Households once again found themselves resorting to drawing on their savings in order to get them through the last six months of 2012, with ING Direct’s Consumer Savings Monitor reporting that savings fell by an average of £362 over the period. Whilst the average rate of debt also fell, it looks like people may have […]
Category: News
Further Squeeze on Household Budgets Thanks to Petrol
More and more households are finding that their budgets are being squeezed even more thanks to a recent rise in petrol prices. Despite the chancellor saying that petrol duty wouldn’t increase in order to protect motorists, he can’t control the price of oil, which has gone up and brought petrol prices with it. Inflation and […]
RBS hit with £390m of fines from Libor Scandal
The amount that the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will have to pay out in fines due to the bank’s role in the Libor rigging scandal has finally been revealed, and it stands at a massive £390million. This is a big jump from the £290million that Barclays was required to pay, and shows that the […]
UK Economy Shrinks by 0.3% in Last Three Months of 2012
The Office for National Statistics has revealed the figures for the UK’s GDP in the last three months of 2012 and delivered the news that the economy shrank by 0.3% from the beginning of October to the end of December 2012. This is much larger than the 0.1% contraction which had been predicted by most […]
World Economic Forum Warns of Danger of Debts
The huge amount of debt that is built up around the world is a major concern, according to a report issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF) ahead of its annual meeting. Listing five factors that posed the biggest threat to global economic stability, the loans that governments around the world depend upon were highlighted. […]
Borrowing Costs Could Increase if UK loses Credit Rating
Leading economists have warned that it is unlikely that Britain will retain its AAA credit rating with all three major credit rating agencies through 2013, given the economic climate and the way the UK’s finances are going. This will be a particularly embarrassing development for George Osborne, who has repeatedly claimed that his actions have […]
Think Tanks Claim Living Wage could Reduce Government Benefits Bill
Two respected think tanks, the Resolution Foundation and IPPR, have come out claiming that by introducing the living wage to council workers or those employed by government bodies through England and Wales, the UK benefits bill could be cut by as much as £2billion a year without significantly affecting the wages that the government has […]
RBS Continues Libor Fine Negotiations
Despite rumours emerging that RBS was about to settle its Libor rigging fines, it looks like the negotiations with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) will continue for a while yet, and concrete figures still haven’t emerged. Whereas the highest estimates tend to be around £350million (and some people estimate it could even reach £400million), it […]
Sir James Crosby apologises for his role in causing the financial crisis
The former chief executive of HBOS, Sir James Crosby, has apologised in front of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards for his role at the bank in the lead up to the financial crisis. Telling MPs that the lending which took place at the bank was “incompetent”, he also said he didn’t think he would […]
Eurocrisis Continues as Spanish banks are Bailed Out
In what has been viewed as a major part of the rescue of the Spanish economy, Europe finally handed over the money to bail out Spain’s ailing banks, giving out billions of euros in exchange for a sweeping series of cuts and restructuring throughout the banks’ businesses. The bank that’s been grabbing most headlines due […]