One of the largest banks in Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, is considering buying into Barclays Bank as they seek to raise GBP4 billion capital.
Sumitomo Mitsui is considering a 100 billion Yen investment, which would be around GBP500 million. Barclays also have serious interest from some other investors too and if everything goes as planned then the GBP4 billion needed will be achieved with money to spare.
An announcement is expected from Barclays Bank in the next week or so, though existing Barclays investors have to give their final approval before the deals can go ahead. Sumitomo Mitsui are certainly very keen on the deal since they have been finding it difficult to locate good investment opportunities in China.
82 percent of households in Britain are changing their behaviour in response to rising costs and future economic concerns say Legal and General.
With Summer holidays topical right now it is revealing to see that over a quarter of households have changed their holiday plans because of their uncertainty about the future. Lots of people have also cut down on how often they go out, with nearly 40 percent of people saying they now spend more time at home.
One of the biggest concerns from the Legal and General survey was the fact that about half the households spoken to are cutting back on food in order to manage their finances, with over a quarter of them also looking at selling possessions in order to manage. Lets hope the government sees the survey and does something about it, starting with fuel taxation, something that affects the cost of everything in the UK.
The Halifax has reported that the amount of pocket money given to children has fallen compared with last year. In 2007 the weekly amount was just over GBP8, though this has fallen to a little over GBP6 this year.
Parents will no doubt be feeling the pinch said a Halifax spokesperson, though in their defence they do still buy items such as mobile phones and ipods for their children. The best place for children to be is London, where the average pocket money is GBP8.47, followed by Scotland where they receive GBP8.20.
The lowest paying parents are found in the East Midlands, where GBP4.46 is the norm, closely followed by the south west of England where children receive an average of GBP4.58 according to the Halifax figures.