News Headlines – Thursday 12th December 2013

Business/Economic
Lloyds Banking Group and RBS have been fined a total of £90m –the former for serious failings in its sales practices, and the latter to settle accusations that it breached US sanctions. The FCA was particularly critical of the structure of targets and bonus arrangements that involved sales people being potentially demoted with a cut in salary of up to 50% if they failed to hit targets.

Property
The number of first time buyers has surged by three quarters over the past year as a surge of activity in the housing market pushes prices even higher. Haart revealed that the number of the first time buyer registrations had risen 78.4% in November 2013 compared to the same month last year. Both Haart and Zoopla say that average house prices in the UK have risen over £10,000 during the year, soaring way head of growth in typical wages.

The energy minister has indicated that the Government could defy an official recommendation that it must meet its green energy targets for the 2020s. Michael Fallon described the report as merely ‘advice.’

Personal Finance
Families are having to spend almost £500 more a year on housing and energy bills than a decade ago, forcing cutbacks in other areas to make ends meet. The ONS found that last year families spent an average £68 a week on rent, energy bills, and other housing costs such and maintenance and repairs, up from £59.20 in 2002.

Recruitment
The treasury has confirmed maternity pay will be protected after it was revealed by David Cameron that it would be lumped in with the welfare spending due to be capped in next Spring’s Budget. Francis Elliott, Times, p10; Shadow childcare minister Lucy Powell is expected to say that employers wrongly see mothers as ‘scatty and clock watching,’ as they fail to understand that they have already done a day’s work before they leave home. Powell is to call for a revolution to overcome prejudices faced by working parents.

Paper Summary: Tuesday 3rd December

Personal Finance

Millions of RBS and Natwest customers were left stranded without means of payment yesterday – one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Technical  glitches meant debit card and online payments would not work, leaving shoppers at tills with trolley loads of goods and diners finishing meals with no way of paying for them. The outage lasted most of the evening and RBS have offered to pay customers back who have been left out of pocket.  Following past problems with their online banking systems, RBS and Natwest are likely to face an exodus of customers to other banks.

Economics

David Cameron’s trade visit to China has shown early results as the superpower has indicated plans to invest billions of pounds in British infrastructure. Projects including nuclear plants and HS2 are likely to benefit from Chinese money, while Cameron is backing a free trade agreement between the EU and Beijing which would make it easier to sell British goods. The Daily Telegraph backs the move arguing that as China develops its growth cycle, creative industries, advisory services and technology will become far more important – showing a clear role for the UK. However, the trip has been criticised for insufficient focus on human rights issues and the banning of a Bloomberg reporter from a press conference.

Recruitment

A third of big businesses that signed up to cutting gender inequality have done nothing  towards their targets, including not publishing their gender make up. Twenty per cent of the work force is covered under the Think, Act, Report scheme but many are being failed according to The Times.

Property

Lord Deben, the former Conservative cabinet minister has urged the government not to build a new generation of garden cities, arguing the land is needed for growing food. He argues that the original garden cities were a response to appalling living standards in towns which is no longer the case. However, conservative inaction on building was attacked by Labour peer Lord Adonis in the Lords yesterday.

UK Paper Summary: 25th November 2013

Economics
The front page of the Daily Mail says Britain’s two state-backed banks have been accused of running thousands of small firms by using “disgraceful” business practices.  RBS and Lloyds “harmed their customers through their decisions and caused their financial downfall” according to a bombshell report released today by Laurence Tomlinson.  The report claims RBS acted like a “hit squad” by deliberately causing healthy businesses to go bust for its own gain.

 

Personal Finance
Immigrants and the seriously ill are in line for “a fresh Tory welfare raid” according to Tom McTague, in the Daily Mirror.  More than 500,000 sufferers of long-term conditions such as cancer face losing benefits currently paid to them as they train for a return to work.

 

Property
In the Daily Express, Sarah O’Grady reports that house prices jumped by £7430 last month – and are up £1,300 a week according to estate agency Sequence.  Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors said, “Help to Buy has opened a flood of new buyers, causing prices to surge upwards.”  The second phase of the Government’s Help to Buy scheme was launched in October and offers lenders a taxpayer-backed guarantee on 95 per cent mortgages on homes costing up to £600,000. In the first month, 2,000 sales were arranged.

 

Employment & Recruitment
The FT’s editorial looks at university degrees pointing out that, since the 1963 Robbins report, widening access to university has been a central aim of UK education policy.  Roughly half of young people now study for a degree, against 4 per cent when the report was written.  

But the FT’s stance is that rising participation is welcome only if the benefits justify the cost: “young people’s horizons will not be widened by pushing university for its own sake.”

News Roundup: Thursday 7th March 2013

Economics

• Philip Aldrick, writing in The Daily Telegraph, reports Sir Mervyn King has called on the Chancellor to split up RBS and lift the UK out of its economic torpor. The Bank of England governor said “nothing had been achieved” since taxpayer cash was used to rescue the bank, highlighting that RBS is failing to support small businesses. He urged the government to use its 82% stake to take control and split the bank up. The Mail’s Alex Brummer says the governor is right that RBS needs to be broken up. But Brummer takes issue with the governor’s timing, arguing it was the obvious step to be taken years ago. Brummer believes it might still be worth doing if it speeds up the return of a functioning RBS. The Times, meanwhile, is less supportive of Sir Mervyn. Ian King believes that with a successor confirmed, the government – which has blamed the Bank of England for the lack of growth – no longer needs Sir Mervyn. King (the columnist) says King (the civil servant) is responding in kind by blaming banks for the lack of growth – and that he expects more salvoes from the outgoing governor.

 

Property

• House prices rebounded in February, according to data released by Halifax yesterday and reported by City AM’ Ben Southwood. The average UK house price climbed 0.5 per cent in the second month of 2013, recovering from January’s 0.3 per cent dip. “It’s not yet full steam ahead for the national housing market, but it is certainly building momentum,” said Marsh & Parsons boss Peter Rollings.

Personal Finance

• The biggest payday loan firms have been threatened with closure over the misery and hardship caused by irresponsible or illegal lending, according to Sean Poulter, writing in the Daily Mail. They include market leader Wonga. Yesterday, the Office of Fair Trading gave the 50 firms a deadline of just 12 weeks to clean up their act or lose their credit licences.

Recruitment & Employment

• In the Daily Telegraph, Louise Peacock says candidates need to prepare carefully for a job in the UK after working overseas quoting a new study from recruiter Randstad UK showing just how difficult it is to get a job. Job hunters now spend more than 10 weeks – 25 per cent longer than five years ago – on searching for a new post. Meanwhile, The Independent’s Jonathan Brown reports that a new earnings survey has revealed that a pay gap between male and female graduates still exists after decades of equal-opportunities legislation. Female graduates can expect to earn thousands of pounds less than their male counterparts, with the trend visible across almost all career paths, except the not-for-profit sector.