The scheme is mainly aimed at the 4m UK homes not heated [...]]]> Households looking to install renewable heating systems are now eligible for up to £1,250 from the government.People who opt for greener methods such as biomass boilers and solar panels can apply to the £15 million Premium Payment fund set up to support 25,000 installations.

The scheme is mainly aimed at the 4m UK homes not heated by mains gas that rely on higher carbon heating methods.

But Friends of the Earth said “disappointing” caveats short-changed a potentially ground-changing scheme.

The scheme to help pay for the installation costs of systems such as air and ground source heat pumps is open for applications from 1 August until March 2012.

Run by the Energy Saving Trust, it will focus mainly on those heating their homes with high carbon and typically more expensive methods such as electric fires and heating oil.

Climate change minister Greg Barker said: “This month starts a new era in home heating because we’re making it more economical for people to go green by providing discounts off the cost of eco heaters.

“This should be great news for people who are reliant on expensive oil or electric heating as the premium payment scheme is really aimed at them.”

“Getting money off an eco heater will not just cut carbon emissions, it will also help create a market in developing, selling and installing kit like solar thermal panels or heat pumps.”

Green heating grants available:

• Ground Source Heat Pump – £1,250 (homes without mains gas)
• Biomass boiler – £950 (homes without mains gas)
• Air source heat pump – £850 (homes without mains gas)
• Solar thermal hot water panels – £300 (all homes)

The Department of Energy and Climate Change says it will closely monitor energy data and performance through additional meters and detailed surveys.

“When people have the kit installed in their homes they really see the benefit,” said Energy Saving Trust chief executive Philip Sellwood.

“Of course there is still more to be learnt about how to get the most out of the technologies – but the more they’re out there in people’s homes, the more they become part of daily life.

“Without a doubt, the main barrier that prevents people from taking the plunge is the up-front capital cost.  This is a great start in overcoming this obstacle.”

Unemployment among 16 to 24-year-olds stood at 963,000, with the jobless rate for [...]]]> UK unemployment fell by 17,000 in the three months to the end of February to 2.48 million- the first drop since last autumn official figures show.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate of unemployment in the UK had fallen to 7.8%.

Unemployment among 16 to 24-year-olds stood at 963,000, with the jobless rate for young people remaining above 20%.

The number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance rose by 700 in March to 1.45 million, the ONS said.

It added that the number people in employment rose by 143,000 to 29.23 million, compared with a pre-recession peak of 29.56 million recorded for the three months to the end of May 2008.

While the number of unemployed men fell by 31,000 in the three months to the end of February, the number of jobless women rose by 14,000.

Although the number of unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds rose by 12,000 over the quarter to 963,000, there had been fears the number could breach the one million mark.

The rate of unemployment among 50 to 64-year-olds was unchanged at 4.8%, while the rate for those over 65 fell to 1.9% from 2.5%.

Within the overall unemployment figures there were wide regional variations, with the North East generating 11,000 extra jobs but the East of England seeing 15,000 job losses.

The ONS figures showed that average earnings rose by 2% in the year to February, while earnings excluding bonuses grew by 2.2%.

Both measures were well below the rate of inflation, as measured by the CPI index, which stands at 4%. Analysts said this provided further evidence of the squeeze consumers were feeling in their spending power.

Despite the fall in the number of unemployed, analysts warned that the jobless number was likely to rise again as the government is starting to introduce spending cuts designed to bring down the budget deficit.

New research showed that UK interest rates offered on relatively short-term fixed-rate bonds have been rising since August 2010.

However, they have been increasing from an all-time low of 2.52% for a one-year bond.

The movement signals an expectation of a [...]]]> Savers and borrowers could benefit by locking in the best interest rates for more than a year.

New research showed that UK interest rates offered on relatively short-term fixed-rate bonds have been rising since August 2010.

However, they have been increasing from an all-time low of 2.52% for a one-year bond.

The movement signals an expectation of a Bank rate rise in the coming months.

Moneyfacts said that the average interest rate for a one-year fixed-rate bond was now 2.85%, the highest since March 2010.

For a two-year bond, savers receive an average of 3.42%. Tying in money for three years garners an average rate of 3.7%, and when investing for five years the average interest rate is 4.17%.

“The biggest increase in rates is on short-term deals, which are the most popular amongst savers,” said Michelle Slade, of Moneyfacts.

“Most of the best deals are from smaller building societies. If savers want to make the most of their money they may need to look further afield than their local High Street.

“The markets expect a rise in Bank base rate in the not too distant future and this is being factored in to the rates being offered to savers.”

However, she warned savers that they would receive a hefty penalty if they needed access to their funds during the fixed-rate period, and so they should consider their financial situation before committing.

The Bank’s quarterly inflation report said rising raw material prices, energy bills and next year’s VAT rise meant inflation would [...]]]> The Bank of England has warned that the outlook for the UK economy still remains uncertain.
Governor Mervyn King said the recovery was likely to continue, but its strength depended heavily on developments in the world economy.

The Bank’s quarterly inflation report said rising raw material prices, energy bills and next year’s VAT rise meant inflation would remain high next year.

But it is expected to fall below the Bank’s 2% target in two years’ time.

Adding to the uncertainty are government cuts which could trigger a slowdown in construction, Mr King said, which has been a key driver in recent faster-than-expected economic growth.

The most recent gross domestic product (GDP) figures showed growth of 0.8% in the third quarter of this year. In the three months before that, the economy grew by 1.2%.

Speaking to reporters, Mr King said a sharp slowdown, however, was unlikely.

The Bank is facing up to inflation being even higher than it expected through next year, not least because of soaring commodity prices.

But it cannot rule out a very subdued growth path for the economy, partly because of consumers and businesses adjusting to government spending cuts.

The big risk to growth, as the governor made clear, is the world trade outlook and there was a thinly veiled warning to the G20 leaders to get their act together in South Korea this week.

Mr King said that as government spending was set to grow more slowly, the strength of the recovery depended “heavily” on developments in the rest of the world.

The Bank’s report also noted there was a wider than usual range of views among Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members.

Recent meetings have seen growing disagreement between the Bank’s MPC members with a three-way split in the vote at the end of the MPC’s last meeting.

Seven of its members voted for no change to interest rates and no additional stimulus spending, one person wanted to see rates rise, while another member voted to see QE restart.

Mervyn King said this meant the MPC was operating as it should be.

Housing experts welcomed the decision, saying it would help home owners and the housing market.

Home Information Packs were introduced by the labour govt to “speed up” [...]]]> Home owners will no longer have to pay for a Home Information Pack (HIP) when selling their property after the new coalition government today scrapped the controversial red tape packs.

Housing experts welcomed the decision, saying it would help home owners and the housing market.

Home Information Packs were introduced by the labour govt to “speed up” the house selling process by obliging sellers to provide certain information about their property when it is first put up for sale.

Labour Ministers suggested the move would save consumers £870 million over the next 10 years as the packs are paid for sellers and cost several hundred pounds each.

However, energy performance certificates – which show how energy efficient a property is – will be retained.

The continuing energy survey is eu red tape- over which UK politicians are powerless…

Coalition Housing minister Grant Shapps said: “Home sellers will get immediate relief. It means they can put their house on the market without having to shell out thousands of pounds.”

Speculation has been rife about when exactly the packs would be scrapped and the government said it had moved quickly to make today’s announcement to avoid uncertainty and to prevent a slump in an already fragile housing market.

Housing experts welcomed the decision, saying it would help home owners and the housing market.

Kirstie Allsopp, the television presenter, said “Is absurd that there was ever this additional expense. I am thrilled to bits because it is really important to help people to sell their home quicker.”

However, the decision is unlikely to be popular with thousands of people who retrained as home inspectors to provide the packs as they are likely to lose their jobs once they are no longer compulsory.

Mike Ockenden, director general of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers, said: “More than 3,000 jobs will go and 10,000 will be affected as a result of the suspension of HIPs.”

Re-Mortgager reckons at £25K UK average earnings, that’s a saving  to cash strapped property owners of £75 million this year alone!

The Dow Jones was up 62.13 points at 8,801.15 at midday in New York, the S&P; 500 was up 8.57 at 947.72, and the Nasdaq was up 11.48 at 1,864.56.

A Labor [...]]]> Wall Street ticked higher in early trades as the latest report on jobless claims turned out to be better than expected and retail sales improved.

The Dow Jones was up 62.13 points at 8,801.15 at midday in New York, the S&P; 500 was up 8.57 at 947.72, and the Nasdaq was up 11.48 at 1,864.56.

A Labor Department report showed first time jobless benefits claimants fell to 601,000, better than expectations. The Commerce Department said retail sales increased 0.5 per cent in May after two months of declines.

In the UK, RBS was the top riser among a buoyant banking sector on the back of news that it plans to hive off unprofitable business customers to a separate division. The sector in general enjoyed a rally on a note from JPMorgan that it remains overweight on investment and credit banks.

RBS was up 1.8p, or 5.75 per cent, to 39.7p. Barclays wasn’t far behind, up 16p or 5.55 per cent to 304.50p.

The FTSE 100 index closed up just 25.12 points higher at 4,461.87 as banking sector gains were offset by falls in commodities.

Oil companies retreated after recent gains, despite oil prices rising for a third day, above $72 a barrel and hitting an eight-month high in New York on the back of a larger-than-expected drop in US crude inventories.

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However, retail sales figures have put in question whether April’s jump in consumer demand would be sustained.

About 6 per cent of estate agents across the UK said that property [...]]]> The economy has received another shot in the arm with figures showing that the pace of house price falls slowed in May while home sales picked up.

However, retail sales figures have put in question whether April’s jump in consumer demand would be sustained.

About 6 per cent of estate agents across the UK said that property values had risen in May, while 42 per cent said that prices fell, according to figures from the Royal Insitution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The resulting seasonally adjusted balance of -44 is up from -58 in April, suggesting that the pace at which prices are falling is easing. May’s reading was the highest since November 2007.

Buyer inquiries at estate agencies last month rose for the seventh consecutive month in May — at its fastest pace in a decade. There was a jump in sales, with estate agents’ branches reporting an average of 11.8 transactions in the three months to May, up from 10.6 in April.

Agents are also bullish about the outlook, with 40 per cent more expecting sales levels to increase rather than fall in the coming months, the highest figure recorded since the series began in 1998. The figures come days after Halifax said that house prices had risen by 2.6 per cent in May and a majority of City economists forecast that the recession could pause during the summer.

Ian Perry, the RICS spokesman, cautioned against reading too much into the new figures. “On the face of it, the housing market does appear to be close to bottoming out, with activity picking up in a material way and prices at last stabilising.

However, with the economic backdrop still quite uncertain, unemployment set to continue increasing sharply and finance for first-time buyers still in short supply, there are a number of significant obstacles for the market to overcome over the coming months.”

The threat of unemployment has dampened the mood on the high street, with like-for-like sales falling by 0.8 per cent in May after a 4.6 per cent jump in April, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Food sales slowed, although they picked up late in May as households stocked up on ingredients and implements for barbecues. Sales of clothing and footwear declined compared with strong sales in a very sunny May last year, when consumers splashed out on lighter clothes. However, the 0.8 per cent fall was one of the most modest monthly declines since July last year.

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Data [...]]]> Yesterday the euro managed to halt its losing streak against the US dollar as the German finance minister stated that Germany would act if other countries in the euro zone required assistance, this helped to stall the euro decline and allay some of the fears of a potential banking crisis in Eastern Europe.

Data just released from Germany shows that the service sector has declined at a rapid pace and manufacturing activity also dipped slightly, this data emphasizes that there is little prospect to a near term end to the contraction.

We have just seen retail sales data from the UK which is a surprisingly good number- showing a rise of 0.7% against the consensus of a fall of 0.1%. The unexpected rise has been attributed to an increase in internet purchases and aggressive price cuts by retailers- in the immediate aftermath sterling moved higher against the USD and EUR.

In the US Barack Obama will host a summit next week to tackle the spiraling US deficit which is looking at levels of over a trillion dollars every year for the next decade. Obama is looking to revise a strategy to reduce the deficit over the next 10 years- if a plan is not put into place soon then this ballooning deficit should start to weigh on the USD especially if the equity markets start to recover.

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This cross is trading in uncharted territory and is struggling to find support with many expecting to see parity before the year is out. However, UK retail sales just out at better than expected levels (0.3% versus -0.6%) should lend support [...]]]> Another day and more record lows for GBP/euro are€“ currently at all time lows.

This cross is trading in uncharted territory and is struggling to find support with many expecting to see parity before the year is out. However, UK retail sales just out at better than expected levels (0.3% versus -0.6%) should lend support to GBP over today’s session.

UK Unemployment out yesterday would not have helped GBP as the headline figure rose to 1.07m for November; a jump of 75,700 from October. This is the largest rise since 1991 and does little to quell fears of continued redundancies in London in 2009.

Japanese yen has also been in the headlines hitting record highs of 87.15 last night. JPY is currently trading at 87.68 and may well test yesterday’s high again.

Japan’s Central Bank meet tomorrow and there is speculation that they may well cut rates close to zero in an effort to stimulate their economy. Falling global demand has hit Japan’s economy hard as they have such a export focus. Japan’s rate is currently 0.3%.

Economists are also speculating about the ECB cutting deposit rates as soon as today in an effort to stimulate interbank lending. Cutting deposit rates (from current 2% on overnight cash) would make holding cash with the ECB less attractive and hopefully free up capital for consumers and companies and help the interbank market.

Ever since Lehmans collapsed banks have been very cautious about lending to one another. The Euribor (the euro interbank offered rate) set yesterday at 3.16 which is 66 basis points above the ECB rate.

In commodity markets, yesterday Opec agreed to cut production by a record 2.2m barrels per day but the price of crude oil has continued to fall. Oil has fallen by more than $100 from a record of $147 in mid July to current levels of $43.21 (Brent Crude in London). Opec has cut production three times since September and Opec accounts for 40% of the World’s oil production.

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Sales in stores and supermarkets are forecast to have climbed 0.2 percent from December. Shoppers have helped power the [...]]]> Retail sales in the UK are expected to have risen for a fourth consecutive month as figures are released this morning. The survey is expected to show that shoppers took advantage of after-Christmas discounts in January.

Sales in stores and supermarkets are forecast to have climbed 0.2 percent from December. Shoppers have helped power the fastest economic growth for two years in the fourth quarter, prompting the Bank of England to raise its benchmark interest rates to a five-year high.

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told the banking committee yesterday that his preferred gauge of inflation will fall to or below 2 percent next year, mainly because of lower prices of oil, commodities and rent.

Industrial production is released in the US this afternoon with expectations that it was steady in January as companies held off on new orders while continuing to pare inventories.

Loans Calculators Blog- loans rates blog for news about interest rates- unsecured and secured loans, mortgages, remortgages and refinancing including home loans, equity release and debt consolidation.