The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of inflation fell to 4.8 per cent in November it was revealed yesterday, representing the second consecutive 0.2 percentage point monthly decline. Although the price of domestic heating and alcohol increased during the month, this was offset by a fall in the cost of food, petrol, clothing, furniture and [...]
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has cut its global growth forecast for next year to 3.4 per cent and has warned that the UK will follow Europe into recession. The organisation also predicts that unemployment in the UK will reach 9.1 per cent by 2013. Yesterday the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, [...]
In its latest quarterly inflation report the Bank of England warns that the UK’s economic outlook has worsened. It suggests that the economy could stagnate until the middle of next year, with growth predictions for 2011 and 2012 cut to around 1 per cent, compared with its August forecast of 1.7 per cent growth in [...]
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has today elected to cut interest rates by one quarter of a percentage point to 4.5% in a bid to bolster growth. The move, which was widely expected, comes as the global economy slows and unemployment rises (currently at 5.2%). It was the first time in two-and-a-half years that [...]
US consumer confidence slumped in October, the Conference Board has reported. The closely-monitored Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board dived to 39.8 this month from September’s reading of 46.4. Not only was the reading less than forecasts of a level of 46.0, it was the lowest since March 2009, when the US was in [...]
The Markit Household Finance Index (HFI) has today published a gloomy report as families’ finances were slightly worse in October than in September. Meanwhile, Markit’s HFI, which measures prospects for finances over the coming year, dived to 34.5 this month, from September’s reading of 42.2. The reading represented the lowest in the survey’s history and [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK public sector net borrowing fell last month. According to the ONS, public sector net borrowing came in at a lower than expected £14.1 billion in September, boosted by tax receipts. Analysts had expected borrowing to total £14.5 billion. Furthermore, the ONS revised down the borrowing [...]
The latest survey from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed a fall in UK consumer confidence for the month of September. The building society’s consumer confidence index fell for the fourth consecutive month, falling by 3 points to 45 in September – hovering dangerously close to the all-time low of 41. Furthermore, it is 10 [...]
The German Government has today slashed its growth forecasts for the euro zone’s largest economy. The Government said it now expected the economy to expand by 1% in 2012, down from an earlier estimate of 1.8%. Meanwhile, this year’s forecast has been lowered slightly to 2.9% from 3%. Its downgrade comes just a week after [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK retail sales beat forecasts in September, led by spending on electrical goods such as laptop computers. According to the Statistics Office, sales rose by 0.6% last month, reversing the 0.4% fall in August. Furthermore, the figure was 0.6% higher on an annual basis. Retail sales [...]
Leading think tank, the Ernst & Young Item Club, has warned that growth within the UK economy is “grinding to a halt” because of the euro zone debt crisis. The Item Club also warned that the quantitative easing (QE) measures, announced recently by the Bank of England, are unlikely to boost the recovery. Its comments [...]
Growth in the Germany economy, which is the euro zone’s largest, is expected to slow sharply next year as the ongoing debt crisis persists. In a closely monitored twice-yearly report, Germany’s leading economic institutes have slashed their growth forecasts for the economy from 2% next year to 0.8%, citing the debt problems in the euro [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK unemployment rose sharply in the three months to August – rising to a 17-year high. The ONS said unemployment rose by 114,000 in the three month period to 2.57 million, taking the unemployment rate to 8.1% - higher than forecasts. In comparison, unemployment in the [...]
According to the Labor Department, the world’s largest economy added 137,000 new jobs last month, as the public sector cut 34,000 jobs. According to the Labor Department, the private-sector numbers benefited from the return of around 45,000 Verizon workers who had fallen off payrolls in August due to a strike. Excluding those workers, payrolls increased [...]
Official data has revealed unemployment in Germany dropped to its lowest level in more than 20 years in September. The country’s unemployment rate fell from August’s rate of 7% to 6.6%. Unemployment now stands at 2.79 million – the first time since 1992 that the jobless total has been below 2.8 million. It was also [...]
Japan’s industrial output recovered further last month after a record drop in March due to the earthquake and tsunami. Disruptions caused by the twin disasters resulted in carmakers being forced to halt production as a result of parts shortages. However, it looks as if the situation continues to improve after output rose by 0.8% last [...]
The Commerce Department has revealed the world’s largest economy grew by 1.3% on an annual basis in the April to June period – higher than an initial estimate of 1%. The figure was also slightly higher than analysts’ expectations of 1.2% and follows a 0.4% growth rate in the first quarter of the year. The [...]
Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, has warned that the world’s largest economy is facing a national crisis due to its high unemployment rate, which currently stands at 9.1%. Earlier this month, the US Labor Department revealed the economy added no new jobs last month, which was a surprise after markets had expected 70,000 new jobs. [...]
US consumer confidence remained weak in September, the Conference Board has reported. The closely-monitored Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board edged higher to 45.4 this month from August’s upwardly revised reading of 45.2. However, not only was the reading less than forecasts of a level of 46.6, it was the lowest since April 2009 [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK retail sales fell by 0.2% in August after riots earlier in the month affected trade. The fall followed slower growth in the previous two months after sales rose just 0.2% in July and 0.8% in June. In the meantime, food sales were also down – [...]
Quarter of final-salary pension schemes closed
Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of private-sector final-salary pension schemes were closed in 2011, according to the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF). In comparison, just 3 per cent of final-salary pension schemes closed in 2008, while the proportion increased to 17 per cent in 2010. It is estimated that the closure of this [...]
Short-service pension refunds to be banned
Employees who have been with a company for less than two years will no longer be eligible for a refund of the money they have paid into a defined-contribution pension scheme, under proposed reforms. The change, which is designed to stop employees leaving a firm without a pension, has been welcomed by the National Association [...]
Accounts failing to inflation-proof savings
Research by comparison site Moneyfacts has found that there is not one single savings account currently available that will completely protect taxpayers’ savings from the effects of tax and inflation. The latest figures show that inflation fell slightly in November, from 5.0 per cent to 4.8 per cent, on the Consumer Prices Index. This means [...]
LSL Property Services, which includes Your Move and Reeds Rains, announced a 0.4 per cent drop in rent for a ‘typical’ property to £717 in November. Rents have been rising throughout the year, driven by increased demand from people unable to afford to buy a propert and November’s decline marked the first fall in rent [...]
New rules may ease negative equity problems
The FSA’s report into lending, due to be published next week, is expected to include proposals to help home owners in negative equity. The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that one in 12 homeowners are in negative equity, with their home now worth less than the price they paid for it, making it impossible for [...]
Student Loans Company warns of phishing attack
The Student Loans Company is contacting customers who it believes may have had their personal details compromised as a result of a phishing attack. The email attack was designed to steal students’ personal details and the company is advising students that a genuine email from the company would never ask them to divulge personal or [...]
Brits losing faith in inflation strategy
The Bank of England’s latest inflation attitudes survey suggests that fewer people believe inflation is being controlled effectively with interest rates. In August, when the survey was last carried out, the proportion satisfied that the Bank was doing its job to set interest rates to control inflation, versus those dissatisfied, was 16 per cent, but [...]
CML warns house repossessions will rise
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) expects the number of house repossessions to increase by 21.6 per cent from 37,000 this year to 45,000 in 2012 due to an increase in unemployment and falling household incomes. The CML also expects housing transactions to fall next year, with 825,000 homes expected to be sold compared with [...]
Banks to display deposit protection signs
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is introducing new rules which will require banks and building societies to display clear signs at branches and on their websites, telling customers their savings are protected. The sign will tell savers: “Your deposits are protected up to £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the UK deposit protection scheme. [...]
Co-op Bank to buy Lloyds branches
The Co-operative Group has been named preferred bidder for 632 branches being sold by Lloyds Banking Group. The Co-op was in competition with NBNK for the branches which are being sold under European competition rules. It will now enter exclusive talks with Lloyds over the deal, which would expand its branch network to 947, giving [...]
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