Banking giant HSBC is proposing to raise the basic salaries of its senior investment bankers, in an attempt to beat the crackdown on bonus payouts. However, the move is likely to trigger unrest among the public sector, which is faced with savage cuts, as the Government attempts to bring down the budget deficit. Furthermore, the [...]
A survey by Westpac bank and the Melbourne Institute has revealed that Australian consumer confidence took another dive in June. The study, which questioned 1,200 people, found that consumer morale in June fell by 5.7% to a reading of 101.9 and followed a 7% drop in May. The fall was attributed to global economic worries [...]
A survey by accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) revealed that many business managers are concerned that Britain is heading towards a double-dip recession (whereby the economy goes into recession twice without having undergone a full recovery in between.) Last week, official figures revealed that the UK economy grew by 0.1% between the October and December period, suggesting [...]
Around 100 senior employees at Goldman Sachs in London are capping their 2009 pay and bonuses at £1 million each. The move comes as part of the Chancellor’s super tax, which was introduced to claw back some of the bailout funds used to rescue the banking industry. According to the BBC, the tax represents a [...]
US President Barack Obama is proposing a severe crackdown on financial institutions in the US which has sent stock markets around the globe into decline. Yesterday, the Dow Jones closed down 2% – its worst decline since October, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 3.6% – the biggest weekly loss in three months and closing a three-week [...]
Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs has today reported its fourth quarter results with net profits at $4.95 billion (£3.06 billion) compared with a loss of $2.12 billion in the same period a year earlier. For the 2009 year, the bank made a net profit of $13.39 billion, up from $2.32 billion in the previous year. [...]
In an interview with Sky News, HSBC chief executive Michael Geoghegan has warned of the dangers of the new super tax, introduced by the Government to claw back some of the bailout funds used to rescue the banking industry. The warning comes just a week after London Mayor, Boris Johnson, warned that high-earning bankers are [...]
London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has warned that high-earning bankers are leaving the capital because of the super tax which has been introduced by the Government. In the recent Pre-Budget Report (PBR), UK Chancellor Alistair Darling confirmed there would be a one-off 50% tax on bankers’ bonuses paid above £25,000. The Chancellor said the banks, rather [...]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has confirmed that the bank bonus tax will not apply to staff of non-banking firms such as insurers, assets managers and stockbrokers. There were queries about which organisations would be affected by the 50% tax, which was announced the Pre-Budget Report, but it has been confirmed that it will apply [...]
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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