Finances taking turn for the better

Households are the least downbeat about their finances in at least four-and-a-half years amid signs that house prices are back on the increase and workplace conditions are improving, a report has found.

Just over one quarter (26%) of people said their budgets worsened in July, while nearly one in 10 (9%) saw an improvement, according to financial information company Markit.%VIRTUAL-SkimlinksPromo%