AWD Chase de Vere has been a trusted source of independent financial advice for over 40 years. In this article they tackle the dilemma faced by everyone trying to generate income in the current low interest environment: The UK Bank of England Bank Rate (formerly Bank of England Base Rate) has remained at just 0.5% [...]
The double-dip recession that many fear is heading to UK shores is becoming more of a likelihood given that the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that the economy shrank by 0.2% in the last quarter. That fall of 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2011 was more than the 0.1% experts [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released its latest figures for retail sales in December 2011. And the positive news is that sales actually enjoyed some level of growth, in contrast to an otherwise grim run up to the Christmas shopping period for the retail sector. The ONS said that retail sales for last [...]
Begbies Traynor has just issued its Red Flag Alert for the final quarter of 2011, and the red flag is indeed being waved when it comes to the health of UK businesses. The alert, which is a benchmark of “company distress” levels in the UK, showed that there has been a 24% year-on-year rise in [...]
Inflation in the UK fell last month, taking the biggest drop since 2008, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). That’s CPI or the Consumer Prices Index, which was down from 4.8% in November to 4.2% in December. The ONS notes that this is the largest drop since November and December of 2008. The [...]
You know the economy and consumer wallets aren’t in great shape when even Tesco is struggling for retail profits. Tesco has experienced disappointing sales over the Christmas period, along with many other retailers, despite best efforts on the price promotion front. December sales leading into the first week of January were down 2.3% on last [...]
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has published its quarterly economic survey, issuing a statement to say that a double-dip recession isn’t an inevitability as we enter 2012. This goes against the thinking of some in the business world who believe the UK is certainly due to dip into negatives again. A recent survey from [...]
The National Association of Pension funds (NAPF) and the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) have signed a memorandum of understanding with the government that will make it easier for pension funds to invest directly in UK infrastructure projects. The memorandum is a move by the government to interest pension funds in helping pay to build needed [...]
Emergency home repair insurer Homeserve (LSE: HSV) seems to be recovering after suspending outgoing sales calls recently after an investigation over misselling policies, even though the company’s shares dropped around 53 percent of their value after the investigation was announced. The investigation came after allegations that the insurer was not clearly and adequately disclosing pricing [...]
