The Latest in UK Financial News - Agent Cities

Goverment Gives Go-ahead for Flexible Hours

admin — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:03:50 +0000

The government has rejected businesses pleas to delay regulations that will allow around 4.5 million employees to request flexible working hours, meaning that employers have less than eight months to prepare for the change. Under plans released by the Department For Business, parents with children up to the age of 16 would have the right [...]

Council Workers Strike North of the Border

admin — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:52:25 +0000

Almost 200,000 council workers in Scotland are staging a 24-hour walkout over a pay dispute, causing disruptions to local services such as schools, rubbish collection and ferry crossings. The council workers - members of the GMB, Unite and Unison unions – are due to take part in the strike after they rejected a 2.5 [...]

Credit Crunch forces Homebuyers in to Rental Accommodation

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:16:54 +0000

According to data produced by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), the supply of rental accommodation rose at the fastest rate on record in the three months to July, outstripping the increase in demand from tenants. Rics’ latest survey showed that potential homebuyers had been forced to take rental accommodation because they were unable [...]

Economy Likely to Avoid Deep Recession Says BCC

admin — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:26:22 +0000

The economy will likely avoid a deep recession but will experience a mild one, with unemployment to rise by 250,000-300,000 to 2m over the next two to three years, along with a flat or slightly negative growth in gross domestic product over the next two to three quarters, the British Chambers of Commerce will [...]

Fall in Tourism is Another Blow to UK Economy

admin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:31:16 +0000

The Office for National Statistics said on Thursday that overseas visitors to the UK have dropped by 5 percent on quarter, seasonally adjusted, in the three months to June, hitting the tourism industry, who are struggling with economic slowdown. In the year to June visitor numbers were 3 percent below the corresponding 2007 period. The [...]

Chancellor Under Pressure to Clarify Stamp Duty Plans

admin — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:38:54 +0000

The chancellor, Alistair Darling, Is under renewed pressure to clarify plans for the proposed stamp duty holiday after a poll of estate agents showed that uncertainty was hitting the housing market. A National Association of Estate Agents survey found that 92 percent believed that the situation had increased consumer concerns, with people who would have [...]

Inflation Climbs to Highest Point Since Early 90s

admin — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:52:34 +0000

Inflation reached 4.4 percent in July – the highest since the early 1990s and more than double the government’s target – as economists predict a further rise to 5 percent in the autumn. Rises in food prices, fuel costs and disappointing price cuts in the summer sales, have caused this latest jump, which marks [...]

House Prices Fall Further,as Transactions Level Out

admin — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:18:32 +0000

A report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) suggests that house prices have further to fall, but there are tentative signs that the slide in housing transactions are starting to level out. Its monthly survey shows market conditions are still slackening, with surveyors reporting a further drop in new instructions and new buyer [...]

Ofwat Requests Water Firm Pricing Plans

admin — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 08:38:28 +0000

Welsh Water says the average household bill will only rise at the rate of inflation from 2010 to 2015. Thames water expects bills to rise by around 3 percent a year above inflation during the period, and Northumbrian water said its rate would be 1.3 percent above. Manchester United Utilities said it plans to raise [...]

RBS Reports £691m Loss

admin — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:21:31 +0000

The Royal Bank of Scotland wrote down the value of many of its credit market assets by £5.9bn, for the first time in the bank’s 40-year history as a public company, Compared to £5bn profit a year ago, the bank reported a pre-tax loss of £691m in the first half of the year, but the [...]