Weekly news roundup – 22nd October 2010

2 min Read Published: 22 Oct 2010
healingdream / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
healingdream / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In a week where the news was dominated by the Spending Review here is the weekly roundup of the headlines most affecting your personal finances. Click on a headline to read the full story.

Competition for jobs reaches record high

Competition for jobs has reached a record high with up to 40 applications per job in some sectors, according to an online jobs board.

UK economy 'to slow over winter'

UK recovery is losing momentum and will slow over the winter but a double-dip recession is unlikely, a forecast says.

Double-dip for house prices, 'soft-patch' for the economy

House prices will fall another 5% before a slow recovery in 2012, while the economy will face a 'soft-patch' rather than a double-dip, according to the influential Ernst and Young Item Club.

Those leaving it late to fund pensions could be hit twice by the new rules

Two million have their identity stolen every year

Nearly 2m people have their identities stolen every year at a cost to the country of £2.7 billion, a report has indicated.

 

House prices to stagnate after 'illogical' October rise

Property asking prices rose by an "illogical" 3.1pc in October as hopeful sellers flooded the market with houses as they returned from their summer holidays.

TV licence frozen for six years

The BBC licence fee is to be frozen for the next six years at £145.50 and will fund the World Service, it has emerged.

500,000 jobs to be axed in spending review

The spending cuts which will be revealed later today will result in the loss of half a million jobs in the public sector.

State pension age to rise faster

The state pension age will now rise to 66 by 2020 for both men and women, the Chancellor, George Osborne, says.

Spending review 2010: will you win or lose?

The Government has slashed billions from public spending and many people will be worse off as a result.

Maternity leave

Brussels wants to change things, but will the situation improve?

Spending review: How it will affect you

We spell out what the key announcements of Chancellor George Osborne's spending review will mean for households and the economy.

Equitable Life investors offered £1.5bn compensation

Spending review targets cash on those who have 'suffered most' in Equitable Life debacle Investors who lost money as a result of the Equitable Life scandal will receive about £1.5bn in compensation.

Interest rates to stay at record low, divided Bank of England signals

Britain's savers face years of low returns after the Bank of England indicated rates will not move from record lows for some time.

Mortgage lending lowest for a decade

Mortgage lending dropped to a 10-year low last month, as banks warned lending was unlikely to rise much for the rest of the year.

China economy hums along

China's growth ebbed in the third quarter while inflation edged higher, suggesting that the world's second-largest economy was far from overheating.

Property sales in UK fall again

House sales in the UK fell in September for the second month in a row, HM Revenue & Customs figures show.

Gilt yields drop to historic low... and falling

The yield on government gilts falls to historic lows reflecting in part investor confidence that the government can bring the deficit under control.