Economy Energy customers moved to Ovo days after ninth bankruptcy in a year January 11, 2019 The 235,000 customers who were left in limbo earlier this week when supplier Economy Energy went bust have found a new home with Ovo Energy. The new supplier will offer all customers a “competitive tariff” while promising to pay back those who were owed credit by Economy Energy, Ofgem said. The regulator was forced to [...]
Stock predictions 2019: Which stocks and shares will do well this year? January 2, 2019 After a tumultuous year in the markets with Brexit uncertainty, the threat of trade war and rapidly changing consumer habits, the FTSE 100 suffered its worst year since the financial crisis in 2018, ending it 12.5 per cent down. While there is no sign that 2019 will be any less eventful, with the date Britain [...]
UK inflation falls to 20-month low led by cheaper petrol prices in Christmas boost for households December 19, 2018 UK inflation fell to a 20-month low in November led by cheaper petrol prices in a boost for consumers in the run up to Christmas. Consumer prices rose by 2.3 per cent in November, down from 2.4 per cent the previous month and the slowest rate since March 2017, according the Office for National Statistics. [...]
The changes that could shake up your finances in 2019 December 19, 2018 We Brits approach 2019 with a sense of dread, waiting with bated breath to find out how (and if) the UK leaves the European Union on 29 March. There’s no doubt that Brexit will affect various corners of our finances, but perhaps the real game-changer for our money will be the ongoing push to make [...]
The age of the electric car? Not before we talk about metals December 17, 2018 SINCE exuberance for electric vehicles (EVs) started to gain traction in recent years, there has been no shortage of bullish forecasts predicting that the end of the internal combustion engine is nigh. In other words, cars as we know them are on their way out. Governments are setting ever more aggressive targets on reducing – [...]
IEA: Opec cuts hit the spot as oil set to stabilise at $60 per barrel December 13, 2018 A cut in output from oil-producing cartel Opec will hit the spot as oil prices look set to stabilise at a floor of around $60 per barrel after a volatile year, the International Energy Agency said today. Prices hit a year high of $86 in early October as investors feared supplies would drop as the US [...]
Big ambitions and grand challenges: How the industrial strategy fares one year on November 29, 2018 It’s now a year since the industrial strategy was launched. Encompassing a 255-page tome, it laid five foundations for productivity: ideas, people, infrastructure, places and the business environment. It promised waves of sector deals between government and industry to de-risk investment and improve workers’ skills. Six such deals were announced in the first year, from automotive [...]
Dignity shares slide after regulator proposes funeral competition probe November 29, 2018 Shares in listed-funeral provider Dignity dropped 15 per cent today following an announcement by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of a potential probe of the sector. The CMA today proposed a “major funerals probe after identifying serious concerns”. Shares in Dignity fell 15 per cent, from 864p to 847p following the news. The CMA [...]
Outsourcer Interserve’s share price falls as debts pile up November 23, 2018 Embattled outsourcing company Interserve will next year aim to quickly sell off assets to reduce its debt, amid concerns raised this month about its financial situation. Shares dropped again this morning by as much as eight per cent as the group said it would dispose of non-core businesses while considering options to “bring new capital [...]
Smarting: Rollout of new energy meters behind schedule and over budget, auditor says November 23, 2018 The spending watchdog has today called on the government to take responsibility as its scheme to put a smart metre in every home is by 2020 is set to fail. The National Audit Office found that initial cost estimates have already overrun by half a billion pounds, while it warned that customers may not save [...]