Figures today show consumers continue to cutback in the face of higher inflation and rising unemployment after Kesa, the parent company of electrical retailer Comet, revealed a sharp fall in sales. Total revenue in the previous three months fell by 9.8% on a like-for-like basis while sales slumped almost 22% after the company blamed weak [...]
Speaking in the House of Commons today, Chancellor George Osborne has warned that the UK can expect a long and tough recovery. His speech came as he defended the Government’s tough spending cuts, which many have been critical about – even suggesting they could push the UK back into recession. However, the Chancellor believes that [...]
The Italian Senate has today passed a tough austerity budget, which proposes cuts of €48 billion (£42 billion) over the next three years. Senators voted 161 to 135 in favour of the measures. The country’s Finance Minister, Giulio Tremonti, is aiming to cut the deficit to zero by 2014 from this year’s 3.9% of GDP. [...]
Luxury supermarket chain, Waitrose, has today said despite the tough economic conditions, it expects annual sales to rise by a double-digit percentage for some years to come, fuelled by its ambitious expansion plan. The chain, which is part of the renowned employee-owned department store John Lewis, is quickly becoming one of the UK’s fastest growing [...]
In his first budget yesterday, Chancellor George Osborne defended his Government’s painful cuts and said if action is not taken, we will find our country on the “road to ruin,” According to figures from the Treasury, every household will be worse off as a result of tax rises and changes to the benefit system. The [...]
Spanish public sector workers will go on strike today to protest against austerity measures, which include average cuts this year to public workers’ salaries of 5%. As well as a 5% cut for civil servants, there will be severe cuts in public investment and development aid. Today’s strikes, which have been set up by Spain’s [...]
Germany has announced this weekend that it plans to bring its deficit down to meet EU rules. Chancellor Angela Merkel is heading up a two-day cabinet meeting to devise a savings plan for the country’s budget, which is expected to see tough measures including road tolls, tax hikes and cuts to welfare. The country’s public [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said shops in Central London enjoyed their best December since records began in 2002, with sales up 12% on year. The report came just a week after the BRC reported that Britain experienced an annual 4.2% rise in sales during December. Both sets of figures will boost hopes that the [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today announced that the High Street experienced the strongest December for eight years, boosting hopes that the UK economy will have emerged from recession in the fourth quarter. According to the BRC, like-for-like sales grew 4.2% by value during December as last-minute Christmas shoppers boosted sales. However, the BRC [...]
Major retailers have experienced a bumper festive season but the British Retail Consortium (BRC) is warning the High Street not to be bullish as a “very tough” 12 months is in store. Last week, British retailing giant, Marks and Spencer, reported its first sales growth in over two years. The 125-year-old retailer which sells clothes, [...]
British retailing giant, Marks and Spencer (M&S), has today reported its first sales growth in over two years. The 125-year-old retailer which sells clothes, food and homewares, said like-for-like sales grew 0.8% in the three months to 26 December compared with the same period a year earlier. However, the increase was below market expectations of [...]
The world’s biggest supermarket, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, has described the current sales environment as “difficult”. The retailing giant said sales were down 0.4% in the three months to 31 October at stores open for more than 12 months. US consumers continue to rein in their spending as the economy continues to see a rise in [...]
At last week’s G20 summit, the world’s leading nations agreed to “tough new regulations”. Following the summit, which took place in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday, US President Barack Obama announced that in order to prevent another financial crisis: “We have agreed tough new financial regulations to ensure that the reckless few can no longer [...]
The Co-operative Financial Services (CFS), which recently completed its merger with Britannia Building Society, has reported its interim results for the 28 weeks to 25 July 2009. CFS, which is part of The Co-operative Group, is the UK’s biggest mutual retailer with more than 4 million members, over £14 billion turnover and has over 5,000 [...]
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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