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Bradford & Bingley rights issue rescued

Bradford & Bingleyhas confirmed it is going ahead with its rights issue, revised again back up to £400 million from £258 million with the backing of major UK-based shareholders, including M&G Investment Managers, Legal & General Investment Management, Insight Investment and Standard Life Investments, with an unchanged price of 55p per share.

Rod Kent, executive chairman of Bradford & Bingley said, "Whilst we are disappointed that TPG intends to terminate its Subscription Agreement, I am pleased that Citi and UBS and our major shareholders continue to support our proposed capital issuance.

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Loans News

Fixed rate bond - Newcastle goes postal

Newcastle Building Society has announced the launch of its new limited issue postal bond - the bond, running through August 28th 2009, paying a fixed rate of 6.8% gross/AER on a minimum investment of £5,000 (maximum £500,000).

Credit crunch? What credit crunch?

Could the current economic climate, financial doom and gloom, be a myth? According to new research from life insurer Zurich, despite the testing market conditions, less than a third of consumers have reviewed their finances in light of the credit crunch (29%) and a fifth of people (21%) claim it's a term created by the media.

More misery as prices soar

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of annual inflation - the Governments target measure of inflation - was 3.3% in May, up from 3.0% in April.

Consumer confidence slumps to record low

Rising costs and talk of falling property values have pushed Britain's consumer confidence to record lows, according to new figures released by market research company Nielsen and the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

OFT warns about misleading IVA mailings

The OFT (Office of Fair Trading) has warned consumers to be careful before responding to unsolicited mailings which advise them to cancel existing individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) and which suggest they opt for an alternative debt management solution, such as bankruptcy, instead.

Consumer confidence hits new low

The latest Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index (NCCI) shows UK consumer confidence ticking down 1 point in May to 69. This is the second consecutive new low and brings overall confidence to a level 30% lower than this time last year.

One in ten in the dark about debt

As a nation we're in the dark about our finances, according to new research released by CreditExpert.co.uk.

Home improvement costs up by 20%

The rising costs of transport and raw materials, and a shortage of tradesmen, are pushing up the costs of home improvements, according to new figures by RICS' Building Cost Information Service (BCIS).

Consumers tempted into debt by cars

Cars are the biggest culprits when it comes to tempting people into spending beyond their means, according to a new survey by Experian, the global information services company.