Thursday, January 17, 2013

Better off or not?

More than a fifth of the population – 22.7%, or 14m people – were considered "at risk of poverty or social exclusion" in 2011, the latest year for which data is available.

Almost 30% of people in Britain are unable to afford even a week's annual holiday.

36.6% say they would be unable to afford an "unexpected but necessary financial expense", such as a surprise bill.

The  analysis by the Office for National Statistics reveals the day-to-day struggle facing many families. Your chances of living in poverty in the UK may have fallen in the last few years that doesn’t mean we have more money. It is because poverty is measured compared to everyone else, and everyone else has got poorer too.

Sadly, across almost every measure, the number of Britons struggling has risen since the 2007 financial crisis (see chart below). More people are struggling to pay their mortgages, rents, meet debt payments, keep their homes warm, meet unexpected costs or even eat meat or protein regularly.

However it is all bad news. Net profits at Goldman Sachs in the final quarter of the year rose threefold to $2.9bn (£1.8bn) from a year earlier. JP Morgan booked profits of $5.7bn (£3.6bn), up 54% on the $3.7bn the bank made a year earlier.  U.S. Bancorp posted a record profit of $5.6 billion in 2012, topping its 2011 record by more than $600 million.

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