The FTSE 100 has fallen as much as 4.28% already in morning trading, as markets price in a Greek debt default. This comes after the failure of the US Federal reserve to implement any real strategy last night, while announcing serious financial headwinds that could potentially put the world’s largest economy into recession. While financial [...]
The property market has become unbalanced, caused by excessive lending, and low interest rates. Both of which have allowed for a surge in property prices over the past decade as people were able to buy in excess of their means. The current state of the market, where First Time Buyers are excluded, is a symptom [...]
With Winter officially here, RAC have put together some answers and tips to the most common questions about maintaining your car and driving during the cold weather: Q. How can I keep my cars’ battery in good condition for the winter? It’s a good idea to purchase a good quality battery charger to keep it [...]
If there’s one thing the financial crisis has made crystal clear now, it’s that it’s time to let the banks fail. There’s no longer any reason why the banking sector, which clearly dragged us into the biggest financial crisis for a century, should therefore be subsidised by the taxpayer in order to simply continue it’s [...]
Current suggestions in the media are that in this week’s overhaul of benefits, the long-term unemployed will be made to perform some form of manual labour. Already objectors are rising up to protest: the Archbishop of Canterbury has already thrown his critical oar in. However, let’s be clear, this is not a new concept - [...]
The recent furore of cuts to Housing Benefit is politically expedient, but I doubt many of the people clamouring against the cuts have ever seen the reality of the system. The truth is that landlords have been shafting councils for Housing Benefit for decades. And because the public sector has been forced to put so [...]
You would think from today’s media frenzy that the government have announced scarpping child benefit entirely. Instead, all they’ve announced is one of the most sensible issues ever - cut a benefit to people who absolutely do not need it. Let’s make it clear - the original purpose of child benefit was help raise child [...]
A £3m fund designed to help social enterprises expand has closed after making only one investment in two years. Triodos, the bank operating the fund, said most social enterprises are not yet ready for large capital injections. “The recession is having an impact,” said Charles Middleton, Triodos UK managing direction. “But our experience was mainly [...]
Has the FSA watchdog become mad and rabid just before being put down? That’s the question a lot of IFA’s will be asking after the announcement today that the FSA will ban commission sales from 2012. After sleeping through the financial crisis, and often taking token action in the event of breaches, the FSA is [...]
Google Finance (http://www.google.com/finance) appears to be having problems today - with users being directed to a Chinese language version of the site. Google Finance is certainly no stranger to problems - screwy updates, tickers, and sections of data missing - problems usually associated with the massive amount of data Google has to rely on. However, [...]
The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which overseas American banks, says that 416 now fail its stress tests. While the FDIC will not reveal the identities of the failing banks, it has stated that they have combined assets of $299.8 billion. The result is the highest since 1994, when 434 banks were on the [...]
Today’s news that Japan has stepped out of recession is, superficially, good news. However, before anyone opens the champagne, it’s worth pointing out that there’s nothing natural about Japan’s economic growth in the slightest. In April Japan unveiled a £100 billion stimulus package on top of previous stimulus attempts, resulting in a total boost of [...]
Bob Janjuah, chief credit strategist at RBS, is predicting that we’re heading for another stock market crash this autumn. Before the bulls cry “doomsayer!”, let’s note that at a similar time last year Bob Janjuah successfully predicted the stock market crash for the autumn of 2008. Coverage is highlighted by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard at the Telegrah: [...]
Surveyors are not undervaluing property as the NAEA claims - but instead, estate agents are over-valuing property. The National Association of Estate Agents today claimed that surveyors are purposefully under-valuing properties, thus adversely impacting the property market. This is especially when someone applies for a mortgage, only to find the mortgage lender will only lend [...]
Today’s announcement of regulatory reform of the financial services sector by the Conservative Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, initially seems a sensible suggestion. However, setting up the Bank of England to regulate banks to help prevent any potential future financial crisis fails to address two key points: 1. The Bank of England specifically and intentionally created [...]
Today’s announcement by Gordon Brown of reforms to benefits for young people is old news and has already been tried by consecutive Conservative and Labour governments. As Project Work under the Conservatives, and New Deal under Labour, the entire process has been - and always has been - a complete sham designed to shunt people [...]
The current optimism in the financial markets is being further encouraged by the release of data on the stress-tests for US banks. Unfortunately, we’ve become so used to seeing eye-watering high figures in news about banks that somehow the news that at least $75 billion more is required is somehow comforting. It’s worth remembering that [...]
Recession over? April Fool! We’re seeing the message this week that the worst of the recession could be over. It seems a familiar April Fool’s message - we saw the same last year when stock markets enjoyed a brief rally after claims the credit crunch was effectively over. You might be easily led into thinking [...]
Wall Street rallied today in a dazzling return of investor confidence only a day after US financials were slaughtered. The Dow Jones gained 279.01 point (3.51%), the S&P 500 35.02 points (4.35%), and the Nasdaq was up 66.21 points. (4.60%). Marketwatch makes and interesting point with Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist, LPL Financial, as saying: [...]
The announcement by RBS yesterday that it expected to write down £28 billion was extraordinary. Fears that the bank may be fully nationalised drove the share price down 67%. However, the announcement was extraordinary not simply because it would represent the biggest single loss in UK corporate history - but also because of the timing. [...]
CPP Group Plc, which provides credit card and identity protection, claims that a mis-selling investigation by the Financial Services of Authority (FSA) could put it out of business. The FSA has been reviewing the firm for a year following complaints over the way it sold card protection and identity protection products. The regulator has now [...]
Government on track to beat borrowing target
The government expects to either achieve or exceed its target of borrowing no more than £127bn this year, after recording its biggest surplus for four years in January. In the tax year to date the government has borrowed £93.5bn and in January it made a net repayment of £7.75bn, excluding financial interventions. Although a surplus [...]
FSA fines Santander £1.5m over compensation scheme
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Santander £1.5m for failing to explain to customers that some of its investment products were not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS is a financial safety net which pays compensation to customers of financial services firms authorised by the FSA, if the firm itself [...]
Mortgage lending 12% lower in January
Gross mortgage lending fell to £10.5bn in January, 12 per cent lower than the total for December. However the figures represent a year-on-year increase of 10 per cent, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said. January was the sixth consecutive month of higher lending compared with the previous year. Home loan approvals also increased in [...]
Rents continued to rise in January
The average rent increased by 0.1% from December to January, a traditionally quiet period for the rental market. It was the first January increase in rents ever recorded by LSL Property Services, which said that tenants were trying to take advantage of the quiet period. With many potential first-time buyers unable to afford to buy [...]
Netmums says families in financial crisis
The economic downturn, the rising cost of living and the government’s austerity programme have pushed over 70 per cent of UK families to the brink of poverty, according to online parenting organisation Netmums. The organisation surveyed over 2,000 of its members this month to find out how they are coping in the economic downturn and [...]
More buy-to-let mortgages approved
The number of properties bought with buy-to-let mortgages increased by 84,000 in 2011 according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ latest figures. In the final quarter, 34,800 buy-to-let mortgages totalling £4 billion were approved, compared with 26,300 worth a total of £2.9 billion, in the 2010 final quarter. Demand for rented accommodation has increased significantly [...]
Barclays launches mobile banking app
Barclays’ free ‘Pingit’ app allows the bank’s UK current account holders to send money from their phone by simply entering the recipient’s mobile phone number. Up to £300 can be sent via the app and funds are sent using ‘Faster Payments’, which means the payment could be credited to the recipient’s account within a few [...]
OFT calls for step change in banking sector
In a speech to bankers, the head of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said that banks must improve their services or face being broken-up. The OFT’s chief executive, John Fingleton, said that despite investigations into the UK’s banking system by competition authorities, consumer bodies and the government, there is still too little competition. He [...]
16-year olds should manage own bank accounts
Parenting expert and author Andrew Watson has added his voice to those calling for young people to learn money management at an early age. Mr Watson, who wrote a book for dads-to-be when his wife was expecting their first baby, suggests that allowing young people to make financial mistakes will help prevent them making more [...]
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