The latest house price index from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed prices rose by 0.4% in October on a monthly basis. On an annual basis, house prices are now 0.8% higher than this time last year – representing the first yearly rise in six months – with the average UK home costing £165,650. However, [...]
In an interim management statement today, banking giant Barclays said profits climbed 5% in the third quarter – boosted by cost-cutting measures. For the three months to the end of September, the bank said pre-tax profits were £1.34 billion, versus £1.27 billion for the same period a year earlier. However, revenues for the three month [...]
Official figures have revealed consumer spending in the US improved last month. According to the Commerce Department, consumer spending rose 0.6% to $68.7 billion (£42.7 billion) in September and follows a 0.2% rise in August. The figures will be a welcome boost for the economy which looked set to be heading towards a double dip [...]
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has today raised key interest rates for the thirteenth time since March 2010, in a bid to tame stubbornly high inflation. The central bank lifted its main rate to 8.5% from 8.25% as inflation soars on the back of higher food and fuel prices and the measures were widely [...]
A survey by LSL Property Services has revealed rents in England and Wales continue to surge, with the average rent hitting a further record high last month. September represented the eighth consecutive month that the average rental cost rose. Lenders’ deposit requirements, together with unaffordable house prices, has meant the rental sector has been in [...]
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 Office for National Statistics (ONS) today announced Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) accelerated to annual rate of 5.2% last month from August’s rate of 4.5%. The rate represented the highest since September 2008 and it has never exceeded this rate since the CPI measure was first calculated in 1997. Higher inflation continues to be led [...]
Property website, Rightmove, has today reported a further rise in asking prices for the month of October. According to Rightmove, asking prices for residential property in England and Wales surged 2.8% in October on a monthly basis and were 1.2% higher compared with this time last year. This compares with a 0.7% monthly increase and [...]
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 EU statistics office Eurostat has today revealed euro zone industrial output rose by 1.2% in August. On an annual basis, meanwhile, industrial output grew by 5.3%. Both sets of figures beat economists’ forecasts. On a regional basis, Germany, which is the euro zone’s largest economy, saw a monthly fall of 1% but was 7.8% [...]
Japanese core private-sector machinery orders – a highly volatile series seen as an indicator of corporate spending – surged in August. According to the Cabinet Office, orders grew 11% in August on a monthly basis – the strongest pace in a year – and also beating forecasts. Orders have fallen over recent months due to [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK unemployment rose sharply in the three months to August – rising to a 17-year high. The ONS said unemployment rose by 114,000 in the three month period to 2.57 million, taking the unemployment rate to 8.1% - higher than forecasts. In comparison, unemployment in the [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported the number of loans for house purchase rose in August. According to the Council, there were 52,000 loans advanced for house purchase (worth £7.9 billion) in the month – up from 48,700 (£7.2 billion) in July. The Council described today’s figures as “welcome signs of life” [...]
Official data from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) today revealed UK house prices rose by 0.6% in August compared with July. However, on an annual basis, house prices are 1.3% lower, taking the average UK house price to £208,476. The data from the DCLG is based on mortgage completions figures collected by [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK producer output prices rose in September – driven by higher fuel and food costs. The increase will no doubt raise concern about whether consumer price inflation will slow next year as sharply as the Bank of England is forecasting. According to the ONS, output prices [...]
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS)/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) has today revealed UK manufacturing activity bounced back last month. The closely-watched CIPS/Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 51.1 in September from August’s reading of 49.4. Activity has contracted for the last three months and today’s survey means the index has moved back [...]
Japan’s industrial output recovered further last month after a record drop in March due to the earthquake and tsunami. Disruptions caused by the twin disasters resulted in carmakers being forced to halt production as a result of parts shortages. However, it looks as if the situation continues to improve after output rose by 0.8% last [...]
According to Spencer Dale, the Bank of England’s chief economist, UK inflation is set to accelerate due to soaring energy bills. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed UK Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to annual rate of 4.5% in August from July’s rate of 4.4% - more than double the [...]
The Bank of England has today revealed mortgage approvals picked up significantly in August to a 20-month high. According to the Bank, there were 52,410 loans approved in the month – almost 3,000 more than the level seen in July and the highest figure since December 2009. The figure was also higher than the 49,500 [...]
The latest house price index from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed prices rose by just 0.1% in September on a monthly basis. On an annual basis, house prices are now 0.3% lower than this time last year with the average UK home costing £166,256. Meanwhile, when comparing prices in the three months to the [...]
Uninsured young driver numbers halved
A new law allowing the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) to cross-check its database against DVLA records has led to a substantial fall in the number of young people driving without insurance. The Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) law allows MIB to check which vehicles are registered with the DVLA. If a registered vehicle is not listed [...]
Barclays site slow to load during upgrade
The BBC today reported that around 10 per cent of Barclays’ customers are experiencing delays when they try to access online banking. The bank has been phasing in improvements to its site since January and the rebuilt site is proving slow to load today, which is one of the busiest days of the month for [...]
OECD says UK falling back into recession
The UK economy is expected to contract by 0.4 per cent on an annualised basis in the first three months of 2012, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This represents a contraction of 0.1 per cent compared with the final quarter of 2011 and means that the UK is returning to [...]
House prices and mortgage approvals fall
House prices have fallen for the first time in six months, with the decline attributed to changes in stamp duty. The average house price in March was £163,327, 0.9 per cent lower than in February. It was the largest fall in house prices since June last year. Nationwide’s figures showed a fall in nearly every [...]
Interest gap narrows between ISAs and standard accounts
There are just a few days left for savers to use their Isa allowance for the current tax year, which ends on 5 April. However, savers who miss out on this year’s allowance may get almost as good a deal from an ordinary savings account according to new research by consumer group Which? Isas have [...]
Halifax life-long policy misled pet insurance customers
The Halifax has been found by the Financial Ombudsman Service to have misled customers by offering life-long pet insurance. Halifax, which is part of Lloyds Banking Group, announced its decision to withdraw from the pet insurance market at the end of last year. The Ombudsman’s ruling follows a complaint by the owners of a dog [...]
Barclay’s contactless cards open to fraud
An investigation by Channel 4 has found that Barclays’ contactless credit and debit cards, which are used by up to 13 million customers, are at risk of fraud. In collaboration with mobile phone security company ViaForensics, Channel 4 discovered that smartphones integrated with near field communication (NFC) technology can steal data from the cards with [...]
Auto-enrolment aligned with tax and NI
The government revealed today that automatic enrolment rates for the tax year to April 2013 will be aligned with tax and National Insurance thresholds to make implementation simple for firms. Auto-enrolment is being phased in from 1 October, starting with the largest firms, and should be in full effect by the middle of 2017. It [...]
Government in talks with Abu Dhabi over RBS
The UK government is negotiating with Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds over the sale of a stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the BBC reported yesterday. It is believed that Abu Dhabi, which is part of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, could buy up to a third of the government’s 82% stake in the [...]
Bank of England calls for culture change in banking
Michael Cohrs, a member of the Bank of England’s new financial policy committee (FPC) has warned of the danger of another financial crisis unless the ‘toxic culture’ inside banks is eradicated. Changes should include a reform of banks’ bonus systems, he said. The FPC was established to regulate UK banks, but Mr Cohrs suggested that [...]
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