Despite raised salaries and lower taxes, Swedes won’t spend as much money this summer, new research from the largest Scandinavian bank Nordea says.

The Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter writes that the global economy is to blame: “The increasing food prices, fuel prices and property interests have affected Swedes’ budgets. Subsequently you cut down on your holidays abroad.”

Continue reading “Swedes Affected by the Credit Crunch” »

Today’s teens are the most affluent generation of young people to date. Over one-third receive some kind of allowance from their parents, and nearly three-quarters work around the house to earn it.

However, a new report shows that although teenagers are highly motivated by money and the myriad products and services for which it can be exchanged, they can also be naive about the consequences of reckless spending and sloppy money management.

Continue reading “Despite huge Spending Power- Teens Neglect Consequences of Reckless Spending” »

Abbey has increased its mortgage lending by more than 10% since last year.

Despite the slowdown in mortgage lending, which is at its lowest level in terms of new mortgages since January 1999, Abbey has increased its share of net lending in the UK mortgage market to 15.9%, up from 4.9% a year ago. This signals the bank’s intention to grow its market share while many of its competitors struggle amid the credit crunch.
Continue reading “Abbey Grows UK Market Share in the Face of Slowing Mortgage Market” »

Many commentators have argued that today’s global ‘credit crunch’ has its origins in the relaxation of monetary policy following the bursting of the dot com bubble and efforts to avert a US recession post-9/11. Its impact on the global economy will be felt via the same transmission mechanisms that have led to past contagion. However, comparisons with the past may not be that relevant as the significant pace of economic globalisation has redefined the balance of power.

The report Surviving the Credit Crunch: How Vulnerable Are Emerging Markets argues that the global economy’s evolution over the past decade - notably the rise of China and India and the political and economic maturation of many emerging markets - mean that the identity of those most vulnerable, and the ways in which they are exposed, has changed.
Continue reading “Surviving the Credit Crunch” »

The Broker Network has announced that following a recent wave of new enquiries, it has added commercial lines broker Spedding Goldthorpe to its network; and acquired RLS Insurance Brokers for its retail division. As brokers gravitate towards such ways of increasing their collective power and ability to maintain high commission rates, insurer margins will continue to be squeezed.

The Broker Network has continued to pursue its stated intentions of growth through recruitment and acquisition by announcing not only the addition of independent insurance broker Spedding Goldthorpe to its burgeoning ranks of brokers, but also the purchase of RLS Insurance Brokers to sit within its Broker Network Insurance Brokers retail division. Continue reading “The Broker Network: targeting expansion” »

The UK private motor insurance market could finally make a profit in 2009 after 14 years of unprofitability. A new report forecast that the UK private motor insurance market will make a loss this year but move into a profit of approximately £30million in 2009 as premium income will grow at a faster rate than claims costs. 2009 could be a historic year for the private motor insurance market, putting an end to a painful 14 consecutive years of losses. However, Datamonitor’s forecast sees the market move quickly back into a loss in 2010 as competition intensifies.

Continue reading “Despite Loss- Private Motor Insurance Market Expected to Gain £30 million in Profit by 2009″ »

The shares of Visa, the largest card company in the world, have been floated on the New York Stock Exchange and, as a result, banks that have issued Visa cards will receive shares worth millions of dollars. For Australian institutions, this injection of funds, although one-off in nature, will be warmly received at a time when banks are facing a liquidity squeeze. Visa’s decision to follow in the footsteps of smaller competitor MasterCard, which was listed in 2006, has resulted in the largest IPO ever recorded, raising $17.9 billion (A$19.4 billion).

As Visa is owned by a consortium of the banks that issue Visa cards, the public listing of Visa means that shares will be disbursed to the constituent banks in proportion to the number of cards issued. The banks can then keep the Visa shares or sell them on the market as they see fit. While the benefits of this listing will be felt by banks around the globe, not least those in the US, Australian banks are also set to reap substantial bonuses.

Continue reading “Visa Float Windfall to Boost Australian Banking” »

A new report, “Business Intelligence in Retail Banking”, predicts spend by retail banking institutions on business intelligence (BI) IT in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, will reach USD$9 billion by 2012, up from USD$5.6 billion in 2006. According to the report, the combination of compliance requirements, a competitive business environment, the sub-prime credit crunch and the need for stronger management will drive retail banks’ investment in BI software.

Given the sector’s growth of IT budgets devoted to BI, many vendors from diverse backgrounds, such as reporting, analytics, data management and operations, have rushed to claim their stake by adapting their definition of BI to fit their offering.
Continue reading “Retail Banks to Make Huge Investments in Business Intelligence Technology” »

If you frequently use your credit card or debit card when you’re abroad, or when you’re shopping online, think again.

A new report shows that there has been a continued strong global transaction growth in both debit and credit card transactions. The continuous move away from cash to electronic mode of payment is creating significant opportunities for payment processors like First Data, Global Payments and networks like MasterCard and American Express.

Continue reading “Credit Card Fraud Reaches Record High of £500million” »

A range of insurers is essential if Tesco is to muscle into the competitive comparison site market. TescoCompare.com, Tesco’s price comparison site, has announced that three new brands - Admiral, Diamond and Endsleigh - will now be appearing on its site, taking the number of car insurance brands available on TescoCompare.com to 33. In this highly competitive environment, market coverage is everything.

This move will prove beneficial to all parties involved. One of the main ways in which price comparison sites compete against each other is in their coverage of the market. For instance, Confused.com, which, incidentally, is owned by Admiral, boasts that it compares “97% of car insurers on the net”. Tesco Compare’s addition of three new brands, taking its total to 33, will therefore help to strengthen its position.
Continue reading “Tesco Compare: Every Brand Helps” »