This week in money

Quote:

Home prices are rising, but the speed is not alarming

David Blitzer, director of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones on US home prices

Oman Insurance sells motor products via online portal

Oman Insurance Company has launched a new platform on its site Tameen.ae, allowing customers to buy their policy via their smartphones or laptops. From the quote to comparison of plans, online purchase and the issuance of the policy – this can now all be done via an iPhone, Android or laptop device. The company says motor insurance continues to be one of its “key retail products” and it experienced “tremendous sales growth” in 2016 thanks to the simplification of its processes.

13%

Almost half of all phishing attacks – fraudulent email messages or copycat websites that appear legitimate – registered in 2016, were aimed at stealing their victim’s money, according to an analysis of the financial threat landscape by Kaspersky Lab. Compared to 2015, the amount of financial phishing attacks increased 13 per cent last year.

US student loans need careful monitoring

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday issued a warning to US consumers to pay close attention to their personal information on record with student loan servicers as errors are popping up that can cost borrowers dearly. About 44 million Americans have student loan debt totalling US$1.3 billion and the watchdog said it gets thousands of complaints each year from consumers about issues with student loan servicers such as problems tied to incorrect or incomplete enrolment status information.

UK consumer borrowing below average

UK consumer credit remained below average in January, reinforcing a picture of weakening confidence as inflation bites. Unsecured lending rose by £1.4bn (Dh6.36bn) from December, below the £1.6bn averaged over the previous six months, according to the Bank of England. On an annual basis, credit growth slowed to 10.3 per cent, the least since August 2016.

pf@thenational.ae

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