International Business News - Your Money http://ibtimes.co.uk/subsection/personalfinance/generalfinance.htm All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://ibtimes.co.uk/ http://ibtimes.co.uk/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said on Friday that gross mortgage lending dropped three per cent in June to around £23.8 billion. The figure is 32 per cent lower than in June 2007. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3932-houses.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080718/gross-mortgage-lending-june.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080718/gross-mortgage-lending-june.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:52:37 EDT A weaker currency and rising household bills kept more Britons at home this spring, while those that ventured abroad kept to tighter budgets. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3926-beach.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080718/spending-abroad-pound-weakens.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080718/spending-abroad-pound-weakens.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:05:37 EDT Gas prices are going to be more strongly influenced by global oil markets for the foreseeable future and householders will have to get used to spending much more on energy unless the surge in oil costs is reversed, Eclipse Energy Group said. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3921-gas-ring.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080718/gas-prices-oil-energy.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080718/gas-prices-oil-energy.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:20:37 EDT Passengers will have to pay more to fly as airlines struggle to eke out further savings to cover soaring fuel bills, airline executives said at Farnborough Airshow on Wednesday. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3909-swissair.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080717/air-passengers-pay-more.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080717/air-passengers-pay-more.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:43:37 EDT Around half of private sector final-salary pension schemes expect to offload their liabilities to a specialist provider, according to research released on Thursday by consultancy firm Watson Wyatt. http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080717/pension-schemes-offload-liabilities.htm Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:25:37 EDT The government postponed on Wednesday a rise in fuel duty planned for October for at least another six months because of soaring world oil prices and in a bid to keep the headline rate of inflation down. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3901-fuel-pump.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080716/fuel-tax-duty-rise-delay.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080716/fuel-tax-duty-rise-delay.htm Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:05:37 EDT The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said on Wednesday that the market in personal current accounts was "not working well for consumers" and called for reform of the way banks operate. http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080716/bank-current-accounts-consumers.htm Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:23:37 EDT Private investors in Alliance & Leicester unnerved by the bank's takeover by Spain's Banco Santander can take some comfort from Santander's purchase of UK lender Abbey four years ago. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3893-abbey.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080716/alliance-leicester-investors-abbey-santander.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080716/alliance-leicester-investors-abbey-santander.htm Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:07:37 EDT Britain's energy suppliers must stop labelling any electricity tariffs "green" unless they commit to spending more of their own money on environmental projects, according to new guidelines from UK energy regulator Ofgem. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3890-solar-panels.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080716/ofgem-green-energy-tariffs.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080716/ofgem-green-energy-tariffs.htm Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:47:37 EDT Wealth managers at Standard Chartered Private Bank are telling their clients to emphasis cash in their investment portfolios as they wait for stock buying opportunities later in the year. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3876-money.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080715/capitulation-cash-wealth-managers.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080715/capitulation-cash-wealth-managers.htm Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:44:37 EDT In a slowdown, economists say to expect the squeeze in the market's middle: for Britain's recently fast-growing restaurants, it's starting with lunch. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3860-tate-modern.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080714/restaurants-slow-down.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080714/restaurants-slow-down.htm Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:59:37 EDT Microsoft Corp is set to cut the price of its best-selling Xbox 360 Pro model to $299 from $349, a source briefed on the matter said on Friday. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3840-xbox-360.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080711/mircrosoft-xbox-price-cut.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080711/mircrosoft-xbox-price-cut.htm Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:53:21 EDT Hard-up parents are cutting back on their children's pocket money as the economic downturn starts to hit household budgets, according to a survey. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3839-money.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080711/credit-crunch-pocket-money.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080711/credit-crunch-pocket-money.htm Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:49:21 EDT The drivers of nine million cars, nearly half of all those in Britain, will be worse off under government plans to raise vehicle duty for polluting cars, according to figures from the Treasury. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3819-traffic.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080710/car-tax-changes.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080710/car-tax-changes.htm Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:00:21 EDT Almost half of final salary pension funds have moved assets from equities to bonds in the past year, as they respond to market volatility and aim to match assets more closely with liabilities, figures show. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3804-trader.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080709/pension-funds-equities-bonds.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080709/pension-funds-equities-bonds.htm Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:36:21 EDT The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said on Tuesday that loans for house purchases increased slightly from April to May. The CML said loans increased four per cent in volume in the period to 52,700 and two per cent in value to £7.9 billion. However the CML noted that both were 44 per cent lower than May 2007. http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080708/mortgage-lending-may.htm Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:43:21 EDT Wealth managers at Barclays are stepping away from equities and telling their clients to prepare for central banks to have difficulty controlling inflation. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3788-barclays.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080708/barclays-wealth-inflation.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080708/barclays-wealth-inflation.htm Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:20:21 EDT Britons would rather spend less on everyday luxuries than deny themselves an annual holiday, despite the credit crunch, fear of negative housing equity and rising food and fuel costs, a survey shows. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3775-beach.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080707/british-holidays-credit-crunch.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080707/british-holidays-credit-crunch.htm Mon, 07 Jul 2008 08:12:21 EDT Pensioners have seen the average cost of living soar by more than a third during the past 10 years, research showed on Saturday. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3772-pensioners.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080707/pensioners-inflation-rising-costs.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080707/pensioners-inflation-rising-costs.htm Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:54:21 EDT The credit squeeze for households and businesses looks set to intensify as lenders brace for rising defaults and the economy slows, a survey by the Bank of England showed on Thursday. http://ibtimes.co.uk/data/articleimgs/3751-money.jpg http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080704/credit-squeeze-crunch-households-business.htm http://ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20080704/credit-squeeze-crunch-households-business.htm Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:17:59 EDT