales figures are closely watched because consumer spending accounts for approximately [...]
Germany’s Statistics Office has revealed a big fall in retail sales for the month of September – the sharpest monthly decline since March 2008. The figures surprised analysts who had expected an increase. Sales fell 2.3% in the month compared with August, confounding forecasts for a 0.4% rise. The figures come as the German economy, [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today reported a decline in UK retail sales for the month of September – the second monthly fall. According to the ONS, retail sales dipped 0.2% last month and followed a downwardly revised fall of 0.7% in August. The fall was attributed to weak demand for clothing and [...]
The Commerce Department has revealed US retail sales grew 0.6% in September – this followed an increase of 0.7% in August and exceeded expectations. The rise, which was the third consecutive monthly gain, was fuelled by an increase in car sales. Retail sales figures are closely watched because consumer spending accounts for approximately two-thirds of [...]
The latest survey from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed a fall in UK consumer confidence for the month of September. The building society’s consumer confidence index plunged 9 points to 53 in September – its lowest level in over a year. Commenting on the survey, Nationwide chief economist Martin Gahbauer, said the forthcoming spending [...]
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) today echoed other reports and suggested the Bank of England needs to inject more money into the economy, via its quantitative easing (QE) scheme. QE, also known as printing money, is a process whereby the Treasury injects funds into the financial system to ease pressure on banks by giving [...]
There is worrying news for the economy today after the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said retail sales growth eased in September. The BRC said consumers are holding off purchasing big-ticket items as they prepare themselves for massive spending cuts, introduced by the Government to slash the budget deficit. Many reports have suggested economic growth will [...]
The European Central Bank (ECB) today elected to keep interest rates on hold at the historic low of 1% – where they have been since May 2009. Interest rates are expected to remain on hold until at least 2011, as a result of uneven growth and low inflation. The news comes after the Bank of [...]
The European Union’s statistics office, Eurostat, has today revealed sales in the euro zone fell 0.4% in August on the month – raising fears about the strength of the economic recovery. The fall represented the first since April and was weaker than analysts had forecast. Consumer confidence in the 16-member euro zone remains low as [...]
Germany’s National statistics office, Destatis, today revealed a surprise fall in retail sales for the month of August. According to Destatis, retail sales in the euro zone’s largest economy fell 0.2% on the month – representing the second consecutive monthly fall, after July’s drop of 0.4%. The biggest falls were seen in food and drinks, [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today reported a fall in UK retail sales for the month of August – the first decline since January. According to analysts, the fall is a sign of things to come on the UK high street as Government spending cuts and economic uncertainty are set to hit consumers’ [...]
The John Lewis Partnership, which is regarded as a barometer of British retailing, has today posted a 28% rise in first half profits. The renowned employee-owned department store said pre-tax profit came in at £111.2 million, compared with the £24.2 million in the same period a year ago. Meanwhile, sales grew 12.4% to £3.81 billion [...]
The Commerce Department has today announced a rise in US retail sales – the second consecutive monthly gain. Retail sales grew by 0.4% in August to a five-month high – better than analysts had expected. Sales were boosted by clothing and fuel. However, car sales fell 0.7% in the month after growing strongly over recent [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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