China’s trade surplus widened to $28.7 billion (£17.9 billion) last month as exports soared. Not only did the trade surplus surge from June’s $20.02 billion, but it exceeded expectations of a $19.6 billion surplus. The figure represented the highest since January 2009, when it stood at $39.11 billion. Exports grew 38.1% in July on an [...]
Figures today revealed Chinese exports grew by 43.9% in June compared with a year earlier. The figure, which exceeded expectations, comes after China overtook Germany as the world’s biggest exporter earlier this year. Germany had held the top spot since 2003. Meanwhile, imports increased by 34.1% year-on-year in June. As a result, China posted a [...]
Official data today has revealed Japanese exports rose for the sixth consecutive month in May by 32.1% to 5.31 trillion yen, but fell short of expectations of a 37% rise. Meanwhile, imports for the world’s second largest economy grew 33.4% to 4.99 trillion yen – the fifth consecutive monthly rise. The trade surplus reached 324.2 [...]
Official figures today from the finance ministry showed Japanese exports surged 40.4% in April to 5.9 trillion yen (£45 billion). Exports were boosted by global demand for Japanese cars and high tech products and factory parts. Global demand for Japanese cars, electronics and other goods are recovering after a slump during the global economic downturn. [...]
Official figures today from the finance ministry showed Japanese exports surged 45.3% in February to 5.13 trillion yen (£37.3 billion, $56 billion), the fastest year-on-year growth in 30 years. However, exports are still around 25% lower than levels seen in 2008 but the situation has improved significantly since shipments slumped a year ago. Global demand [...]
The Federal Statistics Office today announced a fall in German exports for the month of January, with the cold weather being attributed to the fall, according to analysts. Exports in January fell by 6.3% on the month to €67.9 billion, while imports grew by 6% to €59.2 billion. As a result, Germany’s trade surplus narrowed [...]
Japan’s exports jumped for the first time in 15 months in December to reach 5.4 trillion yen (£37 billion) – up 12% compared with a year ago. Shipments to Asia, which account for more than 50% of Japan’s total shipments, soared by almost a third (31.2%) to 3 trillion yen. Japan’s exports to China surged [...]
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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