The Commerce Department has today reported consumer spending in the US was flat in May. This was the first month since September 2009 that there was no growth, surprising analysts who had expected a 0.1% rise. Consumer spending is closely monitored as it accounts for approximately 70% of total economic output. However, many analysts said [...]
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 [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed sales of new homes in the US fell, suggesting the housing market remains depressed. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales fell by 2.1% in May on a monthly basis to an annual rate of 319,000 units, after two consecutive months of gains. However, despite the fall, [...]
The Federal Reserve yesterday opted to keep interest rates at the record low of between 0% and 0.25% and hinted that they will stay this way for the medium-term. US interest rates have now been at this rate since December 2008 in an effort to stimulate economic growth. The US central bank also lowered its [...]
The US housing market remains depressed after figures today revealed sales of previously owned homes plunged 15% on an annual basis last month, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The industry body also said sales were down 3.8% on the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million units – [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed US retail sales fell in May for the first time in 11 months, hit by weak car sales. According to official figures, sales fell 0.2% to $387.1 billion on a monthly basis as consumers opted out of buying big-ticket items such as cars. Car sales were almost 3% lower, [...]
The US trade deficit narrowed sharply in April, figures showed today, due to a record increase in exports. According to the Commerce Department, the trade deficit narrowed to $43.7 billion from March’s figure of $46.8 billion – surprising analysts who had expected a rise to $48.7 billion. Exports rose 1.3% on a monthly basis to [...]
Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, has acknowledged that economic growth has been weaker than expected this year but expects it strengthen in the latter half of the year. His comments came shortly after it was revealed US employment growth weakened in May, with the jobless rate rising. Speaking at the International Monetary Conference [...]
The Labor Department has today revealed the unemployment rate in the US unexpectedly rose in May to 9.1%, up from 9% in April. Despite the rise in the jobless rate, it was the eighth consecutive month of positive employment growth. The economy created 54,000 jobs in the month – however, this was far less than [...]
Asian shares fell today after the world’s largest economy raised fears of a slowdown. Figures issued in the US yesterday revealed manufacturing activity slowed to its lowest level since September 2009 and was weaker than economists had expected. Furthermore, payroll processing firm ADP said private employers created a less than expected 38,000 jobs last month [...]
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas fell in March – the ninth consecutive monthly decline. According to the closely watched report, house prices were 0.2% lower in March on a monthly basis – albeit in line with forecasts. The index fell to 138.16, dipping below the 139.26 seen in April 2009 [...]
The Commerce Department has today reported a rise in consumer spending in the US for the month of April – due, in part, to higher food and energy costs. Spending grew 0.4% on the month – the tenth consecutive monthly increase but the figure was less than analysts had expected. Consumer spending is closely monitored [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed the US economy grew by an annualised 1.8% in the first quarter – unchanged from the first estimate and less than analysts’ expectations of a 2.1% growth rate. However, today’s estimate is only the second reading and the third and final reading will be available next month and could [...]
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has revised its growth forecasts for the global economy. The US, which is the world’s largest economy, is expected to see growth this year of 2.6% – revised upwards from a previous estimate of 2.2%. It maintained its 2012 growth forecast at 3.1%. “Growth in the [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed sales of new homes in the US rose for a second consecutive month in April, after diving to a record low in February. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales grew 7.3% on the month to an annual rate of 323,000 units, better than analysts had forecast. [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed US housing starts slumped in April – much worse than forecast. Housing starts dived 10.6% in the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 523,000 units, analysts had expected an annual rate of 563,000. In the meantime, applications for building permits, a barometer of future home construction, also [...]
The US trade deficit swelled in March to $48.18 billion (£29.5 billion) – up from $45.4 billion the previous month. The widening was attributed to higher prices for imported oil, the Commerce Department reported. Imports rose 4.9% to $220.8 billion, while exports grew 4.6% to a record high of $172.7 billion – the largest monthly [...]
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas fell in February – the eighth consecutive monthly decline. According to the index, house prices were 0.2% lower in February on a monthly basis, falling to their lowest level since the 2009 recession. The S&P/Case-Shiller index for 20 main US cities fell by 3.3% on [...]
China and the US are set to hold economic talks in Washington DC next month as the two countries endeavour to reach an agreement over currency issues. The State Department announced yesterday: “The third meeting of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) will be held in Washington, DC, May 9-10, 2011.” China has been [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed US housing starts picked up in March but the recovery remains a long way off, according to analysts. Housing starts increased 7.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000 units, while February’s figure was revised upwards to 512,000. In the meantime, applications for building permits, a barometer of [...]
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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