For many people these days keeping fit is a very important part of their lives, and with all of the scare stories that we hear about the ill effects of being unfit, overweight, and generally inactive it is not surprising that so many people want to ensure that they get regular exercise and keep their health and their bodies fighting fit. Read the rest of this entry

A number of recent reports have revealed that credit card debt in the UK has been rising, and on a per person basis the level of credit card debt in the UK is said to be over £5000 each. The credit crunch and the recession have both taken their toll on households across the UK over the past couple of years, and this has resulted in many people struggling financially. Read the rest of this entry

According to the latest Scottish House Price Monitor from Lloyds TSB property prices in Scotland have continued to increase, and over the past quarter most areas have shown an increase in property prices. Read the rest of this entry

The last year has undoubtedly been a challenging and difficult one for workers, who have faced pay freezes, reduced hours, and in some cases redundancy, with the recession taking its toll on industry and the economy. Whilst many may currently be trying to forget about the difficulties and challenges of the last year and enjoy some time off over the Christmas and New Year season reports have suggested that the relaxation may not last long, as another challenging year is expected in 2010 for workers. Read the rest of this entry

It has been reported that the recent bad weather seen across the UK will result in businesses losing billions of pounds. The recent cold snap that has seen snow storms, freezing weather, and sub-zero temperatures has already cost businesses an estimated £690 million, and if it continues over the next few weeks it is estimated that the cost could grow to as much as £14 billion. Weather experts are predicting that the freezing temperatures will continue, and this could spell very bad news for businesses.

In some of the worst hit areas around three million people had to stay off work due to problems caused by the weather, and this equated to an absence rate of 50 percent. With thousands of schools and nurseries being closed many parents were forced to take time off work, whilst in other cases workers simply weren’t able to tackle the roads in order to get themselves into work.

The army had to be called in to rescue stranded motorists in some areas, and hospitals had to cancel non-essential operations as the weather continues to wreak havoc across the country. Forecasters have said that the cold spell is the worst that has been seen in around thirty years, and in Scotland temperatures could drop to as low as -20 degrees.

The weather has already caused chaos for many people, leaving drivers stranded, air passengers unable to travel, households without electricity, and roads in highly dangerous conditions. Some councils stated that they only had enough grit to cope for one day, and even Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has stated that he is baffled by the inability of Britain to prepare for bad weather such as this

It has been announced that the base interest rate is to remain on hold at its all time low of just 0.5 percent for the month of January. The announcement was made by the Bank of England following the January Monetary Policy Committee meeting earlier this week. The base rate has been at 0.5 percent since March of last year, and this is the lowest it has ever been in the history of the Bank of England, which goes back over three centuries. Read the rest of this entry

The Labour government has been accused recently of being too complacent over public debt levels, with a number of top economists reportedly accusing the Labour party of ‘alarming complacency’ with regards to its failure to provide any explanation with regards to how it is going to reduce the massive mountain of public debt. Eleven of the top economists in the country are said to have signed a letter that accused the government of being irresponsible and complacent. Read the rest of this entry

According to reports the decision on a test case relating to debt repayments is set to be made early next year, and once the decision has been made the fate of around 100,000 borrowers who are trying get rid of their debt will have been decided. Like the recently decided bank charges test case, which was started in January 2008 and has only recently been concluded after the banks appealed to the Supreme Court, the current High Court test case into repayment of debts could end up going further. Read the rest of this entry

With the economy in the UK continuing to take a battering, and with many people continuing to struggle with their finances due to debt levels and job losses, it is little surprise that many people have found themselves having to look at insolvency as the only way to get themselves out of a financial mess. Read the rest of this entry

It has been reported that a number of retirement home firms have become the target of the consumer watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading. Read the rest of this entry