The Markit Household Finance Index has revealed that households are at their most pessimistic about their finances since March 2009 – when the country was in the midst of recession. The gloomy report comes ahead of Wednesday’s Budget – when Chancellor George Osborne will unveil the Government’s 2011/12 tax and spending plans. Meanwhile, Markit’s household [...]
The latest survey from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed a severe decline in UK consumer confidence for the month of February. The building society’s consumer confidence index plunged to 38 in February – a fall of 10 points and the lowest level since records began in May 2004. The latest fall means confidence is [...]
A survey by the Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF), the manufacturers’ trade body, has revealed manufacturing output eased at the start of 2011, however, firms are optimistic about this year‘s prospects. The survey revealed a balance of 25% of firms reported an increase in output in the first quarter, down from 33% in the previous quarter. [...]
A survey conducted between February 4 and 13 revealed a slight rise in consumer confidence. According to the survey of consumer attitudes, carried out by GfK NOP Social Research, confidence rose one point to minus 28 – an improvement on January’s fall which represented the biggest since the last recession in 1992. However, the reading [...]
The latest survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) has revealed a rise in US factory output. According to the ISM, the manufacturing activity index rose to 60.8 in January, from December’s 58.5. The reading, which was the highest since May 2004, was better than analysts expected and drove US stocks up to a [...]
A survey conducted between December and January revealed a sharp fall in consumer confidence. According to the survey of consumer attitudes, carried out by GfK NOP Social Research, confidence plunged by 8 points to -29, the biggest fall since the last recession in 1992. The research company highlights that the figure was the lowest since [...]
The Markit Household Finance Index has revealed that households are at their most pessimistic about their finances since April 2009. According to Markit, households are concerned about rising inflation and the survey suggests a gloomy outlook as finances are expected to deteriorate over the next 12 months. The index fell to 36.1 points in January, [...]
A survey by Aldermore, the banking group, has revealed the recent VAT hike will hurt small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). According to the survey, around 35% of Britain’s SMEs said the new rate, from 17.5% to 20%, will put a strain on their cash flow and they will need extra funding to cope with [...]
A report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG has revealed employment for both temporary and permanent workers rose during December. The survey of 400 recruitment consultancies showed permanent staff vacancies rising at their fastest level in four months, while demand for temporary staff saw its biggest rise in six months. However, the [...]
A survey of 5,287 homeowners by online property website Zoopla.co.uk has revealed housing market confidence is at a two-year low. More than half (54%) of those questioned said they expect house prices to rise over the first six months of 2011 – this is down from the 81% reported this time last year. The website’s [...]
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has revealed more than half of UK firms will either slash or freeze employee’s pay in 2011. The survey, which covered 450 businesses, found 45% of firms would give their staff a pay rise, 49% said they would freeze wages, while 6% said they planned to cut salaries. Companies [...]
According to research from helpline charity, the Samaritans, 30% of people said 2010 had been one of the worst years ever – up from 24% who felt the same way about 2009. The annual survey of the nation’s happiness revealed the most common worries over the last 12 months were money, relationships, job security, domestic [...]
Christmas shopping could be hit with the expected return of heavy snowfall over the next few days, according to a report today. A survey by market research company, GfK NOP, found that almost one third of Christmas shopping in Britain is done in the two weeks prior to Christmas. Should the bad weather return, retailers [...]
A new survey by the Bank of England has revealed 51% of households are struggling to meet repayments for credit card bills and other unsecured debts. The survey, which questioned almost 2,000 households, established 90% of respondents expect to be affected by the Government’s massive spending cuts. Almost of quarter (22%) of respondents said they [...]
The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) December industrial trends survey today revealed further good news for the sector after overseas demand surged to a 15-year high. The pound gained following the news which revealed firms experiencing above normal demand from overseas was 4% – a significant improvement on the previous month’s -7% and the highest [...]
A report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG has revealed employment for both temporary and permanent workers rose during November. The survey of 400 recruitment consultancies showed job appointments grew at their fastest pace in three months. The permanent staff placements index surged to 55.2 in November, from to 52.6 the previous [...]
The US housing market is expected to remain weak for the next two years, these are the findings of property websites, Trulia and RealtyTrac. According to the survey, more than half (58%) of US citizens expect the property market to stay weak until 2012, while one in five believe it will be 2015 or later [...]
A survey by the Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF), the manufacturers’ trade body, has revealed manufacturing output continues to operate at record levels, however, they are cautious about next year‘s prospects. The survey revealed a balance of 33% of firms reported an increase in output in the fourth quarter, unchanged from the previous quarter – which [...]
The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS)/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) has today revealed UK manufacturing activity surged at a record pace in November. The closely-watched CIPS/Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 58 in November from an upwardly revised 55.4 in October. Not only was the reading the highest since September 1994, it confounded [...]
The Office For National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the extent to which the recession has had on UK households after spending fell for the first time in a decade. The data shows how households have been squeezed after spending was £455 in 2009, down from £471 in the previous year – the first fall [...]
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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