February 17, 2007

Debt – How to Dig Your Way to Freedom

by Kathyrn Lang
For anyone out there who has ever forgotten a payment or found themselves with more debt than their income could pay, you know how aggressive some of these creditors can be. When we found ourselves in deep debt, the calls got rude and insulting. We were blessed to be able to dig our way out of the mess before it got completely out of control. I just ...

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February 16, 2007

Equities markets gain over week

by Elaine Frei
In Tokyo on Friday, equities markets declined slightly. The Nikkei 225 and the Topix index each dropped 0.1 percent on the session, to 17,875.65 and 1,774.53 respectively. The transport sector - car and truck makers - were down the most among export-focused stocks, while the real estate sector saw declines on the domestic side. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 managed to rise ...

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Barclays to announce new strategies against credit card abuse

by Elaine Frei
More stringent credit controls on Barclaycard are expected to be announced when its parent company, Barclays bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE: BCS; TYO: 8642), releases its annual report next week. Since the beginning of 2005 Barclaycard has cut some cardholders’ credit limits and rescinded their ability to borrow cash against their credit card. As many as 330,000 ...

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Highest house prices are in Chelsea

by Elaine Frei
A survey from Mouseprice.com and based on Land Registry statistics on house prices shows that the most expensive houses in England and Wales are located on Kensington Square in west London. The price of a house there averages £5.5 million, according to the study. Most of the top 20 streets on a list of the most expensive places to ...

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Report: UK online shopping to grow by 40 percent by 2020

by Elaine Frei
A report released Friday by the price comparison service uSwitch, 40 percent of retail sales in the UK will be made online by 2020. Such sales made up only 2 percent of all UK sales in 2002, but will reach 15 percent this year, with total sales worth around £40 billion. One factor in the increase ...

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Get a Mortgage Like Your Grandfather Got

by Kathyrn Lang
I was reading an article about the basic principles concerning mortgages when it dawned on me that maybe this information wasn’t basic enough. The article covered the different types of mortgages available, the interest rates, and even the pros and cons of each of these points. What the article didn’t cover is that the lender is out to make a profit off of the borrowers back. Up until recent history, borrowing ...

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February 15, 2007

Equities markets mixed as European stocks see declines

by Elaine Frei
Retail sectors advanced in Tokyo on Thursday after new gross domestic product figures showed that the Japanese economy grew at an annualized rate of 4.8 percent in the last quarter of 2006, above expectations of 3.8 percent growth for the quarter. The Nikkei 225 added 0.81 percent to 17,897.23, its highest close since May 2000. The Topix ...

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UK retail sales drop in January

by Elaine Frei
Retail sales were down 1.8 percent in January, with sales of clothing and household goods down especially sharply, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics. The decline came despite lower prices, down an average of 0.4 percent than the same period in 2006, and in the face of an expected slight rise. The drop in sales ...

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FSA fines Capital One over payment protection policies

by Elaine Frei
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Capital One £175,000 after the company did not give adequate information to customers who bought payment protection insurance (PPI) that they thought would pay off their credit card bills in case they became ill or lost their jobs. The fine came after GE Capital bank was fined £610,000 for similar failures ...

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House price growth slows in January

by Elaine Frei
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported on Thursday that 28 percent more surveyors reported a rise in house prices in January. In December, 36.6 percent of surveyors reported higher prices, making January the fourth month in a row of slower growth in the price of houses. The new figures reinforce recent data from the Bank of England that ...

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Is Saving For Children The Right Route

by Kathyrn Lang
It’s important to save money for the children. I’ve heard this since my husband and I first started having kids, and I recently read an article that was discussing the best ways to go about saving money for children. The expert talked about the savings plans that are available, the tax options, and even the benefits to saving for children. As important as many people see this particular financial ...

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February 14, 2007

Equities markets higher, crude oil prices decline

by Elaine Frei
The Nikkei 225 neared a seven-year high on Wednesday, closing at 17,752.64, a gain of 0.74 percent. The Topix index was also higher, adding 0.54 percent to 1,765.31. The gains came as export-focused stocks went higher as the yen weakened. Tire and rubber companies also were up, as was the mining sector, which was helped by consolidation ...

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Building society fined in stolen laptop case

by Elaine Frei
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined the Nationwide Building Society £980,000 as a result of the theft of a laptop computer from a Nationwide employee’s home last year. Nationwide, it was found, did not even begin an investigation into the theft until three weeks after it occurred. The employee had taken the computer home for legitimate reasons ...

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Petition protests pensions tax

by Elaine Frei
A petition aimed at Downing Street is demanding that the Treasury rescind a proposal that would put what petitioners call “punitive” taxes on alternative secured pensions (ASP). The ASP is a retirement plan that was set up particularly for the Plymouth Brethren, a religious group which objects to mandatory purchase of an annuity at age 75 on moral grounds. ...

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Bank of England report cites uncertainty about inflation

by Elaine Frei
The Bank of England has implied that it will hike interest rates at least one more time this year in order to keep inflation from rising in a report that says inflation will likely continue to remain above the government target of 2 percent if rates remain at the current level of 5.25 percent. Analysts believe that the ...

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February 13, 2007

London markets up in slow trade

by Elaine Frei
The Tokyo equities markets were higher Tuesday as trade resumed after a holiday on Monday. The Nikkei 225 was 0.67 percent higher to 17,621.45, while the Topix index added 0.62 percent to 1,755.90. Most of the gains came in domestic sectors and in anticipation of what is expected to be news of strong economic growth in the fourth quarter ...

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UK consumer inflation down in January

by Elaine Frei
The UK Consumer Prices Index was down to 2.7 percent in January, according to the Office of National Statistics data released Tuesday, down from 3 percent in December. The decline in consumer inflation was greater than had been anticipated. In addition, the Retail Price Index also was lower than had been expected, dropping from 4.4 percent in December to ...

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New home buyers borrowing more

by Elaine Frei
A new report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) shows that first-time home buyers are currently taking mortgages that total 3.31 times their yearly income, with the typical first-time buyer borrowing £115,499 on an annual income of £35,000. In 2005, that average borrowing for a new home was only 2.36 times the buyers’ income in a year. This is a result ...

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Dispute over British Airways pension plan

by Elaine Frei
Ground staff for British Airways (LSE: BAY; NYSE: BAB) voted on Monday to reject management’s offer of a pensions plan that had the company putting in £280 million for the next decade plus a one-time contribution of £800 million, with employees expected to contribute £400 million in altered future benefits. The alterations would include such measures as a raised retirement ...

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GBP extends losses to dollar

by Brian Turner
The British pound extended recent losses against the U.S. dollar today as cable tested bids around the US$ 1.9400 figure after encountering selling pressure around the $1.9520 level. Technically, today’s intraday high was just below the 23.6% retracement of the move from $1.8515 to $1.9845. Data released in the U.K. today saw the January annual consumer price index ...

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