Decline in UK personal debt level
The total amount of personal debt in the UK has fallen for the first time since records began in 1993, the Bank of England has said.
Personal borrowing fell by £600m in July, taking the total owed by individuals down to £1.457 trillion.
There was a drop in both mortgage debt and other forms of borrowing such as bank loans.
The number of mortgages approved in July rose again to 50,123, suggesting property sales will continue to rise.
“Total net lending to individuals fell by £0.6bn in July, showing a net repayment for the first time in the series,” the Bank said.
The amount outstanding on mortgages fell by £400m as people repaid more than they borrowed during July.
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Recession in Britain “at and end”
Confidence among business professionals has surged, suggesting the recession is at an end, a survey has said.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants’ index of business confidence rose to 4.8 at the end of June, from -28.2 in March, the biggest rise for two years.
However, chief executive Michael Izza warned against “underestimating” the challenges ahead for businesses.
The institute predicts the UK economy will grow by 0.5% in the third quarter.
Its forecast comes after the economy shrank by 0.8% in the second quarter of the year.
More than 1,000 chartered accountants were surveyed across England, Wales and Scotland.
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House prices rising, says Halifax
House prices are now rising, according to the latest survey from the Halifax mortgage lender.
The cost of the average house went up by 1.1% in July to £159,623.
Prices in the three months to July were 0.8% higher than in the previous three months, the first increase in the underlying trend since October 2007.
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey also said it was seeing signs of a turnaround, with its sales rising in the first six months of the year.
The prices of the properties it had sold had now stopped falling and its order book had risen by 67% since the end of last year.
Pensioner poverty ‘unacceptable’
It is “unacceptable” that two million pensioners in the UK are still living in poverty, a group of MPs says.
The Work and Pensions Committee says the figure is a third lower than it was in 1997, but wants ministers to commit to ending pensioner poverty altogether.
It is also calling for the benefits system to be simplified for older people and the compulsory retirement age of 65 to be scrapped.
The government said it recognised there was “more to do”.
One in five pensioners in the UK are classed as living in relative poverty.
Public warned about health MOTs
Private health checks offer poor value for money and can lead to painful and often possibly dangerous tests, a consumer group says.
An investigation by Which? found that the firms behind the “health MOTs” even offered conflicting advice.
The group said all too often the tests, which cost an average of £423, were just catering to the “worried well”.
But some of the health firms highlighted said their tests were good quality and provided value for money.
An estimated £100m a year in the UK is spent on health MOTs, which include physical tests as well as blood pressure and cholesterol checks.
