US car giant General Motors (GM) said it would run out of cash in the first half of 2009 if economic and market conditions did not improve. This follows the announcement that third quarter losses hit £2.66bn. Read the rest of this entry »

Gordon Brown has admitted that the downturn in the world economy is likely to send the UK into recession. Adding that the crisis in the global financial markets would cause “recession in America, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and - because no country can insulate itself from it - Britain too”. Read the rest of this entry »

News that banks are looking to further tighten their lending criteria and the ever reducing number of new mortgage approvals raises hopes that the Bank of England will cut interest rates. Read the rest of this entry »

The proposed $700m bail out of the US Economy and Wall Street put forward by George Bush is stalling as legislators are worried about the cost and the governments level of involvement in the financial sector. However Bush remains optimistic that plans will be passed as Congress have vowed to stay in session until a deal is done.

The stalling created nervousness on this side of the pond and sent the FTSE down 109 points (2%) to 5,088. The bad news was compounded by Banks announcing that mortgage rates were on the increase again as liquidity in the market remains non-existent.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac received Government support yesterday and all seemed well with the banking world. What a difference a day makes….Lehman Brothers dipped 30% on the news that it may not be able to raise the required funding to cover its losses. The credit crunch has led the bank to raise $6bn to cover write-downs. Lehman’s shares are down more than 90% this year and is it’s the US’s fourth largest investment bank, it too cannot be allowed to fail.

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Icesave’s 200,000 strong customer base continues to grow not only thanks to its commitment to offering savers high interest rates, but also its straightforward online application process which means you can sign up for an account in under ten minutes.  Read the rest of this entry »

The deputy chairman of Marks & Spencer, Sir David Michels has bought 37,734 shares, together with Michele Michels. This takes Sir David’s holding to 113,984 shares. Like any other retailer, M&S has been experiencing difficult trading conditions. However, the shares closed the week 10.25p up at 276p on the news of the share deal and sales growth witnessed by two other companies in the sector - John Lewis and H&M.