The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned of “potentially problematic” levels of credit card debt in the UK.
A total of £61bn is owed to credit card companies, according to the FCA, which adds that around 60% of the population have at least one credit card.
The financial watchdog has release an interim report from an ongoing review of the credit card market which reveals that 2mln Brits, 6.9% of all credit card holders, are either in arrears or have defaulted on their cards.
It also estimates that a further 2mln people have “persistent levels of debt” that they’re struggling to repay, while a further 1.6mln have to repeatedly make only the minimum repayments required which means they pay more interest and take longer to clear their debts.
At the same time the FCA claimed that the market was a competitive one, and it is working “fairly well” for most consumers even if it could potentially work better what it called “a significant minority” with persistent levels of debt.
Not only are Brits not able to manage money – without mountains of credit card debt – it seems they’re not able to cook for themselves either.
Just Eat, the online takeaway ordering, today upgraded its outlook for the full year, with revenue now seen above £240mln (up from £230mln).
It said the number of orders placed on the platform in the UK was increasing by 50% year-on-year, and that more than 74% of British orders were now placed via mobile devices, up from 69%.
Having now covered credit card debt and takeaway food - two of the writer’s five a day - it is probably fitting we move on to video games, which provides the M&A highlight of the day.
Candy Crush maker King Digital Entertainment (NYSE:KING) is to be bought for US$5.9bn by Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI), the games developers behind hit franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Guitar Hero.
Activision is paying US$18 per share to acquire the mobile games group, and the transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies.
The deal sets up Activision to become leader in interactive entertainment across mobile, console and PC platforms, and positions the company for future growth, it said.
Elsewhere, in the oil and gas sector, Shell (LON:RDSB) told investors it sees US$1bn more ‘synergy’ in its acquisition of BG Group (LON:BG.) as it also re-stated that it would cut costs and spending by around US$11bn this year.
And over in North America, TransCanada, the company trying to build a major pipeline to connect Canadian oil sands operations with the key refining hubs in the US, has asked for a delay to key permitting decisions.
The controversial project, which is not believed to have the support of the Obama administration, is something of a flagship battleground between the oil and gas industry and environmental campaigners.
Experts and commentators interpreted the request as the company preferring a period of prolonged uncertainty rather than a receiving a straight no.
It is speculated that it would rather wait-out the current presidency, in the hope that a change of government may prompt a change of fortunes.
By way of context it is worth noting that Shell last week ditched a major oil sands project in Alberta, Canada, which would have seen 80,000 barrels of daily production brought online. Infrastructure and a lack of access to key oil markets were among the reasons for Shell’s decision.