The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) expects the UK economy to grow more slowly than previously forecast and says it faces “serious challenges”. In its quarterly economic forecast the BCC forecast growth of 0.6 per cent in 2012, a slight decrease from its previous forecast of 0.8 per cent. It expects the government’s efforts to [...]
The government expects to either achieve or exceed its target of borrowing no more than £127bn this year, after recording its biggest surplus for four years in January. In the tax year to date the government has borrowed £93.5bn and in January it made a net repayment of £7.75bn, excluding financial interventions. Although a surplus [...]
Inflation fell sharply in January to 3.6 per cent on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), from 4.2 per cent in December, according to the latest official figures. Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation, which includes housing costs such as mortgage interest and council tax, fell to 3.9 per cent from 4.8 per cent. Although CPI inflation [...]
There has been a substantial increase in the number of people worried about their finances over the past six months and savings are the main area of concern. A survey by financial advice site unbiased.co.uk discovered that 47 per cent of British people are more concerned about their savings than they were six months ago. [...]
Santander UK has announced a new savings bond designed for people who want to inflation-proof their savings. The six-year Inflation Linked Savings Bond will pay the percentage rise in the Retail Price Index (RPI) when it matures, on top of the saver’s initial deposit. Savers can invest between £500 to £2 million in the bond [...]
Campaign group Save our Savers today revealed the cost to savers of the Bank of England’s decision to hold the base rate at 0.5% for the 33rd successive month. The group estimates that the low interest rate combined with a retail price index at 5.6 per cent, its highest level for 20 years, and a [...]
The Bank of Ireland has become the latest lender to increase the standard variable rate (SVR) on its mortgages. Around 100,000 UK customers will be affected when the bank increases the SVR from 2.99 per cent, to 3.99 per cent in June There will be a further increase in September, when the SVR will rise [...]
Mortgage approvals have reached their highest level since December 2009 according to Bank of England figures. 58,728 home loans were approved in January 2012, a 30 per cent increase from January 2011, following increased activity among first-time buyers. A two-year stamp duty exemption on properties between the value of £125,000 and £250,000 will end in [...]
Gross mortgage lending fell to £10.5bn in January, 12 per cent lower than the total for December. However the figures represent a year-on-year increase of 10 per cent, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said. January was the sixth consecutive month of higher lending compared with the previous year. Home loan approvals also increased in [...]
House prices fell 1.1 per cent in February according to The Halifax, contradicting earlier figures from Nationwide suggesting that property prices have increased. According to the Halifax’s three monthly index, house prices were 1.1 per cent lower in February than in the previous three months. The mortgage lender’s annual index showed that property prices fell [...]
The average value of houses in the 13 postal districts closest to Olympic park in Stratford, east London, has increased by more than £62,739 to £268,884 since July 2005, when the capital was awarded the right to host the 2012 Olympics. A study by Lloyds TSB shows that house prices have risen by 30%, which [...]
House prices remained steady in January and February according to property analysis firm Hometrack, but there was a surge for interest from potential buyers. The firm’s Monthly National Housing Survey found that property values fell across six regions, remained the same in three, and grew by just 0.1 per cent in London, in the first [...]
Customers of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank have been experiencing problems with debit cards being declined due to computer changes. The problem initially occurred while the banks, which are both part of the National Australia Bank (NAB), were transferring their systems operations to an external contractor on Sunday morning. Problems with some Mastercard debit transactions persisted [...]
London-based Metro Bank is partnering with Australian online banking solutions provider Sandstone to create an online application platform for Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs). CallCredit will provide verification and credit checking data for the new service, which will be available in time for consumers to take advantage of the new Isa allowance, starting in April. This [...]
More than three quarters of savers are unaware that everyone aged 16 and over is allowed to put £5,340 into cash ISA this year, according to research from uSwitch. Only half of savers are planning to put any money at all into a cash ISA, and just a quarter are using their total allowance, the [...]
Banks are writing to millions of customers advising them that they may have been mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI), following the release of new guidelines by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA estimates that between four million and 12 million letters will be sent out, but not everyone who has been mis-sold PPI will [...]
A study by car insurance provider, Esure, has found that drivers suffer from a lapse in concentration just 11 minutes into a long journey. Esure questioned more than 1,000 motorists in the UK about their driving habits and attention span. 22 per cent of those surveyed said they fell into ‘autopilot’ easily, while 34% said [...]
Insurance provider Hastings Direct is advising pet owners to take out the most comprehensive policy they can afford when their pet is under one year old. Dec Fisher, head of ancillaries at Hastings Direct warned that when people buy a new pet, they do not know what health issues they may have to face and [...]
Talks over public sector pensions have now ended with the government producing a final set of proposals. While the Treasury said the talks were constructive, unions claim that ‘serious matters’ have been left unresolved, leading to the threat of further industrial action. The proposed changes to health, education and civil service pensions are designed to [...]
Credit broker Yes Loans has had its licence revoked by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) over concern that its business practices ‘deceitful and oppressive’. Two associated businesses, Blue Sky Personal Finance and Money Worries Limited, have also been found to be unfit to hold a consumer credit licence. Following a long-term investigation, the OFT [...]
The amount of money lost due to credit and debit card fraud fell to £341m in 2011. This was 7 per cent less than the amount lost in 2010 and 44 per cent lower than in 2008, when £610m was lost through card fraud. Since 2010 the number of fraudsters impersonating people to use or [...]
The value of final salary pension schemes has been slashed by £90 billion due to the government’s latest round of quantitative easing (QE), the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) warns, while pensioners’ incomes have also been hit by soaring living costs. A new study by LV= suggest that pensioners’ day-to-day living costs have increased [...]
Falling gilt yields have pushed final salary pension funds £90bn deeper into the red since the second wave of quantitative easing (QE) started last October, pension experts said today. The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) said the Bank of England’s printing of £125bn within the past six months had hit pension funds harder than [...]
Strikes threatened as public sector pension talks conclude
Talks over public sector pensions have now ended with the government producing a final set of proposals. While the Treasury said the talks were constructive, unions claim that ‘serious matters’ have been left unresolved, leading to the threat of further industrial action. The proposed changes to health, education and civil service pensions are designed to [...]
Payday loan company’s licence revoked
Credit broker Yes Loans has had its licence revoked by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) over concern that its business practices ‘deceitful and oppressive’. Two associated businesses, Blue Sky Personal Finance and Money Worries Limited, have also been found to be unfit to hold a consumer credit licence. Following a long-term investigation, the OFT [...]
Card fraud falls to 11-year low
The amount of money lost due to credit and debit card fraud fell to £341m in 2011. This was 7 per cent less than the amount lost in 2010 and 44 per cent lower than in 2008, when £610m was lost through card fraud. Since 2010 the number of fraudsters impersonating people to use or [...]
Pensioners hammered by QE and rising living costs
The value of final salary pension schemes has been slashed by £90 billion due to the government’s latest round of quantitative easing (QE), the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) warns, while pensioners’ incomes have also been hit by soaring living costs. A new study by LV= suggest that pensioners’ day-to-day living costs have increased [...]
Second salvo of QE knocks £90bn off pensions funds
Falling gilt yields have pushed final salary pension funds £90bn deeper into the red since the second wave of quantitative easing (QE) started last October, pension experts said today. The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) said the Bank of England’s printing of £125bn within the past six months had hit pension funds harder than [...]
Bank of Ireland raises cost of mortgages
The Bank of Ireland has become the latest lender to increase the standard variable rate (SVR) on its mortgages. Around 100,000 UK customers will be affected when the bank increases the SVR from 2.99 per cent, to 3.99 per cent in June There will be a further increase in September, when the SVR will rise [...]
House prices down 1.1% in February
House prices fell 1.1 per cent in February according to The Halifax, contradicting earlier figures from Nationwide suggesting that property prices have increased. According to the Halifax’s three monthly index, house prices were 1.1 per cent lower in February than in the previous three months. The mortgage lender’s annual index showed that property prices fell [...]
Debit card transactions declined by Yorkshire and Clydesdale
Customers of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank have been experiencing problems with debit cards being declined due to computer changes. The problem initially occurred while the banks, which are both part of the National Australia Bank (NAB), were transferring their systems operations to an external contractor on Sunday morning. Problems with some Mastercard debit transactions persisted [...]
Banks write to customers over PPI mis-selling
Banks are writing to millions of customers advising them that they may have been mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI), following the release of new guidelines by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA estimates that between four million and 12 million letters will be sent out, but not everyone who has been mis-sold PPI will [...]
Confidence in pensions plummets ahead of auto-enrolement
Public confidence in pensions has fallen to an all-time low just months before the Government starts automatically putting every worker into one, new research showed today (Weds). A survey for the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) found 54% of all employees are not confident in pensions compared to other ways of saving. 37% said [...]
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