Discretionary income is “fading fast” as fuel prices squeeze families February 27, 2017 Growth in discretionary income is "fading fast" as fuel prices soared in January. UK families had an average £205 of disposable income available each week last month, according to Asda's income tracker, up 3.5 per cent on the same month the year before. Read more: Alarm bells sound over rising costs and inflation However growth [...]
Tandem Bank’s chief executive Ricky Knox talks sarongs, dumb pipes, ornithology and why Facebook is scared of banking February 27, 2017 "Would you have called Amazon? I didn’t! We all thought that was just a fad – it was a bookseller. An online bookseller with that valuation? But the internet creates these giants – and it’s not just one or two of them. "Look at music – EMI is basically dead. Google – a little bulls*** [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland’s losses widen to £7bn for 2016 as mis-selling charges take their toll February 24, 2017 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced a multi-billion pound loss for the year to the end of December due to misconduct charges and restructuring costs, making 2016 its ninth straight year of losses. The figures The 73 per cent state-owned bank posted an attributable loss of £6.96bn, after a loss of £1.98bn in 2015 due to litigation and [...]
Leeds Building Society’s profits headed north for the fourth year in a row, but boss warns low interest rates and Brexit could make the road ahead tough February 22, 2017 Leeds Building Society announced today its annual profits before tax had risen for the fourth year in a row, but the lender's boss warned super low interest rates could lead to tough times ahead. The figures The building society revealed profits before tax of £116.6m, up 7.5 per cent compared with £108.5m the year before. However, [...]
London home buyers down three per cent in fourth quarter of 2016, CML says February 22, 2017 The number of home buyers in London dropped to a four-year low last year, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Home buyers in London borrowed £24.5bn for house purchase, down 0.4 per cent on 2015, and took out 75,800 loans, down seven per cent compared to the year before. The CML [...]
With possible changes to the way that some defined benefit pensions are indexed against inflation, there may never be a better time to cash yours in February 22, 2017 Your gold-plated final salary pension may lose some of its shine, if the ideas put forward in a new government consultation come to fruition. In a green paper on the future of defined benefit (DB) pensions, published on Monday, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) discusses the option of allowing pension scheme trustees the freedom [...]
Transferwise now lets you transfer money just by talking to a Facebook Messenger chatbot February 21, 2017 Forget simply messaging friends, now you can use Facebook Messenger to transfer money with the latest chatbot wanting to take care of your finances. London fintech unicorn Transferwise is bringing its online money transfer service to the messaging app, allowing users in the UK to send money to friends or family in the rest of Europe, [...]
Mongolia agrees terms for $5.5bn IMF-backed loan February 19, 2017 The IMF and its partners have come to an agreement to provide Mongolia with an economic stabilisation package worth $5.5bn (£4.43bn). Rapid growth in Mongolia’s commodities sector had resulted in a fast pace of economic growth, reaching double digit figures between 2011-2013. A sharp decline in commodity prices, plus a fall in foreign direct investment, [...]
British homeowners think they’re sitting on a good investment as Brexit effect recedes February 17, 2017 UK homeowners are the most positive on the value of their biggest asset since before the EU referendum, according to a survey. An index of perceived current value of house prices rose to 57.5, according to research by Knight Frank and IHS Markit, its highest point since the Brexit vote led homeowners to think prices [...]
Low interest rates knock Credit Agricole’s quarterly profits, but numbers beat expectations February 15, 2017 Credit Agricole became the latest European bank to report a slump in its profits this morning, as low interest rates continued to put pressure on its bottom line. The figures The French lender reported full-year net income of €3.5bn (£3bn), largely flat on the year before – although the fourth-quarter figure was €291m down 67 per cent from €882m. These [...]