- Thursday, April 30, 2009, 12:47
- Household Finances
According to official data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the average weekly pay in the UK has fallen to £59.10, representing a 5.8% decrease in 12 months.
The greatest fall was seen in the private sector, where the average weekly pay fell by 7.7% year on year to £463.50, sparking concerns that
consumers ...
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- Thursday, April 30, 2009, 12:43
- Credit Cards, Personal Finance
The Student Loans Company has announced that will begin reporting missed student loan payments to the credit reference agencies.
Up until 15th 2009, the 341,000 graduates who took out their loans prior to 1998 could not incur default on their credit file if the missed a payment to SLC, but now the 60,000 graduates will overdue ...
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- Thursday, April 30, 2009, 12:39
- Household Finances
Electricity transmission and gas pipeline company National Grid has been fined £30 million by Ofgem, the regulator for electricity and gas markets in Great Britain.
In February last year, an investigation by Ofgem found that the National Grid was in breach of competition law. This week, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) upheld this decision, exposing the ...
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- Thursday, April 30, 2009, 12:35
- Household Finances, Mortgages
It's good news for renters but bad news for landlords this month as average asking rents fell 1% from £827 to £819, according to the FindaProperty.com Rental Index for April 2009.
Average rental prices are now 6.2% lower than they were this time last year (£873) and northern cities are being hit the hardest with year-on-year ...
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- Thursday, April 30, 2009, 12:32
- Mortgages
At a housing marketing debate held this week, Bank of England monetary policy committee member, Kate Barker warned banks to remain cautious on
lending, sparking concerns among consumers that mortgages may remain difficult to secure for many.
In comments published on the Mortgage Introducer website, Kate Barker said:
“Lenders are right to be extra careful today ...
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- Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 12:34
- Household Finances
If, like the majority of us, your household finances have been hit by the recession, you may be finding it tough to stay within your budget and still eat healthily.
Here are our six steps to healthy eating on a shoestring.
1. Plan your shopping before you set off
When you get to the supermarket it’s all too ...
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You may think haggling is restricted to the market stalls and car dealerships, but bartering on the high street is becoming more common, according to research from comparison site uSwitch.com
The report suggests that 73% of consumers are willing to haggle for a better deal. Of those, 9% always try to barter, whatever the purchase, whilst ...
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- Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 12:29
- Savings and Investments
According to a report from Nationwide Building Society, savers could earn an additional £103 million by topping up their
Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) at the start of the tax year rather than waiting until the end.
Approximately 18 million Britons hold ISAs, which allow banks to offer tax-free savings accounts to customers. The current ...
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- Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 12:27
- Household Finances, Mortgages
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) yesterday released a report on the future of the economy – and it’s not good news for consumers.
According to the report:
“While the worst may now have passed in terms of the speed of the economic contraction, we are still working through a steep recession and further job losses are ...
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- Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 12:22
- Mortgages
Figures from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) revealing falling
mortgage approval rates have cast doubt on the Chancellor's optimistic economic projections.
In his budget speech last week, the Chancellor predicting that while the UK economy was likely to shrink 3.5% in 2009, it would expand by 1.25% in 2010 and by 3.5% in 2011. But ...
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