House prices moved up a gear in February, according to Nationwide, with property values increasing by 4.5 per cent in a year. The BBC reports on the building society’s latest house price index which also reveals that property prices were up by 0.6 per cent compared with the previous month, bringing the cost of the
The Financial Ombudsman Service has revealed that unresolved grievances about the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) still dominate its workload. According to the BBC, the organisation received 150,000 new complaints in the six months to December 2016. Just over half of them – 78,000 – were about PPI policies. Chief ombudsman Caroline Wayman said: ‘PPI complaints
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Royal Bank of Scotland dominates the business news this morning following its announcement of a £7 billion annual loss. According to the BBC, the deficit is more than treble 2015’s loss of £2 billion. It is the ninth year in a row RBS has failed to make a profit. Over the next four years, the taxpayer-backed bank
The row over a sharp rise in business rates rumbles on – but now the government has bowed to sustained pressure and announced help for small firms. The Guardian reports that Philip Hammond will announce new measures in the budget on 8 March following comments by the communities secretary that more should be done ‘to
Lloyds Banking Group has set aside a further £475 million for misconduct costs as the bank’s statutory profits more than doubled to £4.2 billion. The Times reports on results that Lloyds called a ‘good overall performance’. Its profits are the highest for a decade and shares in the bank rose by 4 per cent after the
There’s some bad news for employees with generous company pensions following the publication of a government green paper on the future of Defined Benefit (DB) pensions. The Guardian reports that, under the proposals, firms could cut pension promises to 11 million people, dramatically reducing their income in retirement. The plans are likely to face fierce
The prospect of swingeing cuts to public services edged closer today despite plans by nearly every local authority in England to raise council tax in 2017. The BBC reports that rises of up to 4.99 per cent are expected across the country. Nevertheless, libraries, bin collections and other services will still face funding problems. The Local
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There’s more on the government’s upcoming changes to business rates today, with a group of Britain’s biggest employers’ associations condemning the move. The BBC reports on a letter written by 13 groups, including the British Retail Consortium, the Federation of Small Businesses, Revo, the Association of Convenience Stores, the British Property Federation and the CBI, who want
All eyes are on the latest inflation data, released this morning. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), inflation has reached its highest rate for two-and-a-half years. As measured by the Consumer Prices Index, annual inflation hit 1.8 per cent last month, up from 1.6 per cent in December. This is largely due to the rising cost of fuel,
Like many supermarkets, Tesco advertises a range of promotions and discounts. Now an investigation by the BBC has found that the retail giant has been short-changing customers with expired deals. The BBC found that Tesco continues to advertise promotions on its shelves long after they have finished. In 33 of 50 stores visited, reporters found that multi-buy
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Some gloomy data for retailers this morning following the news that the high street has recorded its worst January sales since 2013. According to BDO, like-for-like sales fell by 0.1 per cent. This is the first negative growth in the new year discounting period in four years. The accountancy group added that rising prices and political
Rents have been in the news this week thanks to the Government’s Housing White Paper. Now the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says that rents will continue to rise with shortage of stock a key factor. ThisisMoney reports that rents will soar by 25 per cent over the next five years. Meanwhile, as far as house
As a Newcastle United fan, it was a bleak day when the Magpies announced a sponsorship deal with payday lender, Wonga. A company that charges extortionate levels of interest emblazoned across the chests of the players? Really? Thankfully, the NUFC/Wonga partnership is drawing to a close, much to the relief of legions of black and
A landmark legal decision announced today could improve the pension rights of unmarried couples working in the public sector. Denise Brewster, from Coleraine, was refused payments from her former partner’s pension after he died suddenly in December 2009. They had been living together for a decade. She argued she was the victim of ‘serious discrimination’.
Fibs, white lies, alternative facts. We all bend the truth from time-to-time, although for most of us that doesn’t include spouting nonsense from the podium of the White House press briefing room. When it comes to finance, we’re not exactly a nation of truth-tellers. I can relay multiple stories of people who have concealed chronic
The housing market is ‘broken’, ministers have conceded, as they unveiled the Government’s revised housing strategy. Under the plans, councils will be ordered to build thousands more homes, with an emphasis on high-rise blocks and city centre developments, The Guardian reports. The Government believes that too few councils have plans to meet England’s housing demand. It says
There was some surprising news over the weekend concerning the Government’s policy on home-ownership. Ahead of the publication of a long-delayed white paper this week, Gavin Barwell, the housing minister, said the Government intended to encourage more housebuilding of all kinds, including more social housing. According to The Independent, this represents a ‘major shift in housing
