Work and Pensions secretary John Hutton is today announcing benefit cuts for the “hardcore” unemployed who make no contribution to the UK investment and labour arena.
Hutton is concerned that a group of about 100,000 people, out of 950,000 who claimed Jobseekers’ Allowance last month, have spent the last six to seven years on State benefits […]

A survey has found that there have been huge shifts over the last 10 years in the sorts of goods we buy - not just at Christmas but throughout the rest of the year as well.
The survey, conducted by retail strategy firm Management Horizons Europe (MHE), says that we use our credit cards UK in […]

A fake HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) website has been set up to lure taxpayers into sending their UK current accounts details to fraudsters based on the Continent.
Emails have been sent, supposedly from a firm called HMRC Premier Services, offering a tax repayment to be paid directly to a credit card or debit card, provided […]

Nationwide Building Society has predicted that house price growth will remain firm in 2007, rising by a national average of 5%-8% over the year, ensuring that property remains a sound UK investment.
The accumulated momentum of strong demand from this year, and the perennial shortage of properties on the market, will bolster prices for the early part of next […]

The owner of British Gas, Centrica, is to cut the gas price in 2007 because of significantly reduced wholesale costs.
The company also reassured investors that its full-year earnings were on target to be better than many analysts have been forecasting, despite the loss of 978,000 accounts in the past 12 months.
Centrica conceded that competition in […]

Worrying figures from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) about Internet banking UK have led to a warning from the financial watchdog that the problem could get out of control.
In a statement to the House of Lords, the FSA said that it was “extremely concerned” about the relentless rise of ‘phishing’, the practice of luring people […]

Government figures have shown that UK consumers are still spending big in the retail sector, provoking fears that another rise in interest rates is imminent.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that sales rose a better-than-expected 0.3% from October, down from 1% the month before, and that annual growth now stood at 3.2%.
In the currency markets […]

People in the UK spend more money on insuring their TV or DVD player than they do their life, according to a recent survey of UK life insurance purchasing.
Research from agency Bright Grey has revealed that whereas 75% of the consumers surveyed had insured their home contents, just over 50% had taken out life insurance, with […]