Npower cuts bills by 2.6 per cent January 8, 2014 Npower has announced it will be cutting its average energy bill by 2.6 per cent. Around 2.6m duel-fuel customers will benefit to the tune of £50. The primary price reduction will come into affect from 28 February. Npower is the last of the Big Six to announce a cut in energy prices after the government [...]
This Canary Wharf-based random act of kindness will make you smile January 8, 2014 We all love a random act of kindness, especially on a cold, monsoon-esque January day and it seems one lucky City-goer has experienced just that. Gareth Stephens took to Twitter yesterday to share his discovery in the Canary Wharf branch of Waterstones. While flicking through a book about K2, Stephens found this… Unexpected [...]
The dark side of Britain’s recovery January 8, 2014 Growth is back, the housing market is booming and shoppers are ever more confident – but that shopping spurt is not all good. It might seem a relief after years of recession and stagnation, but there are reasons to be worried about the foundations of the new boom. Official data out today shows the recovery [...]
China deals fresh blow to Bitcoin January 8, 2014 China's largest e-commerce business, Alibaba Group Holding, will prohibit the sale of Bitcoin in the wake of People's Bank of China's (PBOC) crackdown on the cyryptocurrency. Last year, Chinese authorities instructed all third party payment companies to stop offering clearing services to Bitcoin exchanges by 31 January. In December, the PBOC announced a ban on [...]
Mortgage demand is soaring on both sides of the Atlantic January 8, 2014 US mortgage applications rose by 2.6 per cent in the week to 3 January. And last week's fall of 6.3 per cent has been revised up – to a more moderate decline of just 4.2 per cent. Over on this side of the pond, the Bank of England said this morning that mortgage demand in [...]
Nintendo shares surge as China opens its doors January 8, 2014 Nintendo’s investors were jubilant last night on the news that China would lift its sales ban on foreign video games, causing the struggling consumer electronics company’s share price to rise 10.7 per cent. Shares closed at 15,850 yen (£92.1) after news that China’s State Council would allow foreign-made video games consoles into the country’s 83bn [...]
Here’s the graph that shows UK women are working harder than men January 8, 2014 (ONS) According to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in the third quarter of 2013 people in the UK were working more than they have been for the past few years. Over the past 20 years, we've worked fewer hours overall. But comparing the third quarters of 2009 to 2013, average hours worked [...]
No change for Eurozone unemployment January 8, 2014 (eurostat) Eurozone unemployment remained unchanged in November at 12.1 per cent. The fall to 12.1 per cent in October marked the first decline since February 2011. Around 19m people are currently unemployed in the euro area. Unemployment was highest in Greece, where is was 27.4 per cent in September, with Spain seeing 26.7 per cent. [...]
Eurozone retail sales rise to 12-year high in November January 8, 2014 Eurozone November retail sales have enjoyed their largest rise November 2009. Retail sales jumped by 1.4 per cent month-on-month in November. Analysts had expected a meagre increase of just 0.2 per cent. The rise is a stark contrast to the previous month's decline of 0.2 per cent. European economist at IHS Global Insight Howard Archer [...]
Bank of England says Help to Buy is driving mortgage availability increase January 8, 2014 Some more data to buttress evidence of a rapidly picking up housing market, this time from the Bank of England. The Bank's credit conditions survey showed demand for house purchase loans and mortgages went up in the fourth quarter of 2013, with mortgage demand at its highest level since 2007. Along with secured lending to [...]