The Commerce Department has today revealed the US economy grew by an annualised 1.9% in the January to March period – marginally higher than the previous estimate of 1.8%. On a quarterly basis, growth was up 0.58%. Today’s reading is the third and final for first quarter growth. Stubbornly high unemployment and a depressed housing [...]
Music, books, DVD and games retailer, HMV, has issued its third profits warning in as many months. It expects full-year pre-tax profits to be around £30 million – lower than the £38 million it estimated a month ago. The 90-year old retailer, which also owns Waterstone’s bookshops, in January said it was struggling to meet [...]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has today announced that Greece has met the conditions of its loan and will therefore receive the third instalment of its bailout loan. In May, the EU and the IMF agreed to loan €110 billion. The three-year rescue deal comprises €80 billion from the EU, with the rest coming from [...]
Japanese core private-sector machinery orders – a highly volatile series seen as an indicator of corporate spending – surged 10.1% in August – confounding expectations of a 4.5% fall. The increase in orders represented the third consecutive monthly rise, according to the Cabinet Office, and follows June’s 1.6% increase and July’s 8.8% growth. The surprise [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed the US economy grew by an annualised 1.7% in the April to June period – slightly higher than the previous estimate of 1.6%. This figure is the third and final estimate for the second quarter and the upward revision was due to a higher rate of consumer spending, which [...]
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has today revealed Japan’s industrial output fell for the third month in a row in August, raising further fears about the strength of the economic recovery. Output fell 0.3% in August, way below analysts expectations of a 1.1% rise. The Ministry is forecasting production to fall 0.1% in [...]
It appears the housing market is headed for a double dip after property website, Rightmove, reported a further fall in asking prices in September. According to Rightmove, asking prices for residential property in England and Wales fell by 1.1% in the 5 weeks to 11 September – the third consecutively monthly fall. It follows falls [...]
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has again elected to leave interest rates on hold at 4.5% after a series of aggressive rate hikes since October. It is the third consecutive month in which rates have been at this level but economists say the central bank will only leave rates on hold for the short-term. [...]
Official data from the Labor Department has today revealed that US consumer prices fell for the third consecutive month in June, by 0.1% on a monthly basis. The fall was attributed to declines in energy prices, which were down 2.9%, food prices remained flat. The fall in June followed declines of 0.1% and 0.2% in [...]
Industrial production in the euro zone increased for the third month in a row in May. Industrial output rose by 0.9% from April and was 9.4% higher than in May 2009, according to European Union statistics agency Eurostat. However, the figures missed forecasts of a 1.3% monthly rise and an 11.3% annual gain. “May’s euro [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is tomorrow expected to leave its estimate of GDP in the January to March unchanged at 0.3%. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a key measure of economic growth, is closely watched by economists as an indication of the health of the economy. The figures were due to be released last [...]
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) today said its Pending Home Sales Index rose for the third consecutive month in April boosted by the expiration of a Government tax credit. The NAR said the index rose 6% in April – far exceeding the 4.3% rise which many analysts had predicted. However, the index is 22.4% [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK economy grew by 0.4% in the October to December period – slightly higher than the 0.1% and the 0.3% previously estimated. Today’s figures represent the third and final figures for growth in the fourth quarter and the ONS is scheduled release its first estimate [...]
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has today revealed a further fall in sales of previously owned homes in the US for the month of February. The industry body said sales fell 0.6% in the month to an annual rate of 5.02 million units (an eight-month low), down from 5.05 million the previous month. February’s [...]
Crisis-hit Greece has come to a standstill again today after workers staged the third general strike in as many weeks. The further strike comes after austerity measures to rescue Greece’s debt-stricken economy angered Greek trade unions. Greece is currently taking action to reduce its public deficit from 12% to 8% of GDP this year. The [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed a fall in sales of new homes in the US for the month of January – the third consecutive month that sales have fallen. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales dived by 11.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 306,000 units – the lowest since [...]
The John Lewis Partnership, which is seen as a barometer of British retailing, today announced that sales grew 15.6% to £50 million in the week to 30 January compared with the same period a year ago. The renowned employee-owned department store said it was the third consecutive week of increased sales and ended a “cracking” [...]
Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, saw exports rise for the third consecutive month in November. Exports, on a seasonally adjusted basis, totalled €70.6 billion (£63 billion) during the month – an increase of 1.6% compared with the previous month. The monthly gain was double economists’ forecasts of a 0.8% rise and followed gains of [...]
Australia, which is one of the few developed economies not to have fallen into recession like its counterparts throughout the world, has increased interest rates from 3.5% to 3.75%. It is the third month in a row that interest rates have increased and the move was not unexpected. The Australian economy has benefited from an [...]
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, [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
