Follow Us!
Better pack light! easyJet squashes maximum cabin baggage size by more than a third
- Airline said packed planes can’t always fit passengers’ luggage on-board
- From 2 July 2013, it is cutting dimensions down to 50cm by 40cm by 20cm
- Passengers will have to pay £25 to put their bag in at the check-in
- And this figure will increase to £40, per bag, at the gate
EasyJet is shrinking its cabin baggage allowance by 37 per cent because its packed planes can’t always fit passengers’ luggage on-board, it announced today.
At present, the budget airline allows luggage to be taken into the cabin if it’s below the maximum size of 56cm by 45cm… Continue reading
Average house price ‘could surge to £300,000 because of inflation cause by Government’s new homebuying scheme
- Help to Buy scheme could push prices by almost 30 per cent by 2015
- A restrictive market is what is keeping prices down, expert say
- Government scheme will help first-time-buyers get on property ladder
The average home could soon cost £300,000 because of price inflation caused by the Government’s new homebuying scheme, economists warn. George Osborne announced the Help to Buy scheme in this year’s Budget to help struggling buyers get on the housing ladder with just a 5 per cent deposit. But a report by former Bank of England economists says the scheme is ‘reckless’ and… Continue reading
‘Help to Buy’ scheme has the potential to re-ignite housing market bubble, warns Fathom Consulting
The Help to Buy scheme recently introduced in the Government’s last Budget could create a dangerous new housing bubble, inflating prices ‘almost 20 per cent within the next two to three years’, a leading economic think-tank warned.
The scheme essentially extends an existing equity loan scheme to help people buy a new-build home with a deposit as low as 5 per cent. But a report by Fathom Consulting – run by former Bank of England economists – called it ‘reckless’, and said it could push average house prices as high as £300,000 by 2016.
Dire warning: ‘Had we been… Continue reading IMF warn of tax evasion threat to Greek recovery
Greece has been ordered by the International Monetary Fund to do more to crack down on its ‘notorious’ tax evasion problem.
After completing its latest health check, the IMF yesterday concluded that Greece had made progress slashing debts and improving competitiveness.
But it said ‘very little progress’ had been made in tackling tax evasion.
It added: ‘The rich are not paying their fair share which has forced an excessive reliance on expenditure cuts and higher taxes on those earning a salary or a pension.’
Endemic tax evasion in Greece was a major factor in the collapse of its economy. But… Continue reading
Peer-to-peer savings pay top rates – but bypassing banks brings dangers
Fed-up savers are shunning high street banks to boost their returns. They are using services that allow them to lend their money directly to borrowers and earn a premium income.
It also means that loans are offered at competitive rates. But peer-to-peer lending is not without risks. The Mail on Sunday investigates.
DEALS FOR SAVERS
Savings rates offered by banks and building societies are at an all-time low. The best instant-access account, from Nationwide Building Society, pays just two per cent. In stark contrast, peer-to-peer lenders offer rates nearly three times higher.
The country’s biggest peer-to-peer lenders are Zopa, RateSetter… Continue reading
Online retailers facing chaos over shock US taxes ruling
British retailers could be forced to complete dozens of American tax returns every month under new laws being introduced for online stores selling goods to customers in the US.
The legislation, facing a Senate vote tomorrow, will require any retailer with online revenue from the US of more than $1?million (£643,000) a year to collect state sales taxes from customers and pass them on to the American state where the customer lives. The US market has become increasingly important for British retailers capitalising on the demand for online shopping and British fashion brands.
Looking good: British fashion retailer Asos… Continue reading Why lump sums don’t add up for many with final salary pensions
Hundreds of thousands of retirees risk being short-changed if they take a cash lump sum from their final salary pensions.
In many cases, the calculations used to swap a lifetime pension for a lump sum today have failed to keep pace with financial markets. Savers may be getting less than half the ‘market value’ of the lifetime pension they give up.
Rules normally permit up to 25 per cent of the value of a pension to be taken as a lump sum on retirement, free from tax. Some longer-serving workers may have ‘preserved’ entitlements to higher lump sums.
Sitting… Continue reading Post Office refuses to pledge no-frills bank accounts for poorest
The Post Office is refusing to reveal whether it will offer branch customers a basic bank account as it prepares to launch into the banking market.
Such accounts are taken up by people who otherwise would not get access to a current account because of their failure to pass credit score tests imposed by the banks. The Post Office, with its 11,500 branches, is ideally placed to provide such a banking service and its entry would greatly reduce the number of financially excluded adults.
Demands: Christine Farnish wants banking for all
But last week it declined to say whether… Continue reading
Almost a third of your water bill goes on profit, Unison report claims
Hot flush: A new report by trade body Unison claims that almost a third of water bills goes on profit.
Almost a third of an average water bill – more than £100 a year – goes on profit, compared with 9 per cent in the energy sector, a new report claimed today.
Water bills have risen more than twice as fast as pay over the past decade in an industry which is now ‘out of control’, a study commissioned by trade union body, Unison found.
Earlier this year, industry regulator Ofwat announced a 3.5 per cent increase in the average… Continue reading
UK economy faces knife-edge verdict on whether it is suffering a triple-dip recession
The UK economy faces a knife-edge verdict tomorrow as to whether it is suffering a triple-dip recession.
It will be a close-run thing as to whether official output data show that the UK economy shrank in January-to-March for a second successive quarter.
Most experts are predicting the initial estimate of gross domestic product from the Office for National Statistics will show growth of 0.1 per cent in the first three months of the year – which would mean the economy narrowly avoided its third recession since 2008.
Bad news comes in threes: Negative GDP growth in Q1 2013 would mean… Continue reading 
