Mortgage Demand Hits Six Year High
The final months of 2013 saw mortgage demand rise at the highest rate in six years, raising some concerns over its potential impact on the housing market. Lenders responded to the Bank of England’s quarterly Credit Conditions survey by identifying a significant increase in the demand of people wanting mortgages. The survey recorded a balance […]
Could Bitcoins Really Compete With Existing Payment Methods?
Digital cryptocurrencies really came to the fore in 2013, but with the New Year now upon us, can this form of payment really challenge the global market leaders? Last year saw the value of a single bitcoin rise from $13 to $1,000 at its peak, as it fluctuated massively in value. The concept that it […]
Npower Last of Big Six Companies to Reduce Energy Bills
Three million Npower customers are set to see a reduction in their annual energy bills following an announcement by the firm to cut prices by 2.6%. Npower’s declaration now means that all of the Big Six have cut prices following the decision to alter the way green levies are processed. The price cut is a […]
The Potential Impact of Crowdfunding Regulation
Crowdfunding is not a new concept, but it seems that it is really taking off in the UK at present. Studies in the back end of 2013 by NESTA suggested that the UK crowdfunding network has grown by a whopping 618% in the last year. This is a serious spike in interest by anybody’s standards. […]
Travelling to the 2014 Australian Open – a Basic Travel Guide
The Australian Open Tennis Championships are under a week away so as the stars prepare to battle it out, here’s what you can expect. The metropolis of Melbourne will welcome the likes of Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for nearly two weeks of the world’s finest tennis. It’s the first major Grand Slam […]
Self Assessment Deadline Day is Looming
The deadline for filing self assessment tax returns is quickly approaching as people will need to have filed them by midnight on 31 January. A surprising amount of people continue to leave the issue until the last possible minute. This can often cause genuine problems in terms of the filing process, not to mention stretching […]
Mobile Online Sales see Massive Boost Across Christmas Period
Mobile online sales throughout the Christmas and New Year period saw a massive boost, with customers turning to e-commerce at every opportunity. Boxing Day sales on more than 200 websites were measured by commerce platform provider IBM, who found a 40.4% boost in sales compared to the same day a year earlier. This is despite […]
Booming Digital Entertainment Sector sees Surge in Consumer Spending
Sales of digital entertainment products including music, films and video games rose during 2013 following a five-year lull, according to the latest figures. The success of digital services such as Netflix and Spotify has supported this growth which saw the value of film and TV downloads, streams and subscriptions reach £621 million. Meanwhile, the number […]
UK Tourists to Gain 28% More Spending Money with Strong Sterling
The Post Office Travel Money Survey has revealed that tourism could become even more lucrative for Brits in 2014 as a strong pound equates to increased spending money. As the power of sterling rises, British tourists will witness an increase of more than a quarter in their spending money – great news for those planning […]
2014 Holiday Spend to Total £37 billion
New research has revealed that the travel industry is still booming for Brits as 22.8 million of us plan to take a holiday overseas in the New Year, spending a staggering £37 billion in the process and holiday spend is definitely blooming. Proving that we all need a good holiday now and again, almost half […]