Adrian Holliday
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Green car cash boost for Ford and Nissan
Adrian Holliday
Mar 18th 2010
Filed under: Company, Manufacturing
The UK's struggling motor industry has had a much-needed "green" boost. The government has agreed to support Ford's new £1.5bn program of environmentally-friendly vehicles. Several hundred new jobs are also to be created in Sunderland where Nissan will build the Leaf, a new electric zero-emissions model.
IMF funding is now an option - Greece
Adrian Holliday
Mar 18th 2010
Filed under: Debt, Economy, Financial Crisis
Greece is getting impatient. Premier George Papandreou (pictured) has told reporters that IMF help hasn't been ruled out in helping his country sort out its debt crisis.Last night there were rumours that interest on an IMF Greek loan could come in as low as 3.25% - a full1% point below a potential combined EU deal.
Japan opens credit taps against deflation
Adrian Holliday
Mar 17th 2010
Filed under: Debt, Economy, Markets, Banking
Japan is to double the amount of cheap short-term loans to banks in an effort to fight deflation and bolster an economy that's failing to grow quickly enough. The Bank of Japan move will raise around 20 trillion yen, or £146bn. The Japanese government is desperately trying to fight deflation with core consumer prices still falling. This makes investors wary of investing further; demand simply falls away.
Admiral Group charges migrants more
Adrian Holliday
Mar 17th 2010
Filed under: Personal Finance, Insurance, Retail
If you're a migrant you're more likely to be charged more for your car insurance - if you choose Admiral.That's the conclusion of a Which? survey that's rapped the insurance player for piling on premiums - almost a 20% hike in some cases - for drivers who haven't lived in the UK since birth.
Bernanke confirms US rates to stay low
Adrian Holliday
Mar 17th 2010
Filed under: Debt, Economy, Mortgages
US Federal Reserve boss Ben Bernanke (pictured) says he intends to keep interest rates at rock-bottom for as long as possible. Rates will remain at "exceptionally low levels" the rate-setting committee has confirmed. But it is something of a mixed picture.
Shell axes jobs but not golden goodbyes
Adrian Holliday
Mar 17th 2010
Filed under: Economy, Personal Finance, Energy
In an effort to cut costs Shell is pulling out from many low volume service stations and slashing at least 1,000 jobs. But despite efforts to cut costs amongst its workers, its making sure its directors are still comfy: the oil giant has just admitted it more than doubled the pension pot - to nearly £16m - of its ex gas and power boss, Linda Cook.
Buy-to-let landlords out of the woods?
Adrian Holliday
Mar 16th 2010
Filed under: Loans, Mortgages, Property
RICS' latest Lettings Survey has good news for buy-to-let landords: demand is rising while supply is on the wane. Apparently.RICS claims that 23% more chartered surveyors reported a fall in landlord instructions in the last quarter. Reasons vary, but the modest rise in the housing market generally is a factor, RICS' reckons.
FTSE-100 wobbles on China growth
Adrian Holliday
Mar 16th 2010
Filed under: Debt, Economy, Markets
Is China's economy slowing? The Telegraph reported today (see link at end of article) that the FTSE-100 benchmark index retreated yesterday, with mining stocks dragging confidence down. China is worried about its economy overheating. There are plenty of economists already warning that China's economy looks strikingly close to that of Japan's in the late 1980s.
Big leap in new UK mortgage funding
Adrian Holliday
Mar 16th 2010
Filed under: Debt, Personal Finance, Mortgages, Banking
It's raining mortgages out there with a record 70% increase in mortgage products. Moneyfacts says that at the start of April 2009 there were just 1,209 UK products offered – that's now increased by 70% to a total of 2,053.
EU slams Brown and Darling on deficit
Adrian Holliday
Mar 16th 2010
Filed under: Debt, Economy, News
EU bureaucrats claim Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling are not trying hard enough to bring down the UK's deficit. The EU Commission warns that the UK won't slash its deficit in line with EU rules by 2015 - these rules state that deficits must be under 3% of GDP.
Time is running out for ISA investors
NY and the City clash: London falling
Economy doing worse than suspected?
