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Bank of England keeps rates on hold
Following the MPC meeting last week the Bank of England has decided to keep interest rates on hold at 5.5%. This has disappointed many industry professionals and consumers who thought that the slowdown in the economy would see the Bank of England reducing interest rates for the second month in a row. However, concerns over CPI inflation levels have also had to be considered, and although MPC members put these on the back burner in December, when the interest rate was cut by 0.25%, it has not done so for this month.
Boss of Barclays becomes victim of fraud
The chairman of Barclays Bank has become the victim of identity fraud and theft after failure by staff at his own bank to follow security procedures. A fraudster managed to pose as the boss, Marcus Agius, and convinced staff at the bank's credit card division to send him a card out. He then took £10,000 from the boss's account. The money has been replaced by Barclays, and one bank official said: "It was down to human error, procedures were not followed fully and we have learned from it. This is an ongoing battle with professional fraudsters. All Barclays customers, from the chairman downwards, have a 100 percent fraud guarantee as long as they take responsible care of their information."
Church of England will offer advise on debt
A campaign has been launched by the Church of England that is aimed at helping people that are suffering from debt problems. The campaign is called 'A Matter of Life and Debt' and offers advice, a ten point checklist, warning signs relating to debt, and practical as well as biblical advice relating to debt issues. One church official stated: "If a household can say "yes" to any of the statements on the checklist, it may be on the verge of encountering serious debt issues, and should carefully consider taking some of the advice included in the pages of Matter of Life and Debt."
Easyjet launches credit card
The well known budget airline Easyjet has launched a credit card that offers a number of benefits for travellers, enabling them to earn miles for using the card to book flights and other travel related products through Easyjet, and also enables them to enjoy a free flight of up to £40 including taxes if £250 or more is spent on the card in the first three months. However, the card also offers an interest free balance transfer period and customers should be careful not to transfer a balance and make purchases on the card, otherwise the purchase balance will get trapped behind the transferred balance and incur interest rate charges of 16.9%.
 Credit card guide
Financial news round up archive
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