Financial Products

Monday's List of Casualties

2008-09-30T00:25:00.006+01:00

Bradford & Bingley was bought by the UK government and will take control of the bank's £50bn mortgages and loans, while B&B's £20bn savings unit and branches will be sold to the Santander Group
Wachovia, the fourth-largest US bank, was bought by larger rival Citigroup in a rescue deal backed by US authorities
Benelux banking giant Fortis was partially nationalised by the Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourg governments to ensure its survival
The Icelandic government took control of the country's third-largest bank, Glitnir, after the company had faced short-term funding problems

Troubled Bradford & Bingley Nationalised

2008-09-30T00:05:00.004+01:00

Troubled Bradford & Bingley has been nationalised. The government will take control of the bank's £50bn mortgages and loans, while B&B's £20bn savings unit and branches will be bought by Spain's Santander.

Abbey, which is part of Spanish banking group Santander, is paying £612m to buy B&B's savings business and 197 branches. To help facilitate Abbey's takeover of B&B's savings business and branches, it has been paid £14.6bn from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme - funded by the Bank of England - and a further £4.5bn from the Treasury. This £19.1bn is to guarantee that Abbey could pay back all B&B savings account customers, if need be. The government says it will get the money back - starting with the Treasury's £4.5bn - following the redemption and sale of B&B's mortgages, that are now in public hands.

Under the move, all B&B savings accounts are protected, and taxpayers are being shielded from any losses. B&B is just the latest bank that has needed rescuing in a turbulent period for British financial institutions.

It follows after the announcement two weeks ago that HBOS is being bought by Lloyds TSB, and Nationwide's takeover of smaller building society rivals Derbyshire and Cheshire.

For any Question and Answers you have about this announcement you can visit the B&B Q&As.

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National Minimum Wage Increased From Wednesday

2008-09-29T23:10:00.006+01:00

Over 1m people in the UK are set to benefit from an increase in the National Minimum wage. From Wednesday 01st October 2008, the minimum hourly rate for a 22 year-old will increase by 21 pence to £5.73.

The Increases;

Workers aged 22+ - (£5.73 up from £5.52, +3.8%, +£0.21 / +£8.20)
Workers aged 18-21 - (£4.77 up from £4.60, +3.7%, +£0.17 / +£6.80)
Workers aged 16-17 - (£3.53 up from £3.40, +3.8%, +£0.13 / +5.20)

Unions are calling on the Low Pay Commission (an independent organisation that sets the rates annually) to give a substantial increase in October 2009 to help those that are being adversely affected by the increased cost of living due to higher energy and food costs. Inflation at a 16 year high, is currently at 4.7%, in excess of the NMW increases. Unions argue that those on low incomes spend a higher proportion of their income on energy costs and should be given a fairer wage increase to reflect this.

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Spanish House Sales Slump

2008-09-26T22:19:00.004+01:00

Official figures from Spain's National Statistics Institute have revealed that the Spanish property sector is in a dramatic decline. Sales of houses decreased 26.3% in the year to July, with mortgage lending also decreasing by 33.2%.

Spanish house prices declined by 0.3% between April and June 2008, according to the Spanish housing ministry. However, the market believes there has been a 5% decline since the start of the year, and that property is currently 30% overvalued. The downward price trend comes after an economic boom fuelled by property lasting over ten years, leading to fears that Spain could follow Ireland, becoming another nation officially in recession.

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Picture: Japanese Stock Prices

2008-09-26T19:13:00.002+01:00

Pedestrians glance at board showing Japanese stock prices. Tokyo's markets have been rocked in a tumultuous week of trading sparked by concerns about the future of the US financial system.

What Are Premium Bonds?

2008-09-26T16:36:00.005+01:00

Premium Bonds are an investment where, instead of interest payments, investors have the chance to win tax-free prizes. When someone invests in Premium Bonds they are allocated a series of numbers, one for each £1 invested. The minimum purchase is £100 (or £50 when you buy by monthly standing order), which provides 100 Bond numbers and, therefore, 100 chances of winning a prize. You can hold up to £30,000.

With 23 million bondholders holding £32 billion worth of Premium Bonds nationwide, Premium Bonds are one of Britain’s financial success stories. They are a fun, yet serious way of saving, combining the chance of winning tax-free prizes with the peace of mind that comes from knowing your capital is 100% secure.

As well as the two £1 million jackpots you can win anything from £50 to £100,000 for each Bond number you hold. If you win one of the jackpot prizes you will get a visit from one of the Agent Millions.

Each month’s prize fund is equal to one month’s interest on the total value of all eligible bonds. The interest rate is currently 3.4%. The odds of winning a prize are 1 in 22 000, but even with the minimum £100, investment your odds of winning a prize are 1 in 220. These rates vary.

Each month the winning Bond numbers are generated randomly by a machine called ERNIE (electronic random number indicator equipment). After ERNIE has generated the numbers, they are compared in the order they were generated against all eligible Bond numbers – those that match win a prize. Because ERNIE produces the numbers entirely at random, each individual Bond has a separate and equal chance of winning a prize, regardless of when, where and how it was bought. ERNIE’s output is checked every month by the Government Actuary, who is independent of National Savings and Investments, to verify that the draw is random.

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Video: Relive The Apprentice

2008-09-26T15:55:00.006+01:00

Relive all the boardroom moments from series three of hit BBC television show The Apprentice in legoised glory with BoLegBros channel on YouTube.

£100m Euromillions Jackpot Tonight

2008-09-26T15:18:00.004+01:00

Tonight is a spectacular EuroMillions draw with a massive jackpot of £100 million that must be won, because it can’t Rollover. If no one matches the five main numbers and two Lucky Stars the jackpot amount rolls down to the next prize winning tier.

Your Chances of Winning ...

Main Numbers	Lucky Star Numbers	Odds
5	2	1 in 76,275,360
5	1	1 in 5,448,240
5	0	1 in 3,632,160
4	2	1 in 339,002
4	1	1 in 24,215
4	0	1 in 16,143
3	2	1 in 7,705
3	1	1 in 551
2	2	1 in 538
3	0	1 in 367
1	2	1 in 103
2	1	1 in 39

Picking the numbers is the easy part, winning the jackpot is where the difficulty starts.

The EuroMillions draw can be seen on BBC One every Friday night at 11.35 pm. You can also view the draw results online from approximately 10.00pm.

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Office of Fair Trading Publishes Housebuilding Market Study

2008-09-26T14:43:00.004+01:00

The Office of Fair Trading has published its market study into the homebuilding sector called "Download Homebuilding in the UK - a market study", which says that while the sector is broadly competitive, many homebuyers experience faults or delays. As a result, the industry has agreed to develop its own code of conduct and redress scheme for consumers.

The OFT found little evidence of competition problems with the delivery of new homes in the UK. The report says that on the whole barriers to entering the market appear low, and that prices are set through homebuilders competing for sales against each other and are significantly constrained by the prices of existing homes. There is no evidence that individual homebuilders have persistent or widespread market power giving them the ability to restrict supply in order to inflate prices.

However, the OFT found that homebuyers can experience a number of problems, which include:

delays in moving in
faults in new homes, and
issues around the sales process including reservation fees, the clarity of information provided to homebuyers and potentially unfair terms and conditions in contracts.

As a result, representatives from across the sector have agreed to form a body to deliver a code of conduct and redress scheme for consumers, which it aims to have fully operational by March 2010. However, if the industry fails to make adequate progress or deliver an effective solution, the OFT recommends further intervention through a statutory redress mechanism. This would involve a means of redress for homebuyers with the ability to award compensation for any failings in the sales process, shortcomings in contracts, delays or faults, and would need to be funded by a levy on the industry.

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Woolwich Also Raises Mortgage Rates

2008-09-26T13:18:00.005+01:00

Woolwich, part of Barclay's has announced it will also be raising its interest rates on new fixed-rate mortgages by up to 0.35%, tracker mortgage rates.

This also follows news that HSBC and its online operations First Direct are also raising rates today to borrowers with a small deposit. However, reducing rates for those with a 25% deposit or more. Abbey is cutting its two-year fixed-rate deals for people with a 15% deposit and adding to the number of three and five-year deals. Other lenders are expected to follow suit in the coming days and weeks.

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HSBC UK Shed 500 Jobs

2008-09-26T12:52:00.003+01:00

HSBC will be making 1 100 job cuts worldwide, with over 500 from the UK in its global banking and markets operation. HSBC employs about 335,000 people around the world.

HSBC have blamed market conditions and the economic environment, and a cautious outlook for 2009, for the reason for the job cuts. This cost reduction effort has came after it last month announced half year profits fell 28% to $10.2bn, as it wrote-off $14bn of bad debts and write-downs. Many of the redundancies will be at HSBC's investment banking division, located in London's Canary Wharf.

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House Prices Fall 4.6%

2008-09-26T12:36:00.005+01:00

Annual house prices in England and Wales fell by 4.6 per cent in August to prices last seen in spring 2007, according to the latest figures from Land Registry. The average house price is £174,493 which is also a decrease month-on-month of 1.9%.

London also experienced a decrease in its average property value over the last 12 months, with a movement of -3.2%, taking the average London house price to £336,620.

Hartlepool experienced the highest annual change with an increase of 4.8 per cent, taking its average property price to £117,350.

The most up-to-date figures available show that during June 2008 the number of completed house sales fell by 56 per cent to 54,072 from 123,293 in June 2007.

Region	Monthly change (%)	Annual change (%)	Average price (£)
North West	1.2	-2.5	133,343
Wales	0.8	-2.6	135,616
West Midlands	-0.1	-4.3	146,551
North East	-1.3	-3.5	125,259
East Midlands	-1.6	-5.9	136,729
England and Wales	-1.9	-4.6	174,493
Yorkshire & The Humber	-1.9	-4.3	138,220
London	-2.4	-3.2	336,620
South East	-2.5	-4.8	216,701
South West	-2.7	-6.5	182,522
East	-3.9	-6.7	179,677

Top 10 areas	Average price (£)	Monthly change (%)	Annual change (%)
Windsor and Maidenhead	341,191	-0.3	2.4
Greater London	336,620	-2.4	-3.2
Surrey	309,886	-0.5	0.7
Wokingham	286,311	-0.3	-1.0
Buckinghamshire	268,402	-1.5	-0.8
Hertfordshire	249,675	-0.9	0.1
Oxfordshire	244,090	-0.3	-1.5
West Berkshire	233,232	-1.0	-2.1
Dorset	232,967	-1.2	-1.6
Rutland	230, 382	-3.7	-3.1

Average prices by property type ( England and Wales )	August 2008	August 2007	Difference (%)
Detached	£264,707	£277,348	-4.6
Semi-detached	£163,973	£172,126	-4.7
Terraced	£136,706	£142,919	-4.3
Flat/maisonette	£162,616	£172,036	-5.5
All	£174,493	£182,813	-4.6

Month	Sales 2008 (England and Wales)	Sales 2007 (England and Wales)	Difference (%)
January	57,275	87,605	-35
February	60,722	86,764	-30
March	56,538	106,108	-47
April	60,190	95,239	-37
May	61,038	107,986	-43
June	54,072	123,293	-56

Question Time Debates Financial Crisis

2008-09-26T11:41:00.005+01:00

Thursday 25th September 2008 episode of Question Time purely focused on the current financial crisis and the US governments planned $700b bail-out of financial institutions, as well as the Labour party conference and ID Cards.

David Dimbleby chairs the weekly political debate from Manchester. Panellists include Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Theresa May, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable, the joint General Secretary of Unite Derek Simpson, and News of the Word columnist Fraser Nelson.

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Superfuels "Waste of Money"

2008-09-25T20:21:00.002+01:00

Which? Magazine has concluded in a report that super fuels are a "waste of money" and fail to improve performance.

Which? tested three of the premium fuels against standard petrol and said that they were not better for a car in the long run.

"For many cars it is a waste of money paying over the odds for so-called 'super fuels'. The standard fuels we tested were all up to the job, whether from a major fuel brand or a supermarket. There is no conclusive evidence to show that super fuels are better for your car in the long run. So in a time of high oil prices, why would you choose to pay more?"
Richard Headland, Editor, Which? Car Magazine

The report said that Shell V-Power gave a 1.6-litre Ford Focus a marginal power increase, but filling the car on this petrol for 12,000 miles would cost £115 more than using Shell's standard petrol.

The magazine's findings suggested that Tesco's Super Unleaded decreased the power of the Ford Focus.

Which? also tested a diesel super fuel and said that BP Ultimate diesel made the fuel economy and performance of a Renault Megane 1.5 slightly worse.

The magazine added that motorists would do better to drive less frequently and more economically if they wanted to protect the environment, as it said the super fuels tested only had a marginal effect on emissions and pollutants.

The fuel providers dispute the findings and methodology of the report.

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US Congress Agree $700b Bail Out

2008-09-25T19:36:00.004+01:00

Both sides of the US Congress has agreed to a $700bn (£380bn) bail-out for the finance sector.

A main concern for Democrats and Republicans has been who will bear the brunt of the cost of the package. The government will use the cash offload bad debt from financial institutions. If they over value the debt, it could lead to tax payers bearing the brunt of the of bankers neligence. If they undervalue under value the debt it leaves the market in the financial crisis.

Those in favour of the deal have argued that:

The deal would boost global financial stability
Increase investor confidence
Prevent a global slowdown
Encourage banks to lend to each other, and beat the credit crunch

Those with reservations have said the bail-out would:

Cost the taxpayer too much money
Benefit bosses of firms who have taken huge risks
Increase state debt
Give too much power to the US Treasury

The Dow Jones index rose 3%, to 11,128.7 on the news. Congress could act in the next few days to pass a bill on the subject. With renewed funding, confidence and security in the market it could reverberate to other markets around the world.

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£1.12m Fine for Mortgage Lender

2008-09-25T17:33:00.003+01:00

GE Money Home Lending has been fined £1.12m after failures resulted in hundreds of borrowers suffering losses of £2.3m. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said the fine was the first of its kind regarding lending processes.

The watchdog said 684 customers with retention clauses in their contracts lost more than £3,000 on average.

GE Money Home Lending, the UK's 14th largest mortgage lender last year, imposed a clause that withheld part of these customers' mortgages for six months - typically so they could carry out specific repairs to the property.

It is standard practice among lenders that a small amount of the money due to a borrower when a mortgage is taken out can be held back until work is done to the property. But the FSA found that the firm did not make it clear to all customers that they would be charged interest on the full amount of the mortgage even though they had not received all of the loan. After six months, the money that had been held back, along with the accumulated interest, was not always paid to borrowers - and interest was still being charged on it.

It has paid back £7.04m, including compensation, to a total of 5,245 customers in relation to the issue.

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HSBC Raising Mortgage Rates

2008-09-25T17:05:00.002+01:00

HSBC has announced it is raising some mortgage rates amid warnings to borrowers that the cost of new home loans is expected to go up in general.

HSBC is increasing fixed-rate deals for new borrowers with a 10% deposit by 0.3 percentage points to 6.27%. However, to attract "safer" borrowers it cut costs on a fixed-rate deal for those offering a 25% deposit.

From Friday 26th September the increases will first be rolled out at thier online banking service First Direct raising two-year fixed rate deals by 0.2%. Also from tomorrow Abbey, the UKs second largest mortgage lender is cutting its two-year fixed-rate deals for people with a 15% deposit and adding to the number of three and five-year deals.

The Yorkshire Building Society, earlier this week changed a number of mortgage deals. Yesterday the BBA announced that approvals for house purchases were 64% down on the same period last year. The lowest figure since the figures began being collected in September 1997.

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New ID Cards Launched

2008-09-25T14:55:00.003+01:00

The first UK Identity Card was unveiled today by the Home Secretary.

Building on the Government’s commitment to begin issuing the first ID cards to foreign nationals from November 2008, the card’s design was revealed for the first time. The new credit-card sized document will show the holder’s photograph, name, date of birth, nationality and immigration status. A secure electronic chip will also hold their biometric details, including fingerprints, and a digital facial image.

“Today shows we are delivering on our commitment to introduce the National Identity Scheme in order that we can enjoy its benefits as quickly as possible. ID cards will help protect against identity fraud, illegal working, reduce the use of multiple identities in organised crime and terrorism, crack down on those trying to abuse positions of trust and make it easier for people to prove they are who they say they are. ID cards for foreign nationals will replace old-fashioned paper documents, make it easier for employers and sponsors to check entitlement to work and study, and for the UK Border Agency to verify someone’s identity. This will provide identity protection to the many here legally who contribute to the prosperity of the UK, while helping prevent abuse. Compulsory identity cards for foreign nationals will kick start the National Identity Scheme, with the first applicants having to apply for cards from 25 November."
Jacqui Smith, Home Secretary

Within three years all foreign nationals applying for leave to enter or remain in the UK will be required to have a card, with around 90 per cent of foreign nationals in Britain covered by the scheme by 2014/15. To ensure the benefits of the programme are felt from the start, the UK Border Agency will start with categories that have been targeted by those wanting to abuse our immigration system, including students and people seeking leave to remain on the basis of marriage. The introduction of the first card supports the Government’s tough new Australian-style Points Based System for managed migration. To earn and retain their licence as a sponsor businesses and education providers must keep records of the migrants they have sponsored including, in time, a copy of a migrant’s identity card. Businesses found employing illegal workers face fines of up to £10,000 per person.

The introduction of cards for foreign nationals will be followed by the first ID cards for British citizens, targeting workers in sensitive roles and locations like airports from 2009. Then from 2010 ID cards will be available to young people who want them and from 2011/12 cards will be available to the general population. The introduction of ID cards will provide a convenient and secure means to protect identity by locking it to one person using their fingerprints.

“Recruitment professionals in the front-line of the UK labour market play an increasingly pivotal role in checking the identity, background and status of individual job seekers. Within this context measures to simplify the checking requirements can be welcomed and must be backed with an extensive communication programme. Recruiters take their responsibilities to verify an individual’s right to work in the UK extremely seriously and support initiatives to enhance safe and ethical recruitment.”
Tom Hadley, Director of External Relations of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC)

This builds on the successful delivery of other work to ensure the integrity of our borders. So far:

2.8 million visa applicants have been fingerprinted;
3,500 cases of identity swap in the UK have been identiifed and dealt with;
and over 12.5 million biometric e-passports have been issued in the past two years

Mild Winter Could Ease Fuel Costs

2008-09-25T12:54:00.004+01:00

The Met Office forecast for the coming winter suggests it is, once again, likely to be milder than average. It is also likely that the coming winter will be drier than last year.

Seasonal forecasts from the Met Office are used by many agencies across government, private and third sectors to help their long-term planning.

Earlier this year, John Hirst, Chief Executive of the Met Office and Michael Lake CBE, Director General of Help the Aged, signed an agreement to explore ways in which the two organisations can actively use weather information to support the health and well-being of older people.

The forecast of another mild winter across the UK has been welcomed by Help the Aged, who work with other agencies to support older people.

"The onset of winter causes significant anxiety among many older people. This forecast will assist policy makers to adapt their strategies to ensure that the negative effects of winter weather are reduced as far as possible."
Dr. James Goodwin, Head of Research, Help the Aged

In contrast to last year's exceptionally mild winter, this year is likely to feel somewhat colder and although the forecast of a milder winter is good news, we should still be prepared for the risk of colder spells at times.

The news of a mild winter will be welcome news to the 21m householders who face increased energy bills this winter. According to Uswitch, this year the average annual household bill will be £1,467, up 61% on last year. A mild winter could ease the strain on the most vunerable this winter.

Irish Republic in Recession

2008-09-25T12:12:00.003+01:00

The Republic of Ireland's economy is officially in recession after shrinking for the second quarter in succession. This is the first time the country has faced a recession since 1983.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said gross domestic product (GDP) had contracted by 0.5% in the three months to the end of June.

Bradford & Bingley Cut 370 Jobs

2008-09-25T11:19:00.004+01:00

Troubled mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley is cutting 370 jobs because of the continued downturn in the mortgage market. It is shutting a mortgage processing centre and cutting its sales team that deals with mortgage brokers. It is also making its remaining branch mortgage advisers redundant.

The lender said the moves were due to "the wider economic environment and the significantly reduced volume of new mortgage applications". The action is also expected to reduce costs by £14m annually.

Millions Will Gain Tax Rebate Before End of Month

2008-09-25T01:47:00.003+01:00

By the end of the month 22 million people should have received a tax rebate of around £60, this is due to the Government's U-turn on plans to scrap the 10 pence tax band, following a backlash from backbench MPs and the general public.

The rebate is calculated by a £600 increase in the personal allowances for basic rate taxpayers to £6,035 from 7 September. The new measures will mean basic rate taxpayers see a tax saving of £120. Of which £60 should have been paid or will be paid by the end of this month, and a further £10 rebate each month until the end of the fiscal year.

Those who earn over £41,435, will not benefit, as the threshold for paying the upper rate of tax has been cut to £40,835.

What are you going to do with your rebate?

Moria Stuart New Face of HMRC

2008-09-25T00:25:00.003+01:00

Moria Stuart has replaced BBC presenter Adam Hart-Davis as the face for HM Revenue and Customs' self-assessment advertising campaign.

The new advertising campaign, also appearing on billboards, posters, in the press and online, is aimed at highlighting the new deadlines of 31 October for paper tax returns and 31 January for online tax returns.

More than nine million self-assessment tax returns are issued every year by the HMRC. Last time, 5.2 million people filed on paper and 3.8 million filed online.

Oil up 16% in Monday's Trading

2008-09-25T00:15:00.004+01:00

The price of oil jumped over $16 to $120.92 a barrel, the biggest one-day gain on record on Monday. There is uncertainty about how the government's financial bail-out plan will work, causing investors to switch to perceived safe havens such as oil.

Others believe that the US government's bail-out plan will help the economy, increasing demand for oil. Concerns also persist about supply as production in the Gulf of Mexico is still affected by Hurricane Ike.

At one point during trading, the price of oil rose by more than $25. The volatility in the price has been exacerbated by the fact that the contract for the supply of oil in October expires on Monday.

The contract for oil to be delivered in November was not up as sharply. It rose by $6.62 to $109.37 in New York. Last week oil traded as low as $91 a barrel. It had fallen from the peak of $147 a barrel it reached in July.

Food & Energy Prices Push Index to 16 Year High

2008-09-25T00:06:00.003+01:00

Dearer energy and food bills sent Britain's annual inflation rate to a 16-year high at 4.7% last month but Mervyn King, the Bank of England's governor, said inflation was close to its peak as oil prices fall.

The increase from 4.4% in July left inflation at more than double the government's 2% target and forced King to write an explanatory letter to Alistair Darling.

In that letter King said inflation would soon peak at about 5% and then fall back, but he cautioned it could remain above 2% until well into next year because of the recent fall in the pound's value which might push up import prices.

Despite the fall in oil prices, the Office for National Statistics said that increases in the cost of energy had pushed up household utility bills, adding 0.3 points to the inflation rate as measured by the consumer prices index.

CPI inflation has more than doubled since the start of the year, when it stood at 2.2%, and has been above the government's target in every month since May.

The ONS said the so-called core measure of inflation - which strips out housing, energy and food prices - had continued to rise and now stood at 2%.