Financial Favourites

From the BBC (http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8365939.stm):

Festive sales will start early this year – including price cuts on Christmas Day – as VAT is set to rise, a retailing expert has said.

However, discounts will not be as generous as last Christmas, according to Don Williams, head of retail at accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward.

Debenhams started a £250m price cutting campaign with a four-day sale on Wednesday, six weeks before Christmas.

Many retailers are expected to promote cheaper prices before VAT rises.

The tax will revert to 17.5% on 1 January, having been cut to 15% in November 2008.

Great News for Europe from the BBC, come on Britain, time to follow!

The eurozone economy has emerged from recession after growing between July and September, figures have shown.

The 16 nations that use the euro collectively grew 0.4%, after shrinking by 0.2% between April and June.

The French and German economies both grew for a second consecutive quarter, confirming the eurozone’s two largest economies are out of recession.

However, both France and Germany grew by less than expected, a sign of how tentative signs of recovery remain.

The European Union as a whole – which includes non-eurozone countries such as the UK and Sweden – also emerged from recession, growing 0.2% in the third quarter.

Germany’s economy grew by 0.7% in the quarter, while France grew by 0.3%. Both economies and Japan ended year-long contractions in the second quarter of the year, while the US has since joined them after its economy grew in the third quarter.

However, the UK remains in recession, having contracted by 0.4% between July and September.

The UK, Europe’s second largest economy, has now contracted for six consecutive quarters, the first time this has happened since quarterly figures were first recorded in 1955.

Full story – http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8358227.stm

News from the BBC:

A record number of people were declared insolvent in England and Wales in the third quarter of 2009, according to figures from the Insolvency Service.

There were 35,242 personal insolvencies, up 28% from the same period last year and an increase of 6.6% on the previous three months.

This extended the record number which was reported earlier this year.

But there was better news for business, with 4,716 company liquidations, down 4.7% quarter-on-quarter.

However, the number of businesses in England and Wales going bust in the third quarter of the year was still 14.6% higher than the same period a year ago.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8346170.stm