Supermarket giants try to entice customers back

With food prices having soared out of control, in addition to the range of other hikes in bills and living costs, many people have been struggling to make ends meet when it comes to the household budget. Consumers have tried to make a range of cutbacks in order to try and make their money stretch further, and for many this has meant switching from the more expensive supermarket giants such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrison’s, and turning to discount grocery stores such as Aldi, Netto, and Lidl. Read more

Tags: Asda, recent additions, tesco, supermarkets, price, credit crunch

Interest rate cuts could be put on hold

At the start of this year there were high hopes about base rate cuts amongst both borrowers and industry officials, with many expecting the base rate to fall significantly over the course of this year, and with some industry officials predicting that the base rate could fall as low as 4% or below by the end of the year. However, whilst the base rate was cut three times between December 2007 and April of this year, it seems that further rate cuts could be put on hold, as the Bank of England tries to deal with soaring inflation levels. Read more

Tags: government’s 2% target, Monetary Policy Committee, present steps, Mervyn King, foreseeable future, time, recent additions, interest rates

Inflation levels hit 11 year high

June saw inflation levels rise to an eleven year high of 3.8% as a result of soaring food and petrol prices, according to recent reports. The rate of inflation for May had already hit highs of 3.3%, resulting in the governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, having to write to the chancellor, Alistair Darling, to explain why inflation had soared so high and what would be done to bring it back down. However, the situation is now even worse, with inflation nearly double the government’s 2% target. Read more

Tags: recent additions, governor, way, member voting, gordon brown

Central bank governor and deputy governor did not agree on interest rates

Following the recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting earlier this month the Bank of England announced that it would be keeping interest rates on hold at 5.25%, stating that the risk of rising inflation had to be considered in addition to the slowing economy. Interest rates have already fallen twice since December, and industry experts predict that they will fall at least one more time before summer and then again in the latter half of the year.

According to the minutes from the March Monetary Policy Committee meeting there was a 2-7 split over whether interest rates should be cut in March, with the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Geive, agreeing with MPC member David Blanchflower that rates should be cut by a further 0.25%, which would have taken the base rate from 5.25% to 5%. However, the other seven members of the committee, including the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, wanted interest rates to be kept on hold.

The Bank of England has not taken the stance of the US Federal Reserve, which has been slashing its interest rates lately in order to try and keep recession at bay. Over the past six months the US Federal Reserve has cut the interest rates by a massive 3%, taking them from 5.25% to 2.25%. However, following the majority vote the Bank of England decided to keep rates at 5.25%. Analysts and economists are now speculating over whether there will be a further base rate cut following April’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting, although many think that the next base rate cut may come in May.

Recent Additions:

• Mortgage lender offering some impressive rates on savings
• Bank savings interest rates start to come down
• Pay and bills could further affect consumer finances
• Increasing number of first time buyers look to brokers for assistance
• Gazundering becoming more commonplace

Tags: bank of england, Deputy Governor, recent additions, economics, interest rate, Central bank governor, cut following april, Business Finance

Gazundering becoming more commonplace

With property prices falling, mortgages becoming more difficult to obtain, and homeowners experiencing increased difficulties in selling their homes, the housing sector is already experiencing its fair share of problems. However, a new problem has recently reared up for sellers, and this comes in the form of gazundering, which is an unethical but not illegal practice that some buyers are engaging in. The practice involves putting in an offer on a property, and then dropping the offer right before contracts are exchanged. Read more

Tags: double gazunder, recent additions, sector, predicament, unethical, country, illegal practice, gazundering

Barclaycard acting irresponsibly

Credit card provider Barclaycard has been accused of acting irresponsibly after it was found that the financial giant had been contacting customers in order to try and encourage them to take money out on their credit cards. With many consumers strapped for cash in the current financial climate Barclaycard appears to have been taking advantage of the situation by trying to talk its credit card customers to use their cards in order to get their hands on instant cash. Read more

Tags: card fraud barclaycard, worst periods, advance, recent additions, bad advice

Barclays share prices fall

Rumours surrounding emergency loans allegedly taken out by Barclays Bank from the Bank of England have resulted in the bank’s shares taking a tumble. The UK banking giant recently saw its shares fall to their lowest level in two and a half years. In August rumours began when the bank is said to have taken two emergency overnight loans from the Bank of England. The bank has defended its actions, stating that the loans were due to technical difficulties, but with the crisis that hit Northern Rock still fresh in the minds of many it was inevitable that Barclay’s actions would eventually affect its share prices. Read more

Tags: bank of england, point, recent additions, finance, worth, United Kingdom, head of global retail and commercial banking