Base Rates

Bank of England:

0.50%

European Central Bank:

1.00%

US Federal Reserve

0.25%

Bank of Japan:

0.30%

Finance House:

1.00%

3 Month LIBOR Rates

£:

0.60875%

€:

0.67625%

US$:

0.27406%

¥:

0.32%

Exchange Rates

€ per £:

1.119

US$ per £:

1.666

¥ per £:

149.93

US$ per €:

1.488

Interest Rate Swaps

BID

ASK

2 Yr:

1.97

2.01

3 Yr:

2.67

2.71

5 Yr:

3.40

3.45

Commodities

Oil - Brent:

77.99

Gold:

1096.75

World Stock Markets

FTSE 100:

5142.72

FTSE Aim:

651.92

FTSE All-share UK:

2634.3

DAX:

5488.25

Dow Jones:

10023.42

Nikkei:

9789.35

Hang Seng:

21829.72

Consumer Price Indices

CPI Rate:

111.5

CPI %:

1.1%

RPI Rate:

215.3

RPI - Inflation %:

-1.4%

RPIX Rate:

214.5

RPIX - Underlying Inflation %:

1.3%

Labour Market Statistics

Average Earnings Rate:

134.5

Average Earnings %:

1.3%

Unemployment:

5.0%

House Price Indices

Halifax:

535.4

Nationwide:

323.2

DCLG:

165.4

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Five house hunters per property

Demand is far outweighing supply in the UK housing market, with five house hunters for every available property...

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New prudential regime

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has set out a new prudential regime for personal investment firms (PIFS) to ensure they are better capitalised to withstand future financial shocks...

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Company insolvencies slow

The number of companies in England and Wales fell slightly in the last quarter, although figures are still well up on 2008. ..

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Construction workloads fall

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revealed all construction workloads fell in the third quarter, with the exception of non-housing works, which the body says is an important crutch for the industry...

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Are bank shares buy, sell or hold?

Britain's biggest banks are once again making headlines, sending share prices downwards and causing more anxiety for millions of private investors. ..

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Bank of England says financiers are fuelling an economic 'doom loop'

The banking sector must be overhauled as profoundly as in the wake of the Great Depression or financiers will "game the state" over and over again, the head of the Bank of England's financial stability arm has warned. ..

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We aim to put the taxpayer in profit, says Hester

Royal Bank of Scotland said on Friday that bad debts had hit a "plateau" as it reported that losses had more than halved during the July to September quarter. ..

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Lack of property slows market as desperate buyers snap up homes

House prices are up and the number of sales is rising, but homebuyers who are desperate to move are emptying the market. ..

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Insolvencies hit record high

The number of people in England and Wales becoming insolvent rose to a record 35,242 in the third quarter of this year, figures from the Insolvency Service showed today, and experts warned it could reach 130,000 by the end of the year. ..

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Do morals or money rule investments?

Two-thirds of investors are unknowingly ethical, the Co-operative claims. Its new survey of investors, published today, reveals that that there is much more interest in the concept of saving the planet while investing than current evidence suggests. ..

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Lloyds investors urged to take action

Shareholders in Lloyds Banking Group should either buy new shares in the bank's £13.5bn rights issue or sell out altogether, according to private-client stock brokers...

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Volatile SandP 500 ends positive

Gains by General Electric, Starbucks and the world's biggest video games company, Activision Blizzard, helped Wall Street shrug off disappointing jobs data in choppy trading yesterday. ..

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Providers review rates on term assurance

Term assurance providers are attempting to revive the market by launching products that offer more flexibility on premiums - and added scope for policyholders to protect against sharp rises in mortgage rates. ..

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Protection is always the best policy

Most people insure their homes, cars and holidays - but only a few insure their ability to pay for them...

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Barclays in bonus pledge as investment profits hold firm

Barclays will this week risk an internal backlash from its staff as it bows to public pressure and pledges to scale back cash bonuses despite reporting near-record investment banking profits...

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Gordon Brown triggers row with call for bank supertax

Gordon Brown yesterday threw his weight behind a "Tobin tax" on financial transactions as a way of taxing and reining in the banks, despite warnings that such taxes are unworkable...

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What the great banking shake-up will mean for you

Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland customers face up to four years of uncertainty because of the sweeping overhaul of Britain's banking sector. ..

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Goldman's boss: We do God's work

The boss of Goldman Sachs, the bank that is set to pay a record £12 billion in salaries and bonuses this year, has told The Sunday Times that banks serve "a social purpose" and do "God's work". ..

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Weak pound gives West End bumper Christmas present

Central London stores are set to get a big boost to sales in the run-up to Christmas, as the weak pound lures in more overseas shoppers keen to cash in on prices that the exchange rate has turned into bargain-basement deals...

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China lower risk than UK for green investors, claims Deutsche Bank

Britain's claim to be a world leader in green energy investment has been called into question by an authoritative new study that will embarrass ministers as they prepare to launch an important climate change initiative tomorrow...

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Time called on self-certification home loans

Platform, part of The Co-operative Bank, has become the last lender to withdraw altogether from the self-certification mortgage market. ..

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So its goodbye to QE, probably, and it's worked better than some think

If you find your mind glazing over when you hear the expression "quantitative easing", join the club, though I have worked out a way to remember how to spell it - think "tit before tat". ..

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Lloyds offers fresh plan for 300,000 business start ups

Lloyds banking group is promising to help 300,000 businesses get off the ground in the next three years and match rivals on charges and fees. ..

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Hedge funds do battle for Lehman Brothers cash

A multi-billion pound legal battle pitching top hedge funds against each other and the collapsed Lehman Brothers is to commence in the High Court...

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Axa insurance prepares launch of £1.8bn rights issue

Insurance giant Axa Group is readying a €2bn (£1.8bn) rights issue that could be launched as early as Monday. France's biggest insurer is plotting the capital-raising to fund potential acquisitions in a sector that has been ravaged by the financial crisis...

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Outlook for jobs will remain grim 'for several years'

Job losses will continue this quarter, but at the slowest pace since the beginning of the recession, according to figures from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and KPMG, the financial services firm. ..

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Credit card firms 'will focus on high earners'

A return to the days when credit cards were status symbols brandished by the well-off could be on the horizon, according to a report published today. ..

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Barclays under pressure from non-execs to curb bonuses

Non-executive directors of Barclays are urging the bank to show restraint on bonuses this year despite the bumper activity at its investment banking arm, Barclays Capital (BarCap)...

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Developing economies show the way for the US and EU to recover

Only a few years ago, the world economy was dominated by the US. ..

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Fears as price of long-dated oil soars

Long-dated oil prices have risen to within a whisker of $100 a barrel, in a sign that investors are expecting high prices to return after the recession. ..

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Markets reveal growing fears of inflation

Market expectations for inflation in the US and UK have reached their highest levels since late last year amid growing investor demand for government securities that offer protection from rising prices. ..

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