New Coalition guidelines, homed in on diminishing energy prices, could actually result in millions of households shelling out more cash, as per the assessment of consumer watchdog Which?. The Ofgem recommendations, meant to reduce energy bills, could be too perplexing, with those customers presently shelling out low prices likely to move to higher energy costs. This is expected to be the impact of the new Ofgem energy guidelines, in accordance…

Better known as the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of Britain from 1979-1990 and is often credited for managing a period of great transformation in Britain. Excessive union power and double digit inflation were a part and parcel of the national life during 1970’s with Britain truly being designated as the ‘sick man of Europe’. Few economists or commentators would disagree with the fact that the Iron…

People switching jobs are losing track of their pension fund details, which is leading to retirement planning becoming more difficult, according to charity organisation Age UK. The charity has surveyed 2300 persons regarding the whereabouts of their pension pots. The Pensions Tracing Service estimates that the amount of cash going unclaimed in ‘missing’ personal or occupational workplace pension totals around a whopping £3 billion, with five million people having lost…

Cyprus will not leave the European single currency and bank controls will be lifted in future, according to the country’s President Nicos Anastasiades. The president’s comments come after 10bn euro (£8.45bn) bailout deal with the EU and IMF. Nicos Anastasiades, however, refrained from specifying the time frame for the lifting. Cyprus banks opened on Thursday for the first time in nearly two weeks amid severe new rules imposed as part…

Cyprus bailout deal has become a reality with the country securing a 10bn euros (£8.5bn) EU bailout which will effectively save the country from bankruptcy and help its banking system stay afloat. In return for the rescue funds, Cyprus must restructure its banking sector under an EU-IMF plan approved by eurozone ministers earlier today. The Cyprus bailout deal will see the closure of country’s second-largest bank, Popular Bank of Cyprus,…

British gas prices rose a record 7-year high by almost 50% on Friday following the closure of the UK-Belgium import pipeline due to technical problem. Gas prices for within-day delivery spiked at 150 pence per therm, which was more than 50% above Thursday’s closing price, following the closure of the pipeline linking Britain and Belgium that facilitates gas imports from Europe. The gas prices have since eased to 124p a…

Cyprus Popular or Laiki Bank has imposed cash withdrawal restrictions to prevent it from going bust as angry customers queued up at ATMs to withdraw cash. The cash withdrawal restriction means that customers will not be able to withdraw more than 260 euros (£221) a day from cash machines, as MPs ask for more time to reach a deal to save Cyprus economy. With banks closed until next week in…

Amidst a rowdy House of Commons, George Osborne has announced Budget 2013 which contains help for drivers, drinkers and homebuyers but it has more bad news for the state of economic recovery. The Chancellor’s budget was populist in nature aiming to ease the burden of the public, designed to ease the cost-of-living, including a 1p cut in the price of beer and the cancellation of a planned fuel duty hike.

Budget 2013 will be unveiled today by George Osbourne with a single objective of reviving the economy and in that attempt the Chancellor is expected to announce further spending cuts worth £2.5bn. What might George Osborne have up his sleeve? From a higher personal income tax threshold to more flexible ISAs, rise in alcohol duty to delays in fuel duty hike and a horde of other things too. All eyes…

Cyprus bailout has sent stocks across the world crashing down and led to a rise in the borrowing costs. The UK stock market followed other European stock markets lower when trading began in London, falling 1.6% in the first few minutes to 6,390, as investors tried to absorb the impact of this bailout. While Asian market was first to succumb to a fall with the Nikkei in Japan closing 2.7%…