Figures today revealed India’s wholesale price inflation eased to annual rate of 9.72% last month, down from August’s rate of 9.78%. However, the rate is still significantly above the central bank’s target of between 4% and 5% and represented the tenth consecutive month that inflation has been above the 9% mark. Stubbornly high inflation has [...]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned euro zone policymakers to take immediate action to prevent the debt crisis spreading outside Europe. The warning comes as Spain’s borrowing costs rose to a 9-year high today as fears continue to grow over the debt crisis in the euro zone. There are fears that Spain, which is [...]
Credit rating agency Moody’s has today said Britain’s AAA rating is at risk if growth remains weak and the Government’s budget deficit reduction plans fail to meet target. The announcement sent sterling below €1.12 for the first time in four weeks and also lost ground against the US dollar. Weak economic growth has led many [...]
Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that rising oil prices pose a risk to the global recovery by reducing spending power and fuelling inflation. The agency is urging oil producers to increase supplies to avoid “derailing the economic recovery”. The agency said it is seriously concerned that “there are growing signs that the rise [...]
Accountancy firm BDO has joined many other leading business groups by suggesting a premature interest rate hike could derail the economic recovery. According to the latest Business Trends report, BDO said a rise in interest rates would strengthen the pound and therefore, reduce export competitiveness, having a negative impact on manufacturing. The manufacturing sector, which [...]
Auto Windscreens, which is the UK’s second largest windscreen repair and replacement company, has been placed into administration, putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk. Deloitte, which has been appointed as administrator for the Chesterfield-based company, said there were no funds with which it could continue trading. According to Deloitte, the company has suffered trading [...]
Spanish banking giant Santander has admitted to sending the bank statements of thousands of customers to the wrong addresses following a printing error. The bank, which is now one of the largest on the UK High Street, said current account holders have received the first page of their own statement and pages two and three [...]
In its latest half-yearly Financial Stability Report, the Bank of England has highlighted the uncertainty surrounding the euro zone debt crisis – suggesting it could be a threat to UK banks. The central bank expressed its concern for the ongoing debt situation in the 16-member nation – primarily because UK banks have significant investments in [...]
Chancellor George Osborne has today unveiled his Comprehensive Spending Review – in what has been described as the most savage spending cuts since the Second World War. Mr Osborne confirmed he would proceed with almost all of the cuts he detailed in his emergency budget in June. Firstly, defending the cuts, Mr Osborne told parliament: [...]
Chancellor George Osborne will today reveal the Comprehensive Spending Review. He is set to provide details of how he intends to slash spending by £83 billion by 2014 as he endeavours to bring down the spiralling budget deficit. The cuts have received mixed responses; many have been critical of them warning that slashing the deficit [...]
Professor David Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), has once again said massive spending cuts introduced to deal with the budget deficit could push the UK back into a recession. In June, and again last month, Mr Blanchflower warned the coalition Government that tough spending cuts could pose [...]
Confidence among chief financial officers (CFOs) has fallen to the lowest level in 18 months. According to accountancy group Deloitte, confidence among these executives fell for the third consecutive quarter. More than a third of those surveyed said there is a risk that the economy will fall back into recession. Margaret Ewing, of Deloitte, said: [...]
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has expressed his concern for a currency war. According to Mr Strauss-Kahn, if Governments across the world use exchange rates as a policy weapon, there could be a serious risk to global economic recovery. His comments come ahead of the IMF and World Bank annual [...]
Professor David Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), has today said he still doesn’t rule out a double dip recession. In June, Mr Blanchflower, who is professor of economics at Dartmouth College in the US, warned the coalition Government that tough spending cuts could pose a threat to [...]
Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, has told US television that there is currently a “pause” in the US recovery. Mr Greenspan told NBC’s Meet the Press programme: “We’re in a pause in a recovery, a modest recovery but a pause in the modest recovery feels like a quasi-recession.” He was [...]
The world’s second largest economy has today lifted its growth forecast for the year to March to 2.6%, compared with an previous estimate of 1.4%. Growth in the year to March 2012 is predicted to be 2%. Japan was one of the first major economies to emerge from recession in the second quarter of 2009 [...]
China’s central bank has refused to bow to pressure to allow its currency, the yuan, to find its own level, after the bank’s website said: “There is at present no basis for major fluctuation or change in the [yuan] exchange rate”. The country’s currency policy has been widely criticised and its comments come just 24 [...]
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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