The week in review
This week: Npower hikes prices for 6.5 million customers, demonstrators attack royal couple’s car and petrol prices reach record high.
Energy giant Npower has announced it will increase its gas and electricity prices by an average 5.1% from 4 January.
The increase will add £54 to the average customer’s dual fuel bill and affect around 6.5 million customers.
Npower, which is the fourth of the Big Six energy providers to increase prices this winter, attributed the rise to increasing wholesale prices and environmental obligations. However, Npower’s vulnerable customers will not have to pay more until April 2011.
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Fees protest turn violent
A car containing the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall was attacked in central London during protests against increased tuition fees.
Although the couple were unharmed, protesters smashed a window and threw paint at the car allegedly chanting ‘off with their heads’.
Protesters were demonstrating against MPs’ decision to raise tuition fees to as much as £9,000 per year. Despite objections from a number of MPs, the motion was passed with a majority of 21 – 323 against 302.
Brits give £283 to the taxman this Christmas
The average family will pay £283 in tax on their Christmas spending, according to a study by the Taxpayers’ Alliance.
This money will come from VAT charges on gifts, petrol and alcohol and be a total £7.2 billion – 40% more than 2008.
Some £1.35 billion will be collected in taxes for alcohol over the festive period.
Petrol prices at record high
Petrol prices reached a record high of 121.76p a litre according to information from the AA.
This price for petrol beats the previous high of 121.61p set in May this year.
Average diesel prices are now 125.73p a litre which is still below the record of 133.25p from July 2008.
Interest rates at record low for 21 months
The Bank of England has held interest rates at the record low of 0.5% for the twenty first consecutive month.
Economists and analysts had widely predicted the Bank’s decision ahead of next month’s VAT hike of 2.5%.
Gender pay gap narrows
The pay gap between men and woman has dropped to 10.2% according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Based on the earnings of full time workers in April 2010, the gap is down from 12.2% the previous year.
According to the data, a man in full-time employment earns an average £13.01 per hour compared with £11.68 for women.
World ‘becoming more corrupt’
The world became more corrupt over the past three years according to a survey by Transparency International.
Some 56% of those surveyed believed their country had become more corrupt during this period. Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria and India were believed to be the most corrupt.
Some 25% said they had used bribery within the past year with the police being common recipients of bribes.
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Compulsory annuities for pensioners scrapped
Savers with a retirement income of more than £20,000 a year will no longer be forced to buy an annuity, the Treasury has revealed
The change is intended to give pension savers more flexibility and will take effect from April 2011. At present all savers are required to buy an annuity by the age of 75 to provide them with a regular income.
A £20,000 limit is meant to prevent people from spending their retirement income and relying on state benefits.
**This material is for information purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. We strongly encourage our readers not to rely solely on this content, but to seek independent advice when making financial decisions.**
