With public borrowing in October at a six-year high, will deficit reduction be a three-parliament issue? November 22, 2015 Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, says Yes. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will revise up its borrowing forecasts in this week’s Autumn Statement, and the surplus predicted for 2019-20 probably will be reduced to just £5bn from £10bn. But even after these revisions, it is doubtful that borrowing will fall as [...]
Rory McIlroy bags Race To Dubai and DP World Tour Championship double to take 2015 prize money past £7m November 22, 2015 World No3 Rory McIlroy saluted his happy knack of rising to the occasion after he won the season-ending DP World Tour Championship yesterday to clinch his third Race To Dubai title in four years. McIlroy had to overhaul Andy Sullivan on the back nine to claim his second victory at the tournament, carding a 66 [...]
Dangerous Bank of England junction to be car-free by 2016 after cycling accidents November 20, 2015 Bank junction in the City could be closed to cars as soon as next year, the City of London Corporation has revealed, as planners push ahead with plans for a part pedestrianisation of the infamously busy crossroad. Under the proposals, which will be voted on at the end of this month, all cars, taxis and [...]
Cash is no king: But there are some high interest paying current accounts November 19, 2015 With the UK’s low-interest rate environment likely to continue well into next year, few would claim that cash is king. But at a time of meagre bond yields and volatility in equity markets, cash is no pretender either. The attractiveness of easy-access accounts has weakened in recent years, with most providers offering less than 1.5 [...]
Here’s how George Osborne, Andrew Bailey, Andrew Tyrie and others have reacted to today’s investigation into the collapse of HBOS November 19, 2015 Today's publication of an investigation into the collapse of HBOS has pointed the finger at those responsible for running the bank, as well as the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the body in charge of regulating banks at the time of its collapse. But what's the response been like? Here's what's been said. This article will [...]
HSBC: UK homeowners are losing £29bn a year by not remortgaging November 19, 2015 Brits are losing a massive £29bn by not remortgaging onto better deals, a leading lender has said. With mortgage rates currently hovering around record lows, HSBC has calculated that homeowners who have not remortgaged onto a lower fixed rate from their standard variable rate (SVR) are losing an average of £4,000 a year. The SVRs [...]
UK house prices: Mortgage lending is steaming ahead at its fastest pace since 2008, says the Council of Mortgage Lenders November 19, 2015 Mortgage lending is in full recovery mode. The amount of mortgage lending shot up eight per cent in October compared with September to £21.8bn, according to figures published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) today. October was the biggest month for mortgage lending since July 2008 and takes annual mortgage lending growth to a whopping [...]
Villains of finance: How the world’s most infamous crooks tricked investors – and the tell-tale signs of ponzi schemes November 19, 2015 Victims of the biggest ever Ponzi scheme – Bernie Madoff’s $65bn (£43bn) fraud – are finally getting their money back after seven years, as another tranche of payouts is approved by US courts. The saga is not over yet, as an upcoming film called “Wizard of Lies” will shine a light on the story, starring [...]
HBOS report: How did HBOS collapse? Here’s a timeline showing what happened in the run-up to its fall November 19, 2015 Get ready for the resurgence of the phrase "too big to fail": a Bank of England investigation into the collapse of HBOS is to be published today, and politicians are limbering up for some serious finger pointing. It's the second report into the collapse of the bank, which was rescued by Lloyds TSB and the government in 2008. [...]
Black Friday 2015 UK: Sharp drop in retail sales in October as shoppers gear up for the mega deals day and Cyber Monday November 19, 2015 UK retail sales dropped steeply in October as the hype surrounding the Rugby World Cup died down and shoppers kept cash aside to snap up some Black Friday bargains on the 27th November. The amount spent at retailers dropped 0.7 per cent on the month while the volume of goods bought was down 0.6 per cent, according to [...]