From the 'papers - articles reviewing the weeks financial situation

Welcome to JST Financial's weekly round-up of the financial stories currently making the news. You can save yourself a LOT of time and money by reading the articles collected in this archive!

This page is updated with a new article every Monday so be sure to check back soon!

15 March 2010 - CBI reportedly criticised the government for "resorting to damaging tax rises"

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has reportedly criticised the government for "resorting to damaging tax rises" to balance public finances and called for a "convincing plan" to do so by 2016, according to the BBC website.

8 March 2010 - Halifax suggested that housing prices fell in February

Figures from the Halifax suggested that housing prices fell by 1.5% in February – the first time they had done so since June – taking the average price of a home down to £166,587.

1 March 2010 - Deposits at Northern Rock will, as of 24th May, no longer be 100% guaranteed.

On Wednesday it was reported that deposits at Northern Rock will, as of 24th May, no longer be 100% guaranteed, as they have been since late 2007. The first £50,000 per depositor, however, will still be protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

22 February 2010 - The UK jobs market is still on the ropes

The latest quarterly report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) published on Monday revealed that nearly 33% of employers in the public sector are planning to cut jobs in the first quarter of 2010.

15 February 2010 - Kraft close Cadbury Somerdale factory in Keynsham

Workers at the Cadbury Somerdale factory in Keynsham, Somerset, reacted with anger and dismay to the news on Wednesday that Cadbury's new owner Kraft Foods is to proceed with the closure of the factory after all.

9 February 2010 - IVA's increased between October and December

A total of nearly 36,000 people were declared insolvent between October and December, a rise of 25% compared with the same period in 2008 according to the official figures.

2 February 2010 - Mortgage Loans approved in December rose to 45,897

British Airways faced the prospect of renewed industrial by cabin crew, on Monday, as members of the Unite union began voting in a new strike ballot. The ballot was called after British Airways obtained a court order to prevent a planned walkout over the Christmas period and closes on 22nd

25 January 2010 - Economic growth in the UK would struggle to reach 1%

The economic forecasting group, the Ernst & Young Item Club, published its latest quarterly report, in which it warned that economic growth in the UK would struggle to reach 1% in 2010 and that the UK must increases its overseas earnings if it is to prosper in the years to come, on Monday. Chief

19 January 2010 - Cold weather and bankers bonuses

It was inevitable that extreme cold weather would make the headlines this week, for one reason or another and it did so on Monday, with reduced supply from the Ormen Lange gas field in Norway causing the National Grid to issue another GBA, or "Gas Balancing Alert", its fourth in a week. The Met

23 November 2009 - Nationwide Building Society reported a 62% fall in pre-tax profits

There was, quite literally, something in the air on Monday with the two largest manufacturers in the world, Airbus and Boeing issuing upbeat statements with regard to demand and profitability over the next two years, while the Unite union issued strike ballot papers to 12,000 cabin crew at British

18 November 2009 - 43% owned by the British taxpayer and the recipient of a further £5.7 billion

Weekly Financial News Roundup Following its rejected bid of £10.2 billion in September – which Cadbury said "fundamentally undervalued" the company – US food giant Kraft Foods had until 5.00 pm on Monday to make another hostile bid for the UK confectioner, or refrain from making any further

9 November 2009 - British Airways, as expected, reported pre-tax losses of £292 million

There was speculation over the future of the part-nationalised banks, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, on Monday, ahead of announcements to be made by the banks themselves and the Treasury, on Tuesday. Lloyds Banking Group, 43% state-owned, was expected to announce that it would

3 November 2009 - house prices rose 2% year-on-year in October,

Talks between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) resumed on Monday, with a view to resolving the dispute over pay, conditions and modernisation and averting further strike action by postal workers, scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. David Ward of the CWU said that he

26 October 2009 - The UK economy shrank by 0.4% between July and September

Weekly Financial News Roundup Although it stopped short of imposing a ban on 100% mortgages, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced plans to significantly tighten mortgage lending regulations on Monday. So-called "self-certification" mortgages – that is, mortgages where proof of

19 October 2009 - nvestigation into online pricing practises

Weekly Financial News Roundup There was another blow for Sterling, on Monday, with the announcement that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell to its lowest level for five years, at 1.1%, in September. The pound fell to six-month low against the euro, at €1.0628 and a five-month low against the

11 October 2009 - Average British home is now worth £163,533

Weekly Financial News Roundup On Monday, the UK became the first of the G20 countries – which, of course, include the US and Japan – to announce new regulations regarding the liquidity of banks and investment firms. The announcement came twelve months after the injection of £37 billion of

5 October 2009 - Payment Protection Insurance

Weekly Financial News Roundup The annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to be held in Istanbul next week, will reveal an early warning system, which will monitor the health of the global financial system and help governments to avoid financial bubbles that threaten global

29 September 2009 - Sterling traded under $1.50 against the dollar.

Weekly Financial News Roundup The financial week began with the news that Sterling had fallen to its lowest level since April against the Euro, at €1.1016 and its lowest level for three weeks against the Dollar, at $1.6134, following a warning from the Bank of England that the trade deficit in

22 September 2009 - Gross mortgage lending for August

Weekly Financial News Roundup The latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), published on Monday, revealed that the number of mortgage loans approved in July was up 19% compared with the same month last year. The CML welcomed what it called "the first material annual growth"

14 September 2009 - Gold is an attractive investment in times of inflation

Weekly Financial News Roundup British confectionery company, Cadbury, was the subject of a bid worth $16.7 billion (£10.2 billion) from Kraft Foods, Inc., on Monday. Kraft is the second largest food company in the world by annual revenue and the move would, potentially, create a company with

7 September 2009 - Personal Debt at Lowest Level Since Records Began

Weekly Financial News Roundup There was a glimmer of hope for cash-strapped consumers struggling to cope with the effects of recession on Tuesday, with the latest figures from the Bank of England suggesting that the level of personal debt in the U.K. has fallen to its lowest level since records

31 August 2009 - Surge in confidence amongst business professionals in the second quarter of 2009.

Weekly Financial News Roundup The results of a survey of over 1,000 chartered accounts in England, Wales and Scotland, conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), were published on Monday and

22 August 2009 - It seems that the recession is over – well almost.

Weekly Financial News Roundup It seems that the recession is over – well almost. James Knightly, an economist with ING, says that the wide range of recent positive indicators shows that the UK will come out of recession in the third quarter. He cites increasing home mortgage loan approvals

16 August 2009 - £260bn of toxic assets

Weekly Financial News Roundup The early part of the week saw rumours that banking mammoth Lloyds was trying to find a way to exit the asset protection scheme of which it has become an unwilling participant. Eric Daniels, Chief Executive, believes that the fees and other terms attached to the

11 August 2009 - Lloyds Banking Group reporting a loss of £4 billion

The week started with something of a mixed bag, financially, with good news for the U.K. manufacturing industry, Sterling and Barclays, but less welcome news for HSBC and some British homeowners. A survey by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) and Markit revealed that

4 August 2009 - The total includes $1.1 trillion in capital injections

Weekly Financial News Roundup Chancellor Alistair Darling was to meet leading figures from the banking industry at the Treasury on Monday afternoon, after he expressed concern that the cost of loans to small businesses has risen recently, despite the Bank Rate being maintained at a record low

27 July 2009 - Tesco announced that it is seeking to establish its personal finance arm

Weekly Financial News Roundup The perilous state of public finances in the UK was highlighted, on Monday, with the release of figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and the National Audit Office (NAO). New government borrowing in June was £13 billion, less than the £15.5 billion

20 July 2009 - further job cuts by Lloyds Banking Group

Weekly Financial News Roundup United Kingdom Financial Investments (UKFI), the organisation created to manage taxpayers' interests in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds following their rescue, announced on Monday that, while the investment is still valued at £60 billion, or the equivalent

13 July 2009 - plans for financial reform

Weekly Financial News Roundup The motor industry, on both sides of the Atlantic, was at the heart of the financial news on Monday. In the US, a bankruptcy plan for General Motors (GM) was approved, allowing its profitable assets to be transferred to a new firm, backed by the US government,

6 July 2009 - £29 billion of transport spending could be cu

Weekly Financial News Roundup Speculation surrounded mobile phone operator Vodafone, on Monday, after a report in the Financial Times suggested that it was interested in acquiring T-Mobile's business in the U.K., subject to approval by the regulatory authorities. Vodafone refused to be drawn on

30 June 2009 - Repossessions increased by 13%,

Weekly Financial News Roundup Figures published by the Financial Service Authority (FSA) on Monday suggested that the number of mortgages that fell into arrears during the first quarter of 2009 was just under 60,000, down 12% on the previous quarter. Conversely, repossessions increased by 13%,

22 June 2009 - 60,000 orders for new cars had been placed under the scrappage subsidy scheme

Weekly Financial News Roundup The latest figures from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), released on Monday, suggested that the U.K. will contract by 3.9% during 2009, as a whole, before returning to growth of 0.7% in 2010. This was a more pessimistic forecast than that issued by

15 June 2009 - Better news for taxpayers

Weekly Financial News Roundup Poor European election results – in fact, the poorest since World War II – which saw the Labour Party poll just 15.3% of the vote, and fall into third place, behind UKIP ("United Kingdom Independence Party"), cast further doubt over the future of Gordon Brown as

8 June 2009 - The Recession in the U.K. is easing

Weekly Financial News Roundup The major piece of financial news on Monday came from across the Atlantic, with the announcement that General Motors (GM) Corporation had filed for bankruptcy protection, in doing so marking the biggest manufacturing collapse in U.S. history. GM sold 8.5 million

2 June 2009 - Unemployment, above 2 million for the first time in 12 years

Weekly Financial News Roundup Despite earlier moves by Marks & Spencer to quash speculation that its Executive Chairman, Sir Stuart Rose, would be stepping down before July 2011, Sir Stuart himself said for the first time in public on Monday that he hopes to step down before that date. He was

26 May 2009 - hold the Bank Rate at 0.5%

Weekly Financial News Roundup The week opened with the news that the resignation of Sir Victor Blank, Chairman of Lloyds Banking Group, had been accepted, following continued criticism of the acquisition of Halifax Bank of Scotland in January. The deal, which was engineered by Sir Victor with

21 May 2009 - Bank of England said, in its quarterly Inflation Report

Weekly Financial News Roundup The week opened with the news that government ministers are to consult over a £7 billion plan to install so-called "smart" meters in every British home by the end of 2020 over the next three months. The meters will allow energy suppliers, as well as consumers, to

11 May 2009 - Financial Services Global Competitiveness Group

Weekly Financial News Roundup. The week opened with the news that the worsening financial crisis worldwide had forced the European Commission to massively downgrade its forecast for European economies. According to the Commission, economies in the eurozone – the geographical and economic area

5 May 2009 - Average british home at a little under £152,000 or down 15% year-on-year

Weekly Financial News Roundup Any thoughts of a recovery in the U.K. housing market were dealt a blow on Monday with figures from the British Bankers' Association revealing that the number of mortgages approved by major British banks fell by nearly 7% to just over 26,000 in March. Gross

27 April 2009 - All about the Budget

Weekly Financial News Roundup Unusually, some sporting news to start the week, as Barclays Premier League football clubs Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United – all heavily indebted – were criticised by the All Party Football Group for what it described as "ludicrous levels of borrowing",

20 April 2009 - Banks are now 70% owned by the British taxpayer

The financial week opened with the news that the City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), was to investigate the events leading up to the Government bail-out of Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), both of which are now 70% owned by the British taxpayer.

13 April 2009 - Quantitative easing,has so far injected £26.4 billion into the wider economy.

Weekly Financial News Roundup The week opened with the unwelcome news that the beleaguered Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to shed 20% of its workforce in its so-called "Group Manufacturing" division, which deals with information technology, bank property, etc., over the next two years. The

7 April 2009 - house prices fell by 1.9% in March

Weekly Financial News Roundup There was good news for the Dunfermline Building Society at the start of the week insofar that just 2 days after its sale was announced by the Government, it was revealed that its branches, good loans and deposits were to be bought by the Nationwide. The

31 March 2009 - Quantitative Easing

Weekly Financial News Roundup The principal item of financial news on Monday took place on the other side of the Atlantic, but was important in the U.K. and across Europe for the positive effect it had on stock markets. The U.S. administration announced a so-called "Public-Private Investment

25 March 2009 - Banks to be lenient towards small businesses

Weekly Financial News Roundup The week opened with the revelation that the average number of jobseekers in the United Kingdom – that is, unemployed people claiming Jobseekers' Allowance – per vacancy advertised in job centres is now as high as 10. Figures released by the Trade Union Council

15 March 2009 - House prices are down around 20% from their 2007 peak

Weekly Financial News Roundup The financial week opened with the news that Lloyds Banking Group – already 43% owned by the Government – had signed up to the Asset Protection Scheme, in an effort to insure £260 billion of its so-called "toxic" assets against further loss. The Government stake in

9 March 2009 - Brown was to hold brief personal talks with Mr. Obama

Weekly Financial News Roundup Economic uncertainty and turmoil in the financial sector, in particular, shook investor confidence once again on Monday. On the London Stock Exchange, the FTSE 100 index briefly touched its lowest level since 2003, whilst in New York the Dow Jones Industrial

2 March 2009 - Reversal of Government lending policy

Weekly Financial News Roundup The week opened with the news that, in a reversal of Government policy, Northern Rock is to resume mortgage lending with an additional £14 billion of taxpayers' money. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling was quoted on the BBC website saying "It's repaid

24 February 2009 - Bad news for the Lloyds Banking Group

Weekly Financial News Roundup The week opened with further bad news for the Lloyds Banking Group. Shares in the Group, in which the British Government now has a 43% stake, fell by 7% in early trading on Monday compounding a loss of 32% the previous Friday as investors struggled to come to terms

16 February 2009 - Bank Loans, Bank Rates, Bank Debt!!

Weekly Financial News Roundup The week opened with good news for Barclays Bank which, despite issuing warnings regarding its earnings and impairments – including $8 billion in writedowns – two weeks ago, reported pre-tax profits of just over £6 billion. Although down 14% year-on year the figure

9 February 2009 - Base Rate Down, Prices Up, What a Mees!

Weekly Financial News Roundup Those mourning the passing of Woolworths received heartening news, at least to some extent on Monday, with the announcement that the Woolworths brand has been bought by the Barclays twins, Sir David and Sir Frederick, and is to be reincarnated – along with

2 February 2009 - Mortgage Approvals Rose:- Weekly Financial News Roundup

Weekly Financial News Roundup Prime Minister Gordon Brown opened the week with a speech in which, according to the BBC website, he described the recession – in which Britain finds itself, officially, for the first time since the early Nineties – as "the difficult birth pangs of a new global

26 January 2009 - Rescue Plan for British Banks Weekly Financial News Roundup

Weekly Financial News Roundup The opening gambit of the financial week was the announcement on Monday of a second rescue plan for British banks. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling are proposing to pump hundreds of billions of pounds into banks in an

19 January 2009 - Weekly Financial News Roundup, Get the UK Lending

Weekly Financial News Roundup The start of the week produced a glimmer of hope for homeowners, and prospective homeowners, when it was revealed that one of the plans under discussion at a meeting of leading British bankers – held at Chequers, at the weekend – was for the implementation of the

12 January 2009 - Lending in 2009, "Weekly Financial News Roundup

Weekly Financial News Roundup The first full week of 2009 was characterised by gloomy trading updates with few exceptions, from the retail sector and the announcement of a further 0.5% cut in the Bank Rate. Taking it to below 2% for the first time since the Bank of England was founded, 315

5 January 2009 - Homeowner Loans in Time For Another Rate Cut?

Weekly Financial News Roundup The last week of 2008 provided further evidence, if any were necessary, of the gulf in confidence between the British Government and British consumers regarding the economic outlook for the New Year, and beyond. According to a Harris poll, conducted on behalf of

16 December 2008 - News from the week "all this gloom just before Christmas"!!

An optimistic start to the week, with the announcement of financial stimulus plans in the United States, and elsewhere, providing the impetus for share price rises on stock markets across Europe and Asia. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong and the Nikkei in Japan, rose by 5% and 9% respectively, while

8 December 2008 - Base rate cuts, Job Losses and we are told to spend?

Weekly Financial News Roundup Following its record 13.4% rise during last week – which, nevertheless left it 34% lower for 2008 as a whole – the FTSE 100 opened 30 points or 0.8% lower on Monday morning. This was due in part to a fall in mining stocks, and retailers were also under close

1 December 2008 - Whats happened in the news this week? More borrowing

The main financial news at the start of the week was a significant change of direction by the Labour Government, in terms of economic policy as announced by Chancellor, Alistair Darling, in his pre-Budget report at 3.30 p.m. on Monday. As widely anticipated – but nevertheless perceived as a

24 November 2008 - Weekly News Update-repossessions

The main financial news at the start of the week involved the G20 summit in Washington over the weekend. The leaders of the 20 major industrial countries in the world met to discuss and propose solutions to the global financial crisis which appears to be worsening day by day. The leaders pledged

17 November 2008 - More Job Losses Throughout the Financial and Telecom Sectors.

Weekly Financial News Roundup The week began with news of preparations for a meeting of the "Group of 20" (G20) – a forum of finance ministers and governors of central banks from industrial, and developing nations, including Australia, China, India and South Korea, for example – in Washington

10 November 2008 - financial, election, base rate drop, what a week!!

The main financial new stories this week were of course the election of Democratic Senator, Barack Obama as the first black President of the United States, on Wednesday and the almost unprecedented announcement of a 1.5% cut in the Bank of England base rate at midday on Thursday. Both events were

3 November 2008 - Financial, Mortage, Loans and Stocks

Weekly Financial News Roundup Turmoil in the global financial markets once again dominated the financial news early in the week. Asian stocks dropped markedly on Monday – share prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed at their lowest levels for 26 years and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange

27 October 2008 - What A Financial Week. Banks, Loans, and Mortgages

There was welcome news at the start of the week as business secretary Lord Mandelson, announced a £350 aid package for small and medium sized businesses in the United Kingdom. The announcement followed warnings by the leading independent business organisation, the CBI ("Confederation of British

20 October 2008 - Weekly Financial News Roundup

Weekly Financial News Roundup Turmoil in the financial markets, wildly fluctuating share prices and definitive indicators of a global economic downturn – as if further confirmation were really necessary – dominated the financial news this week. This of course, in the wake of unprecedented events

13 October 2008 - Bailing Out the Bankers – Government Loans to Rescue Britain’s Banks

It’s not uncommon for individuals to suddenly find a cash shortfall in their finances, hence the popularity of payday loan services which offer an unsecured, short-term cash advance until payday. However, this morning it was the banks themselves who have had to come and beg for almost £40bn of new

6 October 2008 - Homeowners Hanging On – House Equity Release Falling Out of Favour

Homeowners Hanging On – House Equity Release Falling Out of Favour According to figures from the Bank of England, homeowners in the UK are no longer using house equity release to raise extra money to spend on home improvement projects or other major spending. Instead they are preferring to pay

29 September 2008 - Weird and Wacky Week on Wall Street – What Does It Mean for Your Savings, Loans and Mortgage?

Weird and Wacky Week on Wall Street – What Does It Mean for Your Savings, Loans and Mortgage? In another week of economic turmoil, the question the man in the street is asking is ‘How is this going to affect me? What will happen to my bank account or my building society account? Will my new

22 September 2008 - Economic Meltdown – Are Your Bank Accounts and Mortgage Safe?

It’s been an extraordinary week in the financial world, with predictions of world economic meltdown and the vanishing of major players from the word’s money markets and from the High Street. What concerns the man in the street, however, is the safety of his bank account, pension plan and mortgage.

15 September 2008 - End of an Era - Is Your Credit Card Facing Extinction?

Has the credit card had its day? Will you soon be using finger print technology or eye recognition to pay for your purchases? Experts believe that the credit card will have gone the route of the cheque within 5 years to make way for new technology. The sci-fi scenario of many films such as

8 September 2008 - Paying It Off – Why Your Credit Card Loan Could Take 30 Years To Pay.

According to new research from comparison company uSwitch, hundreds of thousands of consumers will take over 30 years to repay a credit card debt of just under £1,400.Figures from the past 12 months show that 3.4m credit card holders, making a minimum payment of 2% per month on an average balance

1 September 2008 - Credit Union Reform To Help Those With Poor or Bad Credit History

For low-income families, or those who have a poor credit report, it is difficult to find lenders who will provide an unsecured loan without a punitive rate of interest. Many in desperation turn to doorstep loan providers or loan sharks. The Government is trying to make it easier for these people

25 August 2008 - Lock Into the Top Savings Accounts Before Interest Rates Fall

Experts are advising consumers with money to stash away to grab some of the top savings accounts before they are withdrawn. Those with instant access savings accounts are recommended to shop around for the best interest rates, whilst those wanting to invest in a fixed rate account should lock into

18 August 2008 - Revving Up the Costs – Dealer finance for Vehicle Loans Can Cost the Earth

As the new '58' number plate is set to hit the showrooms next month, an expected 407,000 new cars are expected to leave the forecourts. But new research has shown that taking out a vehicle loan offered by the dealers can end up costing customers far more than it need. Nearly £170m is spent

11 August 2008 - Repossessions Rise Whilst Mortgage Famine is Set to Continue

The continuing economic slowdown has meant that the number of repossessions rose sharply this year, with the number of UK homes repossessed by mortgage lenders up 48%. According to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) there were 18,900 repossessions in the first six months of 2008,

9 August 2008 - Moving On - Cost of New Mortgages Begins to Drop

Although house prices continue to fall, there is a glimmer of hope in the housing market as the cost of new mortgages slowly begins to fall. New figures out from Nationwide earlier this week showed that house prices fell once more in July and recorded their largest year-on-year drop since the

28 July 2008 - Hotting Up – Gas and Electricity Costs Continue to Soar

The much-heralded price rises for energy began this week, as EDF became the first company to announce a new round of increases. Experts have been predicting that the cost of electricity and gas could rise by up to 40% by the end of the year and EDF announced an immediate price rise earlier this

21 July 2008 - Flying High - Savings Account Interest Rates on the Up

For those of us who still have disposable income to stash away, prospects are the best they’ve been for seven years. In an attempt to tempt savers towards their own institution, banks and building societies are offering highly attractive interest rates on their top savings accounts. Research by

14 July 2008 - Driving a Hard Bargain – Car Loans Now Come With Free Fuel!

A free gift with your petrol has long been used as an enticement to buy from a particular retailer. Nowadays, however, it may be possible to get free fuel when taking out car finance. Nationwide have this week begun offering free petrol for a year to customers who borrow money to pay for a car.

9 July 2008 - Ouch! How to avoid that Christmas Debt Hangover

Christmas can be a very expensive time of the year, as we all know. The UK spends £20bn on celebrating Christmas. During the festive period around 10 million turkeys and 25 million Christmas puddings are eaten, and 35 million bottles of wine opened and drunk. £1.6bn is spent on food and drink

7 July 2008 - Sleepless Nights as Loans Squeeze Tightens

More people than ever are lying awake at night worrying about money, with the housing market and rising fuel costs being the main areas of concern. Thousands of homeowners are facing negative equity, whilst those looking to borrow money are finding it more and more difficult. The rising costs of

2 July 2008 - Black Mood as Consumer Confidence Continues to Fall

New surveys show that consumer confidence in the economy continues to fall, hitting its lowest level since 1990. The consumer confidence barometer produced by GfK/NOP is now only one point above its lowest ever level, which was –35 recorded in March 1990 at the height of the then recession. The

2 July 2008 - Have Yourself A Very Merry Christmas, - Spending your Christmas Cash Online

Christmas shopping online this year is expected to scale dizzy new heights, even after the massive rise in e-shopping last year. Some analysts are predicting a 50% rise in the e-tail market with more shoppers than ever planning to do at least some of their shopping over the internet. Matthew

30 June 2008 - We’re all going on a Christmas Holiday

Although most of us spend Christmas at home with the family in front of the TV, a significant number of Britons now decide to go abroad for Christmas. Over 2.5million Brits are expected to travel abroad for the last ten days of the year. The Christmas holiday exodus is rivalling the great Easter

25 June 2008 - A Perfect Christmas?

What makes your perfect Christmas? Is it the sight of their excited faces as they wake up to see what Santa brought them? Or maybe it’s seeing the whole family sitting round the table pulling crackers and reading out the silly jokes? Or perhaps for you, it’s a romantic meal for two sat in a log

23 June 2008 - A Christmas Spending Spree

Christmas is an expensive time of year. Even the traditional stocking, which once upon a time held not much more than a tangerine and a sixpence, now costs over £80 to fill. A survey of over 2,000 parents last year found that 60% of them planned to spend over £150 on their children, with 3%

23 June 2008 - Hard Times for Moaning Miseries

News continued to be bleak this week as the Governor of the Bank of England warned that Britain was facing its ‘most difficult economic times for two decades’. In his annual Mansion House speech, the Governor Mervyn King, also warned that inflation was likely to rise and growth and house prices to

23 June 2008 - Counting the Cost of Christmas

It might only be midsummer but the number of shopping days to Christmas is already being counted down by broadcasters on the TV and radio and by journalists in the daily papers. Suddenly, the festive season has arrived, along with the extra demands placed upon us for holiday cash or even holiday

16 June 2008 - The Haves and the Have-Nots

Whilst the rich get richer, the poor struggle to survive, is an axiom that has applied for centuries. And it seems the Brave New World of the 21st century is no different to its forerunners. As the credit crunch begins to squeeze ever harder, those who have money to put aside are revelling in the

9 June 2008 - Can’t Spend, Won’t Spend

Consumer confidence has hit a new low, with over three-quarters of consumers feeling now is not a good time to spend on things they either want or need. Figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show people feeling more pessimistic than ever about job prospects, personal finances and

2 June 2008 - Losing the Comfort Zone

House prices are continuing to fall and the majority of people expect them to continue to do so. A new survey commissioned by Panorama for the BBC found that 78% of the 1,011 adults polled thought that prices would either stay the same or continue to fall, whilst only 15% thought that they would

27 May 2008 - Savvy Savers Opt For Safety

With financial uncertainty, the credit crunch and rapid price rises continuing to dominate the headlines, savings accounts are becoming more and more popular. Investors are opting for the safety of bank deposit accounts rather than risking the potential losses of the stock market. Despite the

19 May 2008 - Misery of the Middle Classes

As the fall-out from the credit crunch begins to spread ever further, even the more affluent are now struggling. Debt problems among the middle classes are becoming increasingly widespread, according to a recent survey. National debt organization Transact, which represents more than 1,200 debt

12 May 2008 - Does It Really Matter?

Contrary to the views of experts, many homeowners are actually hoping for house prices to fall. In the media, the general view of the crisis in the housing market is one of pessimism and doom. However, many ordinary people do not share these views, and think that a fall in the cost of housing

6 May 2008 - Hiding Under The Bed

With the financial crises of the past few months looming large in consumer’s minds, banks and building societies are no longer seen as the safe havens for savings that they once were. A recent survey for Newcastle Building Society, compiled by YouGov, found that only 57% of people now thought

28 April 2008 - The Dash for Cash

Plastic is no longer seen as fantastic; with the credit crunch biting ever deeper many consumers are abandoning their credit cards and turning to cash once more. In a survey of more than 17,000 shops, it was found that cash was used for more than 60% of the transactions and accounted for nearly a

21 April 2008 - Plight of Britain’s Poor

The abolition of the 10p tax band which came into effect at the beginning of this tax year is causing misery for many of Britain’s poorest members and has led to a potential rebellion by many Labour MPs. Five million households from the lowest income scale are expected to be affected and some

14 April 2008 - Return of the Great Depression?

Chancellor Alistair Darling described the current global financial crisis as ‘the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression’ on Friday but was at pains to stress that a crash in the housing market on the scale of the 1990s was unlikely. He urged banks and building societies to pass on last

7 April 2008 - Feeling the Pinch

Even the more affluent amongst us are planning to cut spending this year, according to a report by financial provider Axa. In families with an income of over £30,000 per annum, three in four are planning to tighten the purse strings over the next twelve months. Overall, 70% of households are

31 March 2008 - Risk of Recession Rising

Fear grew this week that Britain was heading for a recession as a new report by investment bank Lehman Brothers was published. The report suggests the chances of Britain going into recession over the next three years stand at one in three at the current time, due to the global financial turmoil

24 March 2008 - Roller Coaster Week for Financial Markets

It has been a hang onto your seatbelts rocky ride through the financial world this week. With inflation up, sterling falling, more energy prices rises, shares up and down like yo-yos, and rumours affecting a major banking group, it is not surprising that the employer’s organisation, the CBI, has

17 March 2008 - Don’t Drink or Drive Darling

Chancellor Alistair Darling’s first budget last week is being widely regarded as penalising those who like a drink and who enjoy driving large or fast cars, after he put up both car and drink tax. He increased taxes on drink by 6% and introduced a range of measures designed to steer motorists

10 March 2008 - Storm clouds Loom for European Housing Market

A new report issued by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has suggested that the European property boom may be over. Only Cyprus and Poland saw a rise in the growth of property values over 2007, with Ireland suffering the worst falls. According to the author of the report, Michael

3 March 2008 - Beware! Banks Can Be Bad For Your Health

A new report out by Cambridge University suggests that financial crises in a country can have a serious impact on its population’s health. Events such as the recent Northern Rock funding fiasco could lead to as many as 5,000 extra and fatal heart attacks. Experts examined a range of events

25 February 2008 - House Prices Key to UK Economy

The biggest short term threat to the economy is a downward spiral of house prices warned a Bank of England rate-setter earlier this week. Combined with a drop in mortgage lending this could be the death knell to hope that the UK economy will weather a recession. However, Kate Barker of the Bank of

18 February 2008 - Safe as Houses?

Without stricter planning controls, one third of the new homes the Government would like to see built by 2020, could be both unsaleable and uninsureable says the Association of British Insurers (ABI). One million of the proposed three million new properties are due to be built on flood plains,

11 February 2008 - Recession. What Recession?

Home owners heaved a collective sigh of relief this week as the Bank of England again cut interest rates, from 5.5% to 5.25%. As other bills grow ever larger, the quarter of a percent cut means that millions will be better off, with the monthly repayment on a typical 25 year £100,000 mortgage

4 February 2008 - From Champagne Lunch To Credit Crunch

Conservative MP Derek Conway was suspended from the Commons this week after it was revealed that he had paid his family £260,000 of tax payer’s money since 2001. His sons both revelled in a glamorous social life whilst at university, with Mr Conway paying them more than £10,000 a year for working

28 January 2008 - Hey, Big Spender!

A report out this week shows that one in ten Britons are regularly spending more than they earn. According to financial comparison site, Uswitch, 5 million of us have an expenditure that exceeds our income on a monthly basis. Another 1 in 5 have no spare money left at the end of each month, and

21 January 2008 - Gloomy Times Ahead

A mixed week of financial news failed to halt fears that the UK is heading towards as an economic recession whilst Chancellor, Alistair Darling, has urged that market action be taken to ease the 'enormous' problems in world financial markets. Homeowners have been suffering on several fronts. New

14 January 2008 - A Cold Wind Doth Blow

Fears of the cold wind of recession continue to grip as the week's economic news continues to send chills down the population's spine. Fuel prices are rising, interest rates failing to fall, the pound is at a new low against the Euro; even High Street stalwarts Marks and Spencer have seen a fall

24 December 2007 - 'Tis the season to start spending

As the Christmas shopping frenzy escalates, hundreds of thousands of families in the UK continue to take out unsecured loans to finance their spending spree. Many are already trapped into a relentless cycle of debt as they borrow money and use credit cards to fulfil the 'Christmas Dream'. Reports