Buying A House 'Cheaper Than Renting'

Home buyers are almost £900 better off a year than those who rent - but an upturn in house prices means the gap has narrowed in recent months, a report has found.

Research by Halifax, which based its calculations on its own database as well as official figures, found that people buying a three-bedroom house face typical costs of £672 a month, which is £73 less than the average £745 a month cost of renting.

Five years ago, renting was considered much more financially attractive than buying, but home buying costs have since fallen by more than a third, meaning that buying has become cheaper than renting.

Falls in house prices following the economic downturn combined with low mortgage rates in the low interest rate environment have all contributed to the about-turn.

Meanwhile, rental costs have been pushed higher by strong demand in the sector, as many renters have struggled to get on to the property ladder.

But a return to activity in the housing market has pushed house prices up, which means that the gap between buying and renting costs has narrowed from a difference of £78 a month one year ago.

Halifax recently reported that prices nationally have risen by 5% over the last year. Other reports have recently put prices in London at around 10% higher than they were a year ago.

People living in London and Northern Ireland have the most to gain from buying rather than renting, the research suggested. The gap in percentage terms is biggest in Northern Ireland, at 11%. Buying in Northern Ireland costs £369 a month on average, while renting costs £415.

In cash terms, Londoners have the most to gain from being on the property ladder, with a saving of almost £100 a month.

Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber were the only areas of the UK where renting was found to be more affordable than buying. In Scotland, buying was found to work out £27 a month cheaper than renting.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: "A combination of lower mortgage rates and declining house prices has substantially reduced the cost of buying over the past six years.

"Nevertheless, the number of home buyers in the 12 months to June 2013 was nearly half of that in 2008, which will have been constrained by worries over job security."

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

BlackBerry Slashes Jobs In Face Of $1bn Loss

BlackBerry has confirmed it will cut 40% its global workforce as it said it expects to report that it has lost almost $1bn in its second quarter.

The smartphone company said it will lay off 4,500 employees as it tries to slash costs by 50% and shift its focus back to competing mainly for the business customers most loyal to its brand.

The Canadian firm had been scheduled to release its net earnings for the quarter next week but warned that it expects to post a staggering loss of between $950m and $995m.

Shares in the company plunged as low as $8.01 when the stock reopened for trading on Friday, before closing down 17% at $8.72.

Thorsten Heins, president and CEO of BlackBerry, said in a statement: "We are implementing the difficult, but necessary operational changes announced today to address our position in a maturing and more competitive industry, and to drive the company toward profitability.

"Going forward, we plan to refocus our offering on our end-to-end solution of hardware, software and services for enterprises and the productive, professional end user."

BlackBerry boss Thorsten Heins says the changes are hard but 'necessary'

BlackBerry said last month that it would consider selling itself and reiterated on Friday that a special committee of its board of directors continues to evaluate all options.

The BlackBerry, pioneered in 1999, was the dominant smartphone for on-the-go business people and other customers before Apple debuted the iPhone in 2007. Since then, BlackBerry has been hammered by competition from the iPhone as well as Android-based rivals like Samsung.

In January, the company unveiled new phones running a revamped operating system called BlackBerry 10. The Z10 and Q10 were designed to better compete for customers and rejuvenate the brand, but BlackBerry's market share continues to lag behind its rivals.

BlackBerry, formerly known as RIM, was once Canada's most valuable company with a market value of $83bn in June 2008.

Canada's industry minister James Moore said in a statement: "Our thoughts are with those who have lost their jobs at BlackBerry, it is always a cause for concern for our Government."

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rip-Off Pensions: OFT Calls For Shake-Up

Changes to the pensions market are needed to make sure millions of workers are not sinking cash into schemes that are bad value for money, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has said.

The trading watchdog disappointed consumer groups by not to referring the market to the Competition Commission or recommending a cap on charges, instead making a string of recommendations to shake up the sector.

The OFT, which has been examining the £275bn defined contribution (DC) pensions market, said it had agreed a package of reforms with companies and The Pensions Regulator as the auto-enrolment programme expands.

It will gradually see all workers aged between 22 and the state pension age who are not members of a workplace pension being signed up to one under the Government's plans to head off a looming retirement savings crisis.

The OFT said the Government should look into improving transparency of pension schemes to make it easier for employers to choose the best for their workers.

The pensions minister Steve Webb has pledged to act on the findings

It found that employers "often lacked the capability or the incentive to assess value for money".

The watchdog also called on ministers to look at banning schemes being used for automatic enrolment which ramp up management costs for people when they stop contributing to their pension, perhaps because they have changed jobs.

It identified a risk of savers losing out in two parts of the market - in what it said were "old and high charging contract and bundled trust schemes" and in smaller trust-based schemes because of "low levels of trustee engagement and capability".

The Pensions Regulator, the OFT said, had agreed to take "rapid action" to look at whether the smaller schemes were delivering good value and Government had agreed new enforcement powers to clamp down on them.

The Association of British Insurers was to begin an immediate audit of the old and high-charging schemes, which the OFT said contained around £30bn of savings.

Minister for Pensions Steve Webb said: "This report outlines further important ways to help consumers, and we will act on its recommendations.

"In particular, we need to ensure those already in pension schemes are getting good value for money, and will be actively involved in the audit of pension schemes sold prior to 2001.

"We will consult shortly on minimum scheme standards, including further action on charges."

But consumer groups suggested the report was a disappointment.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "Unfortunately the Office of Fair Trading's recommendations don't go far enough to prevent billions of pounds of consumers' money from languishing in poor value schemes.

"People need to see a difference today and be confident in the pension scheme that they're automatically enrolled into, so that they're encouraged to save for their retirement.

"The Government must go further and set high-quality minimum standards for all workplace pensions as soon as possible, including a cap on all charges."

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

JPMorgan Fined £570m Over London Whale Loss

Wall St bank JPMorgan Chase has been fined a total of £570m ($920m) over the £3.7bn "London Whale" trading losses.

The penalties include £137.6m ($221m) imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) - the second-biggest in the UK City watchdog's history behind the fine levied against UBS for the Libor-rigging scandal last December.

The rest will be paid to the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve and Securities and Exchange Commission.

The regulators' penalties focus on failures in risk management and financial reporting systems.

JPMorgan was also cited for failing to tell its board of directors and regulators about deficiencies in its risk management systems that had been identified by management.

The settlement covers only civil liabilities in the case

The "London Whale" involved a London-based trader, Bruno Iksil, who racked up billions of pounds of bets on derivatives products which turned sour, and which were then concealed from the bank's top management by several colleagues who have since been fired.

Two men - Julien Grout and Javier Martin-Artajo - have been charged in the US with conspiracy and fraud for allegedly covering up the trading losses.

Mr Iksil has been told he will not face charges.

Tracey McDermott, the FCA's director of enforcement and financial crime, said: "Maintaining the integrity of markets is a key part of our wholesale conduct agenda.

"We consider JPMorgan's failings to be extremely serious such as to undermine the trust and confidence in UK financial markets.

"There were basic failings in the operation of fundamental controls over a high-risk part of the business.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is reforming the bank's controls

"Senior management failed to respond properly to warning signals that there were problems in the CIO (Chief Investment Office). 

"As things began to go wrong, the firm didn't wake up quickly enough to the size and the scale of the problems.

"What is worse, they compounded this by failing to be open and co-operative with us as their regulator."

Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan's chairman and chief executive, apologised for having initially dismissed the affair as "a tempest in a teapot" and this week announced significant changes to the firm's compliance and risk management functions, including the hiring of thousands of additional employees.

The bank has also clawed back millions of dollars in bonuses from employees over the trading losses.

It is the latest in a series of regulatory blows to hit Mr Dimon, lauded as the most successful banker on Wall Street for having stewarded JPMorgan through the financial crisis.

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Apple iPhone: iOS 7 Download Problems

Apple's new-look operating system has got off to a rocky start, with users complaining of having difficulties downloading it.

Hailed as a new beginning for the technology giant, iOS 7 was eagerly anticipated and millions tried to download it on its Wednesday release.

But many tech fans complained after a message appeared telling them: "An error occurred whilst downloading iOS 7.0."

Users took to social media such as Twitter to express their frustration at the setback, and "iOS 7.0" became a trending topic.

Sam Allison, tweeting under the handle @VF2010--, responded to the outcr, saying: "Guess I'm not the only one getting an Error message trying to Download IOS 7.0 #Annoying"

@JoeJoeTavo posted this pic of the iPhone screen - just 35 hours to go...

Conor Rickards, using the handle @--cajr, opted for irony, tweeting: "Having a great time using IOS 7.0" whilst posting a picture of the error message."

"I don't understand why it won't let me download iOS 7.0," wrote Diana Ulloa (@Deeandhearts).

Others, such as @King--Julien1984, complained about messages telling them their download would take 11 hours, or more, to be completed.

Elle Lake (@lizzylake) said: "43 minutes remaining to download iOS 7.0 but now 10 minutes later there is an error,and I have to upload it again with another 2 hour wait."

@igc223 said: "deleted all my apps, music, and pictures and still don't have enough storage to download iOS 7.0"

The software is also released for iPad

But some people did manage to download the system and praised it, such as Ashlyn Tracy (@MsPrettyPricey), who said "Loving the new iOS 7.0 #iPhone .get it people"

Industry observers had suggested the arrival of iOS 7, which is said to have a cleaner look than its predecessors, could go some way to silencing Apple's critics.

It was unveiled just months after Apple posted its first profit slide in a decade and drew accusations that it had failed to innovate.

British design chief Sir Jonathan Ive introduced the operating system as an "important new direction" when he showcased the software at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco earlier this year.

The American company's CEO Tim Cook described it as "the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone".

It has been designed to make the iPhone appear bigger, with features crafted to take advantage of the entire screen.

Text is said to appear sharper, while a "control centre" on the phone allows users to adjust settings with just one swipe from the bottom of the screen.

This gives instant access to functions such as airplane mode, wi-fi, bluetooth or do not disturb, and enables users to quickly pause or play a song, jump to the next track and stream music.

Meanwhile a "notification centre" is available from the "lock" screen so users can view updates with a "simple swipe".

Apple has also introduced an AirDrop tool to share content - which is said to be fully encrypted - with contacts nearby, and has added further updates to its cameras and its Siri feature.

The new operating system's launch this week comes just days before two new iPhones go on sale - one of which features a fingerprint scanner.

Executive Phil Schiller sent a massive cheer through the audience at the San Francisco conference in June when he told developers: "Can't innovate any more, my a***!"

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

City Watchdog Hits JPMorgan With Huge Fine

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The City regulator will slap one of its biggest-ever fines on the Wall Street banking giant JPMorgan on Thursday over the derivatives losses which last year cost it more than $6bn (£3.7bn).

Sky News understands that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will make an announcement at approximately 2pm UK time in which it will say that the so-called "London Whale" affair will cost JPMorgan well over £50m in penalties for failing to ensure the effective supervision of its traders and that its trading positions were accurately reported.

The FCA will also say that it has agreed a string of toughened compliance, reporting and risk management procedures with JP Morgan executives in the UK and that it will monitor the firm's activities more robustly.

Further measures are expected to be announced as part of Thursday's settlement.

People familiar with the agreement said it would be the biggest penalty imposed by the UK regulator for transgressions unrelated to the global Libor rate-rigging probe.

It is possible that only the £160m fine handed out to UBS for Libor-manipulation last December will have been larger, although the exact size of the FCA punishment was unclear.

JP Morgan executives give evidence over the 'Whale' losses to US Senate

The FCA statement will be coordinated with regulators in the US as part of an overall settlement reported by the Wall Street Journal this week at $800m (£496m).

It will not preclude the prospect of additional charges being filed against the bank, the newspaper added.

The "London Whale" involved a London-based trader, Bruno Iksil, who racked up billions of pounds of bets on derivatives products which turned sour, and which were then concealed from the bank's top management by several colleagues who have since been fired.

US prosecutors charged Julien Grout and Javier Martin-Artajo, two former traders at JPMorgan, last month with conspiracy and fraud for allegedly covering up the trading losses. On Monday, a grand jury indicted both men.

Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan's chairman and chief executive, apologised for having initially dismissed the affair as "a tempest in a teapot" and this week announced significant changes to the firm's compliance and risk management functions, including the hiring of thousands of additional employees.

The bank has also clawed back millions of dollars in bonuses from employees over the trading losses.

It is the latest in a series of regulatory blows to hit Mr Dimon, lauded as the most successful banker on Wall Street for having stewarded JPMorgan through the financial crisis.

The FCA and JPMorgan both declined to comment.

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Inflation 'Ruining Power Of Savings Accounts'

A report highlighting deteriorating consumer saving power claims £10,000 invested five years ago in the average savings account would only be worth £8,844 today.

The website moneyfacts.co.uk issued the findings - charting the effects of taxes and inflation on savers - as official figures credited slowing fuel cost rises and summer discounting of autumn clothing for easing inflation.

The Office for National Statistics said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure slowed from an annual rate of 2.8% in July to 2.7% in August - also spurred by a lower rise in air fares compared to the same period last year.

The fall in the CPI rate was credited to clothing and footwear inflation coming at 2% compared to 2.8% 12 months previously, at a time of year when retailers were introducing new full-price autumn ranges.

Meanwhile, petrol prices rose 2p per litre compared to a rise of 3.5p per litre in August 2012, mirroring movements in oil prices.

Air fare increases were smaller than those in August 2012

Air fares were up 9.4% compared to 10.2% a year ago, with the main downward effect coming from domestic routes.

The ONS said the most notable upward contribution to inflation came from furniture, household equipment and maintenance where prices rose for a variety of furniture items and household appliances.

After the figures were released, moneyfacts suggested only three of the 840 ISA and non-ISA accounts on the market now negated the effects of tax and inflation on savers.

It calculated that to beat inflation, a basic rate taxpayer at 20% needed to find a savings account paying 3.38% per annum, while a higher-rate taxpayer at 40% needed an account paying at least 4.5%.

Moneyfacts has questioned the concept of savings accounts

The effect of inflation on savings, it said, meant that £10,000 invested five years ago, allowing for average interest and tax at 20%, would have the spending power of just £8,844.00 today.

Moneyfacts editor Sylvia Waycot said: "Inflation may have fallen but it is still high enough to ruin the spending power of any feeble interest paid on today's savings accounts, which leaves the elderly reliant on savings income and the young saving for a house deposit high and dry.

"It is time to start calling savings accounts by a different name as 'savings' suggests growth and the reality is one of stagnation."

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Heathrow Lands Rudd For New Three-Year Term

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The owner of Heathrow Airport will announce on Wednesday that its chairman has agreed to stay on for another three years to steer the company through the most crucial period in its history.

Sky News understands that Heathrow Airport Holdings will say that Sir Nigel Rudd is to prolong his tenure until 2016, enabling it to focus on the battle to win Government backing as the location for an expansion of London's airport capacity.

The company will announce Sir Nigel's new term following a scheduled board meeting, an insider said.

One of Britain's best-known businessmen, Sir Nigel has chaired Heathrow and BAA, its predecessor, since 2007, when it owned a much larger number of British airports, including Gatwick and Stansted.

He is understood to have contemplated stepping down but decided to stay in place to argue the case for an expansion of Heathrow, which is bitterly opposed by commercial rivals, politicians and environmental campaigners.

One factor weighing in favour of Sir Nigel's decision was the fact that Invensys, the industrial group he chairs, is poised to be taken over by Schneider Electric of France, a deal that if completed would see him step down.

As the former chairman of Boots and Pilkington, Sir Nigel has frequently been labelled a member of the club of senior boardroom figures who have overseen the sale of chunks of Britain's industrial heritage to overseas predators.

During his time at Heathrow's parent, he has brought in a number of sovereign wealth and pension funds from Canada, China and Qatar to invest alongside Ferrovial, the Spanish infrastructure group which bought BAA in 2006.

Heathrow's investors are understood to have been keen for Sir Nigel to stay on for a further term that would provide continuity during the run-up to a key Government-commissioned report on the airport capacity debate.

The company's announcement will come weeks after it set out a series of options for bolstering aviation capacity in London and the south-east, focused on a new runway at Heathrow.

It has argued to the commission led by Sir Howard Davies that such a move would be the cheapest and quickest way to fix a looming capacity crunch. Building a third runway could cost up to £18bn and would open between 2025 and 2029, Heathrow believes.

The owners of Gatwick have said that they prefer the idea of a "constellation" of London airports that would be cheaper than the proposal of Boris Johnson, the London mayor, for a newly-built airport costing well over £60bn.

A Heathrow spokesman declined to comment on Tuesday.

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Osborne Launches £3bn Lloyds Share Sale

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

George Osborne has kicked off the long-awaited sale of the Government's stake in Lloyds Banking Group with a share placing that could raise around £3bn.

The move, announced after the stock market closed on Monday, begins a lengthy process to rid the taxpayer of the direct interest in the big listed banks acquired during the 2008 financial crisis.

Under the Chancellor's plans, a group of investment banks will identify demand among institutional investors for about 6% of Lloyds shares, reducing the Government's stake from just under 39% to roughly 32%.

A Treasury spokesman said: "UK Financial Investments (UKFI) today advised the Chancellor it would be appropriate to begin the process to sell part of the Government's shareholding in the Lloyds Banking Group. The Chancellor agrees with that advice and has authorised the process to begin.

"The Chancellor set out the government's objectives for its shareholdings in the banks at the Mansion House address earlier this year. We want to get the best value for the taxpayer, maximise support for the economy and restore them to private ownership. The Government will only conclude a sale if these objectives are met."

Bankers said demand for the Lloyds stock, which closed on Monday at 77.36p, was "brisk" in the minutes following the Treasury's announcement.

The bank's shares have soared by more than 95% during the last year, potentially allowing Mr Osborne to realise a profit on the sale even after a modest discount to the current share price is factored in.

In a separate announcement, UKFI declined to disclose the price at which it would place the stock, saying that it would be "determined by way of an accelerated bookbuilding process. The book will open with immediate effect following this announcement."

The price of any Government placing of Lloyds shares will be crucial to Mr Osborne's presentation of a sale. The last Labour government paid an average market price of 73.6p for the stake, and while an imminent placing may not take place above that level, it would be possible to do so for a price well in excess of the 61p at which the stake is recorded in the national accounts.

It added that UKFI and HM Treasury had undertaken "not to sell further shares in the Company for a period of 90 calendar days following the completion of the Placing without the prior written consent of a majority" of the investment banks running the process.

That agreement effectively prevents the Government from selling further shares until the new year.

The banks working on the sale will earn millions of pounds from their role although one said it would be paid "much less than the market rate".

The Treasury's announcement comes days after the Office of Fair Trading said it would not require Lloyds to make significant enhancements to a package of 631 branches it has to sell under European state aid rules.

Sky News revealed last week that the OFT verdict removed the last remaining obstacle to a sale of the Government's Lloyds stake.

The announcement is the second major public sector sell-off to be announced in five days, following last week's confirmation of the £3bn privatisation of Royal Mail.

While the Government has already offloaded Northern Rock back to the private sector, the sale of the Lloyds shareholding is important symbolically.

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Barclays To Pay Out £100m Over Loan Error

Barclays Bank could have to pay out up to £100m to around 300,000 of its personal loan customers after making mistakes on their paperwork.

The customers could be in line for a few hundred pounds each from the issue, which dates back to October 2008.

A spokesman described the problem, which relates to arrears notices and statements, as "technical documentary errors".

It was revealed in an 185-page bank document in which Barclays stated it has "identified certain issues with the information contained in historic statements and arrears notices relating to consumer loan accounts".

The document added it was "therefore implementing a plan to return interest incorrectly charged to customers".

A Barclays spokesman said: "Barclays has proactively reviewed information it has historically sent to its customers relating to interest charges where we have found technical documentary errors.

"As a result Barclays has identified certain issues with the information contained in some statements and arrears notices relating to consumer loan accounts.

"Due to these notification errors, interest was not due on certain accounts during the period that Barclays made this mistake, and whilst no one has been mis-sold to, customers are entitled to have their interest payments returned.

"No customer will pay more than they were ever contractually expected to."

The bank added that it would contact all customers effected.

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Leigh-Pemberton To Lead Taxpayer Banks Body

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The son of a former governor of the Bank of England will on Monday be appointed as the new chief executive of the body which manages the taxpayer's stakes in Britain's bailed-out banks.

Sky News can exclusively reveal that James Leigh-Pemberton, a senior executive at Credit Suisse in the UK, will be appointed as the head of UK Financial Investments (UKFI).

The appointment will come at a crucial time as George Osborne, the Chancellor, prepares to offload the first chunk of the Government's 39% stake in Lloyds Banking Group in the coming days.

Mr Leigh-Pemberton, the son of Robin Leigh-Pemberton, who headed the Bank of England for a decade from 1983, will replace another career investment banker, Jim O'Neil, who is returning to the private sector.

As the boss of UKFI, Mr Leigh-Pemberton will also oversee the fate of the taxpayer's much larger stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Mr Osborne is undertaking a review of whether RBS should be broken up in an attempt to stimulate its lending to British companies.

Mr Leigh-Pemberton will become UKFI's fourth chief executive since it was established in 2009, following John Kingman, now a senior Treasury official; Robin Budenberg, UKFI's current chairman; and Mr O'Neil, who is leaving to rejoin Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

UKFI and Mr Leigh-Pemberton both refused to comment.

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bank Seven-Day Switch Scheme May Fall Flat

By Poppy Trowbridge, Business and Economics Correspondent

The Government wants banks to work harder to win your business and is backing an initiative to allow customers to swap current accounts within seven working days.

But exclusive research conducted for Sky News reveals that the public is largely unaware of the plan and among those in the know the Government's initiative is unwanted.

The so-called 7-Day-Switch scheme comes into effect today.

Customers wanting to swap banks can provide their preferred lender with personal details, the bank then makes all the arrangements to bring across salary deposits and bill payments - with a hassle free guarantee.

In a move to revitalise competition in high-street banking, Chancellor George Osborne confirmed the plans back in February after the regulator highlighted how little choice existed in the current account market.

But in a poll of more than 2000 bank customers, 44% of those surveyed said they had never heard of the service.

Of those who had, 53% would not even consider switching when the guarantee is in place.

That is perhaps because 82% say they are happy enough with their current account, another indication that the initiative isn't needed by many.

The four biggest banks in Britain - Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC - control three quarters of the current account market, according to figures from the Office of Fair Trading.

That means switching accounts may not result in drastically better deals at one bank or another.

Ali Steed, a personal finance expert at mymoneydiva.com, says many of the rates and products don't differ much from bank to bank.

"At the moment, because interest rates are actually very low, the amount of money you can actually get on your savings - from anywhere on the high street - is not really going to put you in a position where you can beat inflation."

If the Government initiative is to have any immediate effect it is likely to be in customer service.

Michael Ossei, from uSwitch, says: "Banks will have to work harder to both attract new customers and keep their existing ones, which means that accounts must offer better value for money and customer service."

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Vince Cable Calls For Minimum Wage Increase

Business Secretary Vince Cable is pressing for an increase in the minimum wage amid concerns that many lower-paid workers are still not benefiting from the burgeoning economic recovery.

Speaking before the Liberal Democrat party conference in Glasgow today, Mr Cable said he would ask the Low Pay Commission to restore its value, which he estimates has fallen in real terms by 10% to 12% since the crash of 2008.

"We cannot go on forever in a low pay and low productivity world in which all we can say to workers is, 'You have got to take a wage cut to keep your job'," he told told The Guardian.

Mr Cable said action to boost low pay should be combined with measures to tackle the abuses of zero-hours contracts.

"We have got to enter into a different kind of workplace. For a very long time, five or six years, wages have been suppressed in low wage sectors. I am sending a signal that we are entering a very different environment," he said.

In a further sign that cost of living issues are set to dominate the annual party conference season, his Lib Dem colleague - Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander - urged employers to ensure that staff benefited in their pay packets as profits picked up again.

"It's not for me as a Treasury minister to start telling employers what their pay policies should be, that's a matter for firms," he told The Daily Telegraph.

"But of course, as growth returns to our economy and we see businesses being successful, the workforce will want to and should share in that success."

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bank Seven-Day Switch Scheme May Fall Flat

By Poppy Trowbridge, Business and Economics Correspondent

The Government wants banks to work harder to win your business and is backing an initiative to allow customers to swap current accounts within seven working days.

But exclusive research conducted for Sky News reveals that the public is largely unaware of the plan and among those in the know the Government's initiative is unwanted.

From September 16 the so-called 7-Day-Switch scheme will come into effect.

Customers wanting to swap banks can provide their preferred lender with personal details, the bank then makes all the arrangements to bring across salary deposits and bill payments - with a hassle free guarantee.

In a move to revitalise competition in high-street banking, Chancellor George Osborne confirmed the plans back in February after the regulator highlighted how little choice existed in the current account market.

But in a poll of more than 2000 bank customers, 44% of those surveyed said they had never heard of the service.

Of those who had, 53% would not even consider switching when the guarantee is in place.

That is perhaps because 82% say they are happy enough with their current account, another indication that the initiative isn't needed by many.

The four biggest banks in Britain - Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC - control three quarters of the current account market, according to figures from the Office of Fair Trading.

That means switching accounts may not result in drastically better deals at one bank or another.

Ali Steed, a personal finance expert at mymoneydiva.com, says many of the rates and products don't differ much from bank to bank.

"At the moment, because interest rates are actually very low, the amount of money you can actually get on your savings - from anywhere on the high street - is not really going to put you in a position where you can beat inflation."

If the government initiative is to have any immediate effect it is likely to be in customer service.

Michael Ossei, from uSwitch, says: "Banks will have to work harder to both attract new customers and keep their existing ones, which means that accounts must offer better value for money and customer service."

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More