Eurofirst falls on oil and mining declines

PayPal hit by technical glitch

PayPal, the payments business which allows payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet, has been experiencing technical difficulties for the past week. The glitch, which is affecting UK customers, has led to large numbers of transactions being sent for security checks, causing payments to be delayed. The problem is believed to have [...]

Car insurance market to be scrutinised

The high cost of car insurance premiums has prompted an investigation into the market amid concerns that it is dysfunctional and not working well for motorists. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has referred the private motor insurance market to the Competition Commission because if believes that the way the market is structured is pushing [...]

Lloyds and Barclays most complained-about banks

The Financial Services Authority has revealed the results of its six-monthly review of complaints, showing that LLoyds and Barclays are the two most complained-about banks. Complaint numbers have rocketed as a result of the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) mis-selling scandal and have now reached the rate of one PPI complaint every 7 seconds. Between January [...]

Card fraud increases to £185m

Debit and credit card fraud increased to £185m in the first six months of this year, an increase of 9 per cent from the same period last year, according to the UK Cards Association. The use of chip and PIN technology has helped to cut the amount of fraud substantially from a peak of £304.2 [...]

Demand for mortgages subdued despite increased lending

Banks and building societies have significantly increased levels of mortgage lending according to a Bank of England survey. Mortgage lending increased significantly in the three months to September and is expected to rise again in the final quarter. However, demand from buyers in the three months to September was subdued, with falling housing prices having [...]

M&S Bank launches current accounts

M&S Bank which opened its first branch in July, launched its first current accounts today. The accounts are available from the bank’s 13 in-store branches. The retailer hopes to attract customers by capitalising on its reputation as a trusted brand. A marketing campaign, launched to promote the new accounts, uses the strapline ‘new fashioned banking’ [...]

NewBuy reservations hit 1,500

The government’s NewBuy mortgage scheme has reached 1,500 reservations according to the Home Builders Federation (HBF). The scheme is designed to help boost the number of mortgages available to home buyers with smaller deposits. NewBuy mortgages are available to buyers of new build properties who have just a 5 per cent deposit on their new [...]

Brits urged to choose more secure PIN numbers

A new report from analytics firm Data Genetics suggests that criminals can guess PIN numbers 10 per cent of the time purely because people are choosing PIN numbers that are easy to remember. Data Genetics found that one in nine people use “1234” as their PIN number when withdrawing cash at ATMs or making payments [...]

Car insurance prices fall 11%

The average cost of car insurance premiums has fallen by nearly 11 per cent, according to research by price comparison website MoneySupermarket. Premiums have been rising for some time but increased competition among insurers and the use of price comparison sites, has finally helped prices to fall across the UK. Motorists in Cleveland and Harrogate [...]

Insurers advise home owners on flood preparations

With sixty-five areas of England on flood alert, the Association of British Insurers is warning home owners to keep insurance documents and emergency contact details in a safe, dry place. Contacts for gas, water and electricity providers should also be kept safe. The organisation is advising people to check their gardens, as winds of up [...]