The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today unveiled some disappointing news after it has emerged that the UK economy shrank by 0.4% in the July to September period, meaning the country is still in recession. However, it must be noted that today’s figures could still be revised up or down at a later date, [...]
The Bank of England has elected to keep interest rates unchanged at 0.5% today for the fifth month in a row. Rates currently stand at the lowest level since the Bank was established over 300 years ago. Meanwhile, the Bank has announced plans to increase its quantitative easing (QE) programme to £175 billion – a [...]
Sterling is continuing to climb against the US dollar on the back of renewed optimism within the UK economy. News released today sent the pound back above the $1.70 mark – its highest level since October last year. According to the Office for National Statistics, industrial output rose unexpectedly in June by 0.5% compared with [...]
The Bank of England’s interest rate setters are widely expected to keep interest rates on hold today at the record low of 0.5%. Should interest rates remain unchanged, it will be the third consecutive month at the current rate – the bank’s lowest since it was established over 300 years ago. Prior to April, the [...]
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply’s (CIPS) services survey has revealed that the services sector has risen for the first time in a year. The sector, which makes up for more than two thirds of the economy, consists of services such as restaurants, cinemas, sports venues and leisure centres. The survey’s headline reading rose [...]
The UK services sector, which is the backbone of the economy, is declining at a record rate as the closely monitored Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 40.1 in November from 42.4 in October, the lowest level and fastest decline since the survey started in 1996. The index monitors everything from output to orders and [...]
The Chartered Institute for Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) has revealed that Britain’s services sector shrank in September at the fastest rate since records began 12 years ago, adding to fears that a recession is unavoidable. The CIPS index shows service sector activity fell to 46, a figure of less than 50 indicates contraction. The news [...]
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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