Credit card lending contracted in April, representing the fourth time it has contracted in the past six months and suggesting that consumer confidence remains low. Repayments exceeded new borrowing by £118m last month, marking the biggest monthly contraction since August 2006, according to the latest figures from the Bank of England. Other types of personal […]
The economic gap between cities doing relatively well during the economic downturn and those that have been hard hit by the recession, is expected to widen. A report by the Centre for Cities, a research and policy organisation focused on improving the economic performance of UK cities, suggests that a combination of weak growth in […]
The rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation fell to 4.2 per cent in December, from 4.8 per cent in November, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is the third consecutive month that inflation has fallen and December’s figures represents the biggest monthly fall since April 2009. Inflation […]
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 […]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than […]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. […]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees […]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on […]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages […]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit […]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE […]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings […]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though […]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A […]
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