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Unless you work from home or are blessed with an understanding employer who offers flexible hours, waiting in for a delivery can feel like a sojourn to the seventh circle of hell. ‘Your delivery slot is 8am to 10am,’ intones the recorded voice. But you don’t believe a word of it. In fact, you know
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There’s a slew of housing news this morning including new research from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. It predicts that the housing market will make a slow start in 2017 due to a lack of homes for sale. According to Rics, property transactions have slowed since the spring and although there is a chance they
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More than 7 million Britons, including 2.6 million children, are living in poverty despite being part of working households, according to a report commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The study says that deprivation is increasingly connected to the high cost and insecurity of private rented accommodation. The Guardian reports that ‘disability is increasingly linked to the changing nature
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As predicted, shoppers worked themselves into a frenzy during November’s Black Friday, new figures reveal. But this year it was internet sales that soared. According to the British Retail Consortium, a record one in four pounds was spent online during Black Friday. The Telegraph reports that ‘online sales of non-food items, which includes homewares and clothing, represented
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With the national and international news dominated by the resignation of the Italian Prime Minister, personal finance has an obsession of its own: Christmas. Only a few days into December and the festive news is coming thick and fast. Today the BBC reports that ‘debt concerns at Christmas can be alleviated by seeking advice well
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In a move certain to dampen any Christmas spirit, the rail industry has announced that train fares will rise by an average of 2.3 per cent from January 2. The BBC reports that ‘the increase covers both regulated fares, which includes season tickets, and unregulated fares, such as off-peak leisure tickets’. The hike in regulated fares
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British Gas is freezing its standard tariffs for millions of people over winter. Britain’s biggest energy supplier says the decision – which applies to gas and electricity – will provide peace of mind for more than six million customers, the BBC reports. The move follows similar action from SSE which has said it will cap standard
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Taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland has been revealed as the worst performer in the Bank of England’s annual health check of the UK banking system. The Guardian reports that, following its failure in the Bank of England stress test, RBS has published a plan designed to bolster its financial strength by an estimated £2 billion. Barclays and Standard
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If you’re not familiar with the term, then ‘salary sacrifice’ is a bit of a puzzler. Just what is your boss expecting you to sacrifice? A chunk of your wages? A goat in the car park at lunchtime? Put simply, salary sacrifice arrangements enable employees to give up salary in return for benefits-in-kind that are often
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Despite fears over affordability and the effects of the Brexit vote, the number of first-time buyers purchasing homes in the UK reached a record high in October. The National Association of Estate Agents said that a third of sales registered at its members’ branches were to first-time buyers, a 9 per cent rise from September and the
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Cyber Monday. It’s an odd phrase, more likely to conjure apocalyptic visions of a Terminator-style machine invasion than a frenzied day of online shopping. Like Black Friday, Cyber Monday is relatively new to these shores. In just a few short years, it’s become part of the year’s busiest spending weekend, with both days book-ending a
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Don’t believe the hype. Despite forecasts of record sales for this year’s shopping frenzy, Black Friday appears to have been a bit of damp squib, with online sales growth falling significantly short of predictions. The Times reports that purchasing online was up by only 6.7 per cent against the same day the previous year, compared
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Shoppers are predicted to go on a £1.97 billion spending spree today, setting a new record for Black Friday. Analysts expect record sales, not least because the fall in the value of the pound is forecast to push up the prices of imported goods next year. In a new move, retailers are now expanding Black Friday
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While there were plenty of people-pleasers in yesterday’s Autumn Statement, it’s safe to say that insurance companies were not happy. Yes, there will be a crackdown on fraudulent whiplash claims, and yes, there is another freeze on fuel duty (all good news for insurers and their customers). But these aren’t the issues clogging my inbox
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So, no more Spring Budgets. In one of the most surprising announcements in yesterday’s speech, the Chancellor revealed the abolition of the traditional March Budget and Autumn Statement. From 2017, there will be a single Budget in Autumn, along with a ‘Spring Statement’ with no major policy announcements from 2018. In truth, the final Autumn Statement
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If there’s one thing sure to get estate agents’ knickers in a twist, it’s a threat to their income. And so the news that Philip Hammond will use the Autumn Statement to announce a ban on letting fees has sparked a tirade of protestations and a bumper crop of press releases lamenting their lot. But
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One story dominates the financial news this morning: the Autumn Statement. A slew of predictions, speculation and leaks feature in newspapers and websites, including yesterday’s widely trailed announcement of a £1 billion boost to improve broadband speeds for up to 2 million homes and businesses. Other measures expected in Philip Hammond’s first Autumn Statement include ways to
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Philip Hammond will provide more than £1 billion to improve broadband speeds for up 2 million homes and businesses as part of an infrastructure plan to be detailed in the Autumn statement tomorrow. The Guardian reports that, following calls from businesses for more support for the digital economy, the Chancellor will back a £400 million digital infrastructure fund.
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Car insurance premiums for millions of motorists could fall by £40 a year following a government crackdown on fraudulent whiplash claims. Under Ministry of Justice proposals, whiplash injury payouts would be much more difficult to obtain, The Guardian reports. Insurers say the measures will end the UK’s status as the whiplash capital of the world. The
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There are some American imports for which we should be thankful. Not Donald Trump, obviously. Other things, though – the motor car, baseball, Dolly Parton, chewing gum, and, erm, crayons. On the other hand, there are a number of US products we could do without. I’m thinking here of evangelical preachers, sub-prime mortgages and Spam. Then