The June economic outlook once again proved to be disappointing for the average household. Lower wages, higher prices and higher debt. Survey compiler Markit announced that its headline Household Finance Index (for the UK) for June rose to 37.0 from a four-month low of 36.6 in May, but remained well below the 50 level necessary for no change in finances compared the previous month. It has remained negative ever since February 2009 with the effect that June saw the worsening of the financial situation of around one third of the respondents as compared to the improvement of only one tenth. Over the next 12 months, the index measuring households' expectations for their finances rose to … [Read more...]