Official figures have today revealed Japanese economic growth slowed in the April to June period, as widely expected. The economy expanded by just 0.1% in the three month period – far less than expected by analysts. Meanwhile, on an annual basis, the economy grew by 0.4% in the quarter, down from a revised 4.4% in [...]
Official figures out tomorrow are expected to reveal growth in the world’s number two economy slowed in the April to June period. Japan fell into a severe recession following the global financial crisis but was one of the first major economies to emerge from recession – in the second quarter of 2009 – boosted by [...]
The EU statistics agency Eurostat has revealed the euro zone economy grew by 1% in the April to June period – boosted by its largest economy – Germany. Economic growth in the 16 nations that use the euro beat expectations, and followed growth of 0.2% in the first quarter and exceeded forecasts of 0.7%. Meanwhile, [...]
Figures have today revealed Europe’s largest economy grew by a record 2.2% in the second quarter – the fastest quarterly growth in 20 years. The figures smashed analysts forecasts who had expected growth of around 1%. Meanwhile, on an annul basis, economic growth soared by 4.1%. Furthermore, first quarter growth has been revised upwards from [...]
Greece’s statistics agency, Elstat, has today revealed the economy contracted by a further 1.5% in the April to June quarter – suggesting the country’s recession is far worse than originally anticipated. The fall follows the 0.8% decline in growth in the first quarter and the news adds to Greece’s troubles as the country battles to [...]
Swiss banking giant UBS has today reported a net profit of SwFr2.0 billion (£1.2 billion, $1.9 billion) for the April to June period – exceeding analysts’ expectations. The news will be welcomed by many investors after the bank was among one of the worst hit victims of the credit crunch due to its exposure to [...]
Oil giant BP has today reported a massive loss of $16.9 billion in the three months to June as a result of the major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The company added that costs related to the spill will reach $32.2 billion (£20.8 billion). Excluding oil spill and other non-operating costs, BP’s replacement [...]
Credit Suisse, which is Switzerland’s second-largest bank, has today exceeded expectations by reporting second quarter profits of SwFr1.6 billion (£1 billion). Compared to the same three-month period a year ago, earnings were 1% higher but were down 22% when compared with the first quarter of the year. The rise in profits came despite a 32% [...]
US banking giant Morgan Stanley has today reported its second quarter results with net profit totalling $1.4 billion (£917 million), compared with a loss of $138 million in the same period a year ago. The Wall Street firm also said it saw a 53% increase in revenues of $7.95 billion compared with the same period [...]
Online search giant Yahoo has published its second quarter results which disappointed the market, sending its shares diving more than 7%. Profits at the company grew by more than 50% in the quarter, but net revenues missed expectations. Revenue in the three months ending June 30 totalled $1.6 billion (£1.05 billion), compared with $1.57 billion [...]
US banking giant Goldman Sachs has today announced profits dived 82% in the second quarter to $453 million. The figures represented the worst quarter since the height of the financial crisis – almost two years ago and were hit by the British bonus levy and a US fraud settlement. Commenting, Lloyd Blankfein chief executive, said: [...]
Shares in US banking giants, Bank of America (BoA) and Citigroup, fell on Friday after both banks reported their second quarter profits. Firstly, Bank of America said net income fell to $3.1 billion in the second quarter from $3.2 billion in the same period a year earlier, while revenue was down 11% to $29.15 billion [...]
US search engine giant, Google, has reported second quarter net profit of $1.84 billion (£1.2 billion) – a rise of 24% on the $1.48 billion reported in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, revenue for the three months ending June came in at $6.82 billion – also a sharp rise on the $5.52 billion [...]
A report by accountancy firm Ernst & Young (E&Y) has found that the number of profit warnings fell to a seven year low in the second quarter of the year to 45, from 54 in the previous quarter. It was the first time profit warnings fell below 50 since 2003. However, according to E&Y, measures [...]
Connells Survey & Valuation has reported a surge as seller confidence in June, the first clear month in which Home Information Packs have been abolished. The nationwide property valuation service saw a 20% rise in valuations, compared with a year earlier, taking volumes in the second quarter of 2010 up 13% on the same period [...]
A survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has revealed the UK economy is likely to have grown in the second quarter but serious concerns remain. The lobby group, which surveyed 5,600 businesses across the country, is forecasting growth of between 0.6% and 0.7% for the three months to the end of June. However, [...]
UK banks and building societies are expecting mortgages to be “less readily available” in the next three months, as the wholesale money markets that lend to the lenders “tighten”. In its latest Credit Conditions Survey covering the three months to early June 2010, the Bank of England also reports that a slim majority of lenders [...]
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has today said the UK economy will outperform its G7 rivals in the second quarter of 2010. The forecast comes despite the UK economy lagging behind other major economies and being one of the last to emerge from recession – in the fourth quarter of 2009. However, [...]
New research from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) puts the number of homes in repossession in the three months to the end of June at 13,610, representing a 9% fall on the previous quarter. However, the figure is 23% up on the same period of 2008, although the regulator says the sharp rise in repossessions [...]
Brazil has followed Japan, Germany, France and Hong Kong by exiting recession after experiencing positive growth in the second quarter. The economy, which is the largest in Latin America, grew by 1.9% in the April to June quarter compared with the previous three months. The growth was better than analysts had expected. The second quarter [...]
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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