Meanwhile, average earnings excluding bonuses rose by 0.8pc, the lowest rise since records began in 2001.

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Finally, Reuters reports that Merrill Lynch Wealth Management on Monday said it has hired Ashvin Chhabra as chief investment officer and head of investment management, overseeing about 150 strategists who design portfolios for wealthy clients.

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Posted by Interim Partners, Interim manager specialists.

Acting Fire Chief Charles “Chuck” Peraza was named the permanent chief. He had been filling the position since Fire Chief Frank Contreras retired in December 2011.

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Posted by Interim Partners, Interim legal advisor specialists.

As credit concerns ease and economic growth picks up, total loan write-offs are forecast to fall to 0.56% of total loans in 2013 (£9.3billion), after peaking in 2012 at £11.6billion. As a result, provisions against loan losses at UK banks are broadly expected to remain stable, and write-offs are expected to decline further by 2016 when they will make up just 0.34% of total loans. However this forecast is dependent on the interest rate remaining at the current low level. There is an outside risk that non-performing loans (NPLs) have been understated and bank’s lending policies and NPL rates remain highly sensitive to even small interest rate changes.

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However, the sensitivity of households to interest rate changes has changed over the years. At the end of 2002, less than 20% of new mortgage contracts had an IRF of less than three years. Between 2003 and 2005, borrowers shifted to mortgages with shorter IRFs with interest rates typically one percentage point or more lower than fixed rate mortgages (FRM). The share of mortgages with IRF of less than 3 years rose to almost 60% at end-2004.

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