Inflation since 2008 crash has hit low-paid hardest January 30, 2014 THE SQUEEZE on UK pay has meant much bigger wage cuts for high earners, but new figures now reveal that above-target inflation has hit households on low incomes most severely of all. On average, the highest incomes tracked by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) have dropped by over eight per cent in real terms since 2007-8. [...]
Growth is back – but here are five challenges still facing the UK January 30, 2014 THERE can be no doubt that the UK’s economic picture has improved dramatically. Growth is back, employment is buoyant and optimism is returning. But the economy remains horribly scarred by the downturn, with many issues still needing to be tackled. Here are five especially pressing challenges. 1) Median incomes remain six per cent lower in [...]
Savers are getting crushed – despite rising mortgage rates January 30, 2014 Mortgage interest rates are going up – but Britain’s savers are being crushed again by plunging rates on their accounts. This is not the recovery you wanted if you thought you were doing the right thing by saving up for the future. The justification for loose monetary policy has always been that low interest rates [...]
Mortgages lead lending pickup but firms see less from banks January 30, 2014 The UK saw mortgage approvals hit a six-year high of 71,638 in December, up 29.3 per cent year-on-year, according to the Bank of England (BoE). Lending for mortgages led the marginal pickup in bank lending, which was up 1.3 per cent year-on-year in December. Home lending rose by £1.7bn in December, higher than the £1.05bn [...]
What you need to know before the open – 30/01 January 30, 2014 European markets are expected lower this morning after the Fed’s open market committee made the unanimous decision last night to trim another $10bn off its asset purchase programme. In addition, PMI figures from China showed that manufacturing activity in the country contracted in January. Asian markets slipped on the news, with the Nikkei losing 3.2 [...]
Cost of a London home climbs to over £400,000 January 29, 2014 THE AVERAGE price of a London home broke through the £400,000 mark at the end of last year according to official figures published yesterday, while prices across the country continued to grow this month. Two separate surveys – released by the Land Registry and Nationwide – told a familiar story for the residential property market, with [...]
What you need to know before the open – 29/01 January 29, 2014 European bourses are expected higher this morning, ahead of the Fed’s Open Market Committee meeting and in the wake of Turkey’s rates hike. Over in Asia, the Nikkei leapt the most in five months on the news that Turkey has increased interest rates from 7.75 per cent to 12 per cent. Post a measurable [...]
UK house prices jump 8.8pc from a year ago January 29, 2014 Figures from mortgage lender Nationwide have shown that house prices rose 8.8 per cent in January from a year earlier. UK house prices continued their forward march this month, increasing 0.7 per cent – their thirteenth monthly increase in a row – but slowing slightly, after December’s 1.4 per cent rise. This was still [...]
RBS faces £8bn loss after adding £3bn for legal payouts January 27, 2014 RBS SHOCKED investors late yesterday, revealing another £3.1bn hit for mis-selling and poor conduct that could leave the state-backed bank facing a huge £8bn loss. The provisions dragged down RBS shares and rounded off a bad day for the FTSE overall. The lender is now expected to have made a loss of around £8bn for [...]
London Report: Growth figures set to show UK’s strong recovery January 26, 2014 GROWTH figures for the fourth quarter are expected to give further proof of Britain’s booming recovery. Economists predict expansion of 0.8 per cent in the final three months – giving the UK its strongest yearly growth since 2007. Jonathan Loynes, of Capital economics, said: “We think that the preliminary estimate of GDP in the fourth [...]