Yahoo News Biz Briefing: Rising UK Bills Hit Finances
As the Bank of England warns of rising inflation and lower than expected GDP growth, more than one in five Britons are so financially stretched they are struggling to make ends meet, a survey has suggested.
A further 30% said an increase of less than £100 a month to their living costs would be enough to tip them over the edge.
The website believes households have seen their outgoings rise by an average of £54 a week in the past six months.
Four out of 10 people blamed their tight financial situation on the soaring cost of petrol.
A separate study by ING Direct suggests tax increases and the rising cost of living forced more Britons to tap into their savings in the first quarter of the year.
The bank says the average person had £1,783 set aside at the end of March, £100 down on the same period of 2010.
Its survey showed 41% used their savings just to pay for essentials such as food and fuel.
:: HSBC is looking to slash up to £2.1bn in costs by cutting the scale of its wealth management and retail banking businesses.
The bank's chief executive Stuart Gulliver has also confirmed a strategic review of its credit card business in the United States.
Europe's biggest bank had posted a disappointing 14% fall in quarterly profit on Monday and Mr Gulliver is looking more towards emerging, higher growth markets to improve its fortunes.
HSBC will focus its wealth management business in 18 of the most relevant economies, and limit retail banking to markets in which it can achieve profitable scale, it said.
In a stock exchange statement Mr Gulliver said: "We will increase capital deployment discipline, directing investment to faster growing markets and businesses as we scale back elsewhere."
:: Sainsbury's has announced a 9% increase in pre tax profits to £665m in its last financial year.
:: ITV says group revenues rose 11% in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the same period last year, to £500m.
Ahead of its AGM this morning, the broadcaster said a positive advertising market drove the performance - with TV advertising rising 12% in the quarter.
But chief executive Adam Crozier has warned that volatility in the ad market means the company must remain focused on its five year transformation plan, which aims to make ITV less reliant on strong advertising revenues.
It remains "cautious" for the full year.
:: Kesa Electricals says sales at its Comet brand in the UK fell 15.2% between January 9 and April 30.
Europe's third-biggest electricals retailer expects Comet to make a loss for the full year but the wider group's full-year profit would meet expectations.
It reduced its forecast in January, largely as a result of the troubles at Comet, which has been the subject of private equity bid speculation.
:: Toyota's latest results suggest its position as the world's biggest car-maker has currently been lost.
It has posted a steeper-than-expected decline in quarterly profits - of 77% - as a result of Japan's massive earthquake hitting production.
Toyota gave no annual forecasts because of uncertainty surrounding the wider parts shortage which has dogged auto production worldwide.
The Japanese firm says it now sees its output recovering to about 70% in June ahead of full production resuming from November or December.
:: Britain's trade balance has widened by more than expected.
Figures for March show that the gap between the goods we exported and those we imported was £7.6bn.
In February it was £6.78bn.
:: Bovis Homes says the market for new homes has remained stable so far this year, with visitor numbers up 20% on the same period in 2010.
It has focused on commencing build development on new sites and says 10 new sales outlets have been launched - with 566 net reservations achieved in total in 2011.
:: Barratt Developments says it has achieved a 4% increase in average selling prices in the year to date.
The house builder says it is on track to deliver a "substantial improvement" in operating profit for both its second half and full financial year.
Sales rates are significantly ahead of the first half performance with net private reservations per site hitting 0.53 a week on average.
:: BAA says Heathrow and Edinburgh airports had their busiest April on record last month.
The London hub benefited from the Royal Wedding and late Easter and according to the company it saw punctuality reaching its best level.
In total, 9.1 million passengers passed through BAA's 6 UK airports.
:: Insurance giant Prudential has reported a 17% rise in first quarter profits from new business, to £498m.
The increase is almost all down to a 16% rise in Asia, although sales and profits in the US rose by more than a quarter.
