Latest news with #BankofEngland
Scottish Sun
9 hours ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Nationwide to make big change to millions of bank accounts from TODAY – customers should check now
Scroll to see how your account is changing RATE IT Nationwide to make big change to millions of bank accounts from TODAY – customers should check now MILLIONS of Nationwide customers will see a major change to accounts take effect today. The move will hit loyal savers using one of more than 60 accounts. Advertisement 1 Nationwide is cutting interest from today Credit: Getty The building society confirmed it is slashing interest rates across the board. It comes after the Bank of England (BoE) cut the base rate from 4.5% to 4.25% in May. Central interest rates affect savings rates offered by high street banks, as well as borrowing costs. When the base rate falls, interest on savings accounts typically comes down too. Advertisement Nationwide is now cutting rates on 63 of its savings accounts from easy-access ISAs to children's accounts. The Branch Smart Limited Child account will drop from 3.05% to 2.85%, on accounts where one or no withdrawals have been made. Customers with the same account who have made two or more withdrawals won't see their 1.80% interest rate change. At the same time, those with a Continue to Save account will see their interest rate tumble from 2.10% to 2%. Advertisement The Help to Buy: ISA account is also dropping 0.2 percentage points from 3.10% to 2.90%. If you've got a Branch Flex Saver account and a balance between £0.01 and £9,999, the interest is dropping from 1.85% to 1.60%. What is the Bank of England base rate and how does it affect me? If you have £10,000 to £49,999 stashed away, the rate will fall from 1.90% to 1.65%. You can see the changes on each savings account by using the table above. Advertisement Nationwide is not the only provider cutting interest rates on savings accounts following after the change to the base rate. HSBC announced it will cut rates on eight of its savings accounts from June 3. And NatWest is also cutting rates on accounts, while Newcastle Building Society is dropping rates on 37 of its personal savings accounts from June 5. How to get the best savings rate If your interest rate drops, it's time to take action and move your money if you can get a better return elsewhere. Advertisement Use price comparison sites such as or to browse the best savings accounts on the market. Check whether the headline savings rate on offer come with bonus rates which are only available for a set period after you open them. Make a note to switch when those bonus rates fall off. Others will only offer you a specific interest rate if you make a limited number of withdrawals each year. Advertisement Go over this withdrawal limit and the interest rate can plummet. Some savings accounts offer additional perks which can make them more worth your time too. How you can find the best savings rates If you are trying to find the best savings rate there are websites you can use that can show you the best rates available. Doing some research on websites such as MoneyFacts and price comparison sites including Compare the Market and Go Compare will quickly show you what's out there. These websites let you tailor your searches to an account type that suits you. There are three types of savings accounts fixed, easy access, and regular saver. A fixed-rate savings account offers some of the highest interest rates but comes at the cost of being unable to withdraw your cash within the agreed term. This means that your money is locked in, so even if interest rates increase you are unable to move your money and switch to a better account. Some providers give the option to withdraw but it comes with a hefty fee. An easy-access account does what it says on the tin and usually allow unlimited cash withdrawals. These accounts do tend to come with lower returns but are a good option if you want the freedom to move your money without being charged a penalty fee. Lastly is a regular saver account, these accounts generate decent returns but only on the basis that you pay a set amount in each month.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's the growth forecast for Taylor Wimpey shares through to 2027
The last couple of years have been bumpy for UK housebuilders due to higher interest rates. Earnings on Taylor Wimpey (LSE:TW.) shares, for instance, fell heavily in 2023 and 2024, as reduced buyer affordability struck newbuild home demand. But with the Bank of England (BoE) firmly under way with a rate-reduction programme, could the FTSE 100 company now enjoy a period of strong and sustained growth? Let's take a look. Year Predicted earnings per share Annual growth Price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio 2025 8.59p 2% 13.8 times 2026 10.17p 18% 11.7 times 2027 12.14p 19% 9.8 times As you can see, City analysts are expecting earnings to edge modestly higher this year. But boosted by lower BoE lending rates, an improving mortgage market and increased build rates, growth's tipped to accelerate to double-digit percentages in the next two years. Yet broker projections can often miss forecasts, either to the upside or the downside. And in the current uncertain economic landscape, estimates at cyclical shares like Taylor Wimpey have an extra layer of risk build in. However, I'm optimistic that profits will rebound sharply for several reasons. As mentioned, the BoE's tipped to keep slashing rates as inflation moderates and the British economy struggles for meaningful growth. Some analysts think they could even fall more than 1% over the next year, from 4.25% today (Goldman Sachs analysts have tipped rates to bottom out at 3% by February). Homebuyers are also likely to be supported by the dogfight among the country's mortgage providers. The number of sub-4% interest rates on fixed products is rising strongly, while rules on no-deposit mortgages are also loosening. To capitalise on this fertile backdrop, Taylor Wimpey's likely to ramp up production over the coming years, giving profits a further boost. The builder currently plans to erect 10,400-10,800 homes in 2025, up from 10,593 last year. However, there's no guarantee the housebuilder is about to reach the sunlit uplands. Broader weakness in the UK economy could hamper earnings growth, even if interest rates fall, and especially if unemployment spikes. There's also uncertainty over the level of demand from first-time buyers after temporary stamp duty cuts ended last month. It's important for investors to bear these threats in mind. However, as a holder of Taylor Wimpey shares, I'm somewhat reassured by the underlying strength of the housing market despite these obstacles. Latest data from Rightmove showed the average asking price for UK homes hit new record peaks of £379,517 in May. This was up 0.6% month-on-month, and came despite 'a dip in new buyer demand following April's stamp duty increase'. On balance, I'm optimistic Taylor Wimpey can hit the City's bright profits estimates through to 2027. In fact, given rapid long-term growth in the UK population, I think gains here could impress well beyond the forecast period and it's one worth considering. The post Here's the growth forecast for Taylor Wimpey shares through to 2027 appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool Royston Wild has positions in Taylor Wimpey Plc. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
HAMISH MCRAE: Rules are rules when it comes to trade... until all the major players ignore them
You cannot, Mr Bailey, get the toothpaste back into the tube. Last week the Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, gave a speech to investment managers in Dublin on how important world trade was to global growth and how the system had to be reformed. So far, so good. But when you go through the detail it was all about trying to rebuild trading relations with Europe and how to make the so-called 'rules based' world trade system work better. And the problem there is that the world has changed. The UK will not go back to anything like a pre-Brexit relationship with Europe, and the US will not go back to a pre-Trump approach to global trade. The task for British political and financial leaders is to exploit the opportunities that have arisen, rather than hark back to a none-too-brilliant past. On Brexit, the Governor was careful to make the disclaimer that as a public servant he didn't take a position on it, but what he said had a clear spin. We had to 'minimise negative effects on trade' and that the changing relationship with Europe has 'weighed on the level of potential supply'. At least he didn't cite the Office for National Statistics' calculation that in the long run Brexit would cost 4 per cent of national output. On that figure I prefer the comment of one of his predecessors, Mervyn King, arguably the most notable UK economist of his generation: 'They can't possibly know that. They just make it up.' Nor did Bailey refer to the determined drive by Europe to make banks shift their business and people to EU centres, including Dublin. Instead it was all about trade in finance being 'a two-way street', failing to mention that the UK has a huge surplus on exports of financial services, or indeed that there were 678,000 jobs in the City of London at the end of 2023, some 30 per cent more than in 2016. Of course we need as good a relationship as possible with all trading partners, but we need to acknowledge that, insofar as the City has been successful post-Brexit, it is despite hostility from Europe. As the still bubbling row about transferring euro-derivatives clearing from London to the EU shows, realistically that hostility will continue. On world trade the Governor acknowledged that the system has come under too much strain 'and it is incorrect to dismiss those who argue for restrictions on trade as just wrong-headed'. And the blame for imposing that strain goes mainly to China, which as he noted, heavily subsidised key industries to help them dominate world markets. China imposed 5,400 'subsidy policies' between 2009 and 2022, two-thirds of the global total. He made the point, too, that it was reasonable for countries to seek security of supply, but suggested they do so by dealing with reliable partners rather than trying to bring production back home. These are sensible comments, in particular acknowledging that Donald Trump has a point and China has abused global trading rules. He notes the damage done to trade by Covid and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He points out how important trade in services is, particularly for the UK. It's an interesting, thoughtful and conventional analysis, and maybe that is what we should expect from a central banker – but I fear it is a naive one. Why? Take Europe. There is a huge trading imbalance between the UK and EU. They sell far more goods to us than they buy, and we export more services to them. But they are not going to change their rules to increase their imports of services. Take China. It's not going to stop subsidising its industries for fear of getting ticked off by the World Trade Organization. As for the US, it has given up on the whole International Monetary Fund-WTO system, that's that. So instead we have to negotiate our way through a bilateral trading world. The UK has made a good start. There are lots of reasons to attack our Government's financial policies, but doing deals with the US, the world's largest economy, and India, soon to be the third largest, deserves to be welcomed. We seem to have a slightly better relationship with Europe, and I don't see why we shouldn't get on with China. Let's try to be nice, as Andrew Bailey was in Dublin, but let's be aware that the rules-based order is dead.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Weekend: Food inflation dampens hopes of a rate cut as tariff twists and turns continue
The twists and turns in the tariffs saga just kept coming this week. Things started on a positive note when president Trump said he would delay imposing a 50% tariff on goods from the European Union, extending trade negotiations with the bloc. Then on Wednesday came the shock news that a US trade court had declared most of his import duties on international trade partners illegal. The Manhattan-based court ruled that the law Trump's team had used to unilaterally impose the wide-ranging levies did not in fact give him licence to do so. The ruling did not include sectoral levies, such as those on steel and aluminium, and by the end of the week the US president had vowed to double these to an eye-watering 50%. Nvidia (NVDA) became the world's most valuable listed company again this week as insatiable demand for its world-leading AI semiconductors pushed its share price clear of Apple's (AAPL) and Microsoft's (MSFT). The chip maker's stock got a boost when quarterly revenues surged almost 70% to just over $44 billion, ahead of estimates. That performance was particularly impressive in light of Donald Trump's restrictions on Nvidia's exports to the Chinese market, which cost the company $4.5 billion in the three-month period. On this side of the Atlantic, there was some bad news for chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Bank of England as May's food inflation reading came in higher than expected at 2.8%. Let's look at some of these and other events that moved markets in the lest few days. The duties that may be affected by the US trade court's tariff block A stunning decision on Wednesday from the US Court of International Trade appeared to put at least a temporary pause on many of President Trump's wide-ranging tariffs. Many of the his actions exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to regulate importation by means of tariffs," the three-judge panel ruled. Under appeal, the matter is likely to head to the US Court of Appeals before making its way to the Supreme Court. Our US team explained the scope of the court's ruling. Odds of more BoE interest rate cuts fall as food inflation rises The central bank's job got a little more complicated this week when food inflation came in at the highest in a year after a fourth monthly consecutive increase in May. Fresh foods and red meats were among the main drivers of the 2.8% annual gain in prices – up from 2.6% a month earlier. 'The UK environment is more inflationary than before the pandemic. Only one more rate cut this year looks fair,' said Robert Wood and Elliott Jordan-Doak at Pantheon Macroeconomics. Tesla stock higher as robotaxi 'golden age' dawns, Musk officially departs D.C. Tesla (TSLA) stock got a brief boost after two big pieces of news: a reported start date for robotaxi testing and CEO Elon Musk's official departure from government. The electric carmaker reportedly brought forward the launch of its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas to 12 June. Musk and Tesla have bet the future of the company on self-driving and the ability for its cars to perform robotaxi services. Tesla's dedicated robotaxi — the Cybercab — is slated for a 2026 launch as well. In a post on X on Wednesday night, Musk revealed that his time in Washington was coming to an end, delighting investors whom he had already promised his return to a 24/7 commitment to his businesses. Government 'megafund' pension plans could give £6k boost to savers Under reforms set to be introduced through the Pension Schemes Bill, the UK government said multi-employer defined contribution and local government schemes will pool to operate at megafund level, managing at least £25bn in assets by 2030. Based on the experiences of Australia and Canada, this would help drive more than £50bn in investment for UK infrastructure, new homes and fast-growing businesses, the government said. According to the Treasury, these schemes could save £1bn a year by 2030 through economies of scale and improved investment strategies, handing the average earner a £6,000 boost to their defined contribution pension pot. Turning to all things personal finance, now. Your 70s are your new 50s, according to the IMF, which put forward the case for people to extend their careers. Better mental agility and physical fitness levels mean older employees are in a good position to work longer to build up their pension pots and help address a growing imbalance between the number of workers and retirees. Our columnist Sarah Coles delved into this contentious issue: Should people keep working until later in life? With the average price of a summer holiday soaring, more and more people are opting to take their kids out of school for a term-time break overseas. The number of fines issued for these 'unauthorised absences' are at an all-time high, but for some struggling families it's worth the hit because the saving on peak-rate travel costs outweighs the penalty: Real cost of a 2025 summer holiday as families priced out or fined Find more personal finance gems here: Money Matters Tariffs remain in focus as earnings season continues to wind down, but there are still a number of key companies due to report in the coming week. On the back of a strong set of results from chipmaking giant Nvidia (NVDA), attention will now turn to rival Broadcom (AVGO), which is due to report on Thursday. Athletics wear company Lululemon (LULU) is also due to report on Thursday, with focus on its outlook for the current year, after guidance offered at the end of the last financial year failed to impress investors. In London, investors will want to see if British American Tobacco (BATS.L) has continued to generate sales growth from its new categories business, which includes vapes and heated products. Investors will also be keen to see how Dr Martens (DOCS.L) turnaround efforts are progressing when the iconic bootmaker reports its full-year results on Thursday. Read more: Stocks to watch next week Turning to economic data now. The UK's property market will come into focus on Monday with data on mortgage approvals and the Nationwide house price index slated for release. Look out for eurozone inflation numbers on Tuesday. Thursday sees important releases from the US, including import and export figures and jobless claims. On Friday, there's another gauge of UK property prices, this time courtesy of Halifax, then a slew of closely watched eurozone indicators: retail sales, employment and GDP growth. And finally, archeologists in Egypt have me contemplating humankind's innate desire to leave a mark on this world. The three entombed men discovered this week in Luxor each held important roles in ancient Egypt's temples and grain silos. This news also threw me back to this slightly less ancient Frank Ocean classic from 2012. Hope it kick-starts your weekend too.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lloyds shares recently hit a 52-week high — is it too late to consider buying?
Lloyds (LSE: LLOY) shares recently touched a 52-week high of 79.19p, a welcome sight after years of volatility and pandemic-era underperformance. The last time the shares traded that high was late 2015. Naturally, this is a promising sign for long-suffering shareholders like me. But for new investors, the question is whether the recent rally leaves any value on the table – or if the opportunity has already passed. The share price has climbed over 40% year to date, supported by a modest improvement in investor sentiment towards UK banks. A sector-wide upgrade by analysts has also helped. Rising interest rates have expanded net interest margins, even as economic data suggest the Bank of England may begin easing rates in the second half of 2025. In this environment, Lloyds — with its domestic focus and large retail deposit base — could emerge as a key beneficiary. But the bank's latest Q1 results weren't flawless. Underlying profits fell 7% to £1.52bn, with the bank putting aside £105m to prepare for a potential rise in bad loans. The decline was partly due to higher operating costs and regulatory charges. These challenges, combined with ongoing economic uncertainty, could weigh on performance in the second half of the year. Despite the mixed earnings, Lloyds continues to return cash to shareholders in the form of dividends. The 2024 final dividend of 2.11p per share was paid in May, bringing the full-year yield to around 4.7% at current prices. The group also announced a £2bn share buyback earlier this year. For income-focused investors, that's attractive. While not the highest yield on the FTSE 100, it's backed by a well-capitalised balance sheet and a CET1 ratio of 13.7%. Provided the UK avoids a severe downturn, the dividend looks sustainable. Like many high street banks, Lloyds is grappling with the shift to digital, recently announcing plans to close 136 branches across the UK by March 2026. The bank has committed to no job losses, but the move underscores a broader transformation — and the costs associated with it. At the same time, Lloyds is investing in technology and digital services, aiming to improve efficiency and customer experience. While the upfront expense is significant, these efforts could position the bank more competitively over the long term. Even after the recent rally, Lloyds shares still trade below their pre-pandemic levels. The stock's valued at around 7.5 times forward earnings — an attractive valuation by historical or sector standards. That offers a margin of safety for value-oriented investors. However, growth may be modest. As a largely UK-focused bank, it lacks the international diversification of some rivals. Any setback in the UK housing market or rise in unemployment could quickly impact performance. Lloyds shares may no longer be the deep value play they were last year, but they still look reasonably priced for long-term investors seeking income and gradual capital growth. While not without risks, the bank's stable dividend, improving sentiment and leaner cost base make it worth considering for a diversified passive income portfolio — even near a 52-week high. The post Lloyds shares recently hit a 52-week high — is it too late to consider buying? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK. More reading 5 Stocks For Trying To Build Wealth After 50 One Top Growth Stock from the Motley Fool Mark Hartley has positions in Lloyds Banking Group Plc. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Lloyds Banking Group Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Motley Fool UK 2025
