Car Insurers Debate Over Future Profits

UK car insurers have been running an unprofitable business for 14 years. Independent market analysts, Datamonitor, say 2009 looks to be a profitable year despite the doubts

March 13, 2008

Budget Report Expectations

Chancellor Darling's Budget Report is expected to raise taxes on alcohol, fuel emissions, flights and many other issues concerning the economy. Tax burdens expected to increase on poorer families

March 12, 2008

Card Fraud Rises Again

Card fraud has increased over past year. Whilst chip and PIN technology has been successful in the UK, criminal activity overseas has increased 77 per cent

March 12, 2008

Tax Cuts Needed To Restore Confidence

Appeals for corporate tax cuts are submitted to the Treasury as it prepares its Budget report this Wednesday. Business and banking sectors are worried about the direction of the UK economy

March 10, 2008

First Time Buyers Take Hit From Stamp Duty

Stamp duty tax has not kept up with the rate of increase in house price inflation over the past decade. Yet another hurdle first-time buyers must leap over to get on the property ladder

March 10, 2008

Read all Finance News

UK Bank Avoids Major Losses

Lloyds TSB reported annual profits had fallen by 6 per cent but increased dividends by 5 per cent to 35.9p. Additionally, stock prices rose to 455.5 pence in London.

Lloyds says they were not hit as hard as other banks due to their 'lower risk strategy'. Compared to other lenders suffering from market changes, most notably Northern Rock, the size of Lloyds write-downs were quite mild.

According to the BBC, 1 million new customers opened accounts with Lloyds, who happens to be the UK's largest provider of personal loans and current accounts. Richard Hunter of Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers said, "Lloyds has proved to be something of a safe harbour amid the global storm."

The popular bank focused its core business on the UK retail market which offset the effects of the wholesale slowdown. The opposite was true for Northern Rock which relied heavily on the wholesale market as opposed to its depositors.

Barclays on the other hand has seen annual profits drop to £7.08 billion which includes a net loss of £1.6 billion due to volatility in the global credit markets. Despite meeting forecasts, Barclays' shares have dropped 40 per cent in the past year due to investments linked to the US housing and mortgage market, according to the BBC News website.

However, despite overall profits falling, Barclays' UK business saw profits go up by 4 per cent to £2.6 billion whilst the retail sector reported a respectable rise of 9 per cent. Barclays is confident about the future but admits they must be prudent and disciplined when it comes to its "risk management and lending strategy".

BBC News reported Bradford & Bingley's profits fell by half whilst Alliance & Leicester claimed a 30 per cent drop in annual profits due to market turmoil.

Published on February 25, 2008

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Lending Falls Again Says CML

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Interest Rates Kept At 5.25%

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20 Per Cent Of Homeowners Fear Repayments

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