University graduates are enjoying excellent job prospects with many firms looking to increase their intake this year, according to a report by Incomes Data Services (IDS).
A survey of 100 firms undertaken by IDS found that the number of graduates hired grew by more than 7% in 2005 and is set to rise by another 6% […]

Fuel poverty is set to increase dramatically in Britain in 2006 and could force an extra 250,000 households into hardship.
Energy price comparison website uSwitch, which based its prediction on the widely anticipated 15% price rise that British Gas is expected to levy this year, said that many people will struggle to cope with their fuel […]

Around half of all households in the UK employ some sort of domestic help, research from insurer Direct Line has shown, and the annual bill is £4.5bn or £182 for every home.
The strongest trend to employ cleaners is found amongst busy middle class professionals, but there is an increasing tendency for young couples and even […]

The housing market made a “strong start” in 2006, according to Nationwide, with prices rising 1.4% in January.
This is the biggest monthly rise since July 2004 and took the annual rate of house price inflation to 4.4%. Over the November to January period prices were up 1.8% compared to the previous three-month period.
The increase in […]

Fraud cases totalling nearly £1bn – a 10-year high – have reached the courts, according to a study by accountant KPMG. Its Fraud Barometer recorded 222 cases involving £942m going to court in 2005, up from 172 cases worth £329m in 2004.
The Government was the biggest victim of fraud but financial firms were also badly […]

The amount of money lost by the Government through benefit fraud and error declined in 2004-05, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said.
The total loss due to fraud and error at the Department for Work & Pensions was £2.6bn during the year, although in each of the previous three years about £3bn has been lost.
Sir […]

Mortgage lending has shown its usual end-of-year slackening, according to figures from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA).
In December last year, the overall number of new mortgages approved, but not yet lent, fell to 140,866. This represented a 27% drop on November, but was still 5% higher than in December 2004.
David Dooks, BBA director of statistics, […]

Chelsea Football Club has recorded the biggest loss ever seen in British football, £140m for the year 2004-5, an increase from the £88m deficit of the year before.
Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon said: “These figures reflect the continuing restructuring of the businesses we began in 2003-04. The rise is down to some exceptional items that […]