There has been a substantial increase in the number of people worried about their finances over the past six months and savings are the main area of concern. A survey by financial advice site unbiased.co.uk discovered that 47 per cent of British people are more concerned about their savings than they were six months ago. [...]
Santander UK has announced a new savings bond designed for people who want to inflation-proof their savings. The six-year Inflation Linked Savings Bond will pay the percentage rise in the Retail Price Index (RPI) when it matures, on top of the saver’s initial deposit. Savers can invest between £500 to £2 million in the bond [...]
Campaign group Save our Savers today revealed the cost to savers of the Bank of England’s decision to hold the base rate at 0.5% for the 33rd successive month. The group estimates that the low interest rate combined with a retail price index at 5.6 per cent, its highest level for 20 years, and a [...]
Halifax has improved its ISA offering with a better return on its five year fixed rate product. The ISA now pays 4.4 per cent, strengthening its position as the market leading long term fixed rate ISA. The product is an excellent option for savers who do not mind their savings being tied up for the [...]
From November 28, National Savings and Investments (NS&I) will cease selling its accounts via the Post Office. It has been announced that the Government-backed NS&I will no longer sell investment or easy access savings accounts over the counter at the Post Office. NS&I runs Premium Bonds and a variety of savings products. However, from the [...]
Disability charity Scope is to launch a £20 million bond programme to produce a new source of funds for its charitable activities. The move will see the charity become one of the first in the UK to enter the capital markets. The charity will team up with Investing for Good, a specialist social finance intermediary, [...]
US banking giant Goldman Sachs has today reported a fall in third quarter profits. Goldman Sachs, which is the US’ largest investment bank, made a net loss of $393 million (£250 million) for the third quarter compared with profits of $1.9 billion a year earlier. The bank said trading was “significantly impacted” by the euro [...]
European equities markets were lower Monday after a spokesman for the German government said a quick solution to the Eurozone debt crisis will not emerge from a meeting of European leaders scheduled for 23 October, after a plan for a solution was discussed over the weekend by G20 finance ministers and central bank leaders. No [...]
European equities markets were higher Friday, with gains coming on hopes for a solution to the region’s debt crisis as the G20 finance ministers meet in Paris to discuss the crisis and a rescue plan that could cause holders of Greek bonds to take bigger losses. The gains came despite the third credit rating cut [...]
European equities markets were lower Thursday after a warning from the European Central Bank, which said that making financial institutions that hold Greek bonds absorb more losses could imperil financial stability in the Eurozone, while markets were also hurt by data that exports from China were up 17.1 percent in September from last year, less [...]
European equities markets were higher Wednesday after both the European Commission President and the European Union’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner said that banks need to be shored up as part of the answer to solving the Eurozone’s debt crisis, but gains came only after earlier declines on a delay in Slovakia’s approval of a [...]
Most equities markets in Europe were lower Tuesday as questions remained about whether Slovakia will ratify the newly revised Eurozone bailout fund in a vote scheduled for later in the day. Slovakia is the only Eurozone nation that has not approved the new plan. The FTSE 100 was down 0.06 percent to 5,395.7 in London, [...]
Equities markets in Europe were higher Monday, with gains coming on a promise by Germany’s chancellor and France’s president that they will create a plan to recapitalize banks and find solutions to the region’s debt crisis as they said they will have the plan worked out by a G20 summit scheduled for 3 November. The [...]
European equities markets were higher in mid-afternoon trade Friday, helped by data from the US Labor Department that showed 103,000 jobs added to the US economy, more than expected, while the unemployment rate in the United States held steady at 9.1 percent. The FTSE 100 was up 0.16 percent to 5,299.77 in London at mid-afternoon, [...]
European equities markets were higher Thursday after the European Central Bank and Bank of England both held interest rates steady, at 1.5 percent and at 0.5 percent respectively, while the ECB said it will restart covered-bond purchases and again offer year-long loans to banks, while the Bank of England will expand its program of bond [...]
Equities markets in Europe were higher Wednesday on the possibility that Eurozone finance ministers will put in place ways to protect banks from the region’s debt crisis. The FTSE 100 was up 3.19 percent to 5,102.17 in London, while the FTSE 250 added 1.51 percent to 9,567.84. Miners led gains on both the 100 and [...]
European equities markets were lower Tuesday on the possibility that the Greek bailout deal reached in July could be renegotiated, although the contemplated revisions are said to be of a technical nature. The FTSE 100 was down 2.58 percent to 4,944.44 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 3.33 percent to 9.425.93. Most retailers were [...]
European equities markets were lower Monday on continuing concerns that the region’s debt crisis will get worse and spread, with some analysts saying that another recession is on the way. The FTSE 100 was down 1.03 percent to 912.34 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 0.7 percent to 9,750.56, with declines coming even though [...]
European equities markets were lower Friday on further indications that the global economy is slowing as Chinese manufacturing activity remained in contraction, Eurozone inflation was up to 3 percent in August and German retail sales dropped 2.9 percent in August from the previous month in a much larger decline than expected. The FTSE 100 was [...]
European equities markets were mostly higher Thursday on positive date from the United States, including a 1.3 percent gain in the US gross domestic product and a decline in first-time jobless claims last week, while gains were also helped after German lawmakers approved an increased contribution to a European fund to help Eurozone nations caught [...]
Stricter mortgage rules delayed until 2014
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has confirmed that it will introduce rules designed to prevent irresponsible mortgage lending, but it has put back the date for their introduction from summer 2013 to April 2014. Under the tighter regulations, which follow the FSA’s Mortgage Market Review, lenders will have to carry out a more in-depth assessment [...]
Tesco launches sub-2% mortgage rate
Tesco Bank has launched a record-low mortgage deal, but only for those who can afford a deposit of at least 40 per cent of the value of the property, as well as a £995 fee. The two-year deal offers a rate of just 1.99 per cent and is fixed until the end of 2014. Tesco [...]
Dental insurance could increase patients’ bills
Dental treatment is expensive, prompting many people to take out insurance to ensure they aren’t faced with a large, unexpected bill. However, research carried out by consumer group Which? suggests that this may be a false economy as dental insurance could actually end up costing patients more. The organisation tested dental insurance policies and dental [...]
Younger retirees less focused on leaving an inheritance
Traditionally parents have attached great importance to leaving an inheritance to their children, but attitudes are changing according to a survey by equity release and annuity provider Just Retirement. The survey, of homeowners aged over 55, was designed to gauge consumer attitudes towards housing equity withdrawal. Just Retirement found that younger retirees are more concerned [...]
AA reports fall in cost of car insurance
The cost of car insurance premiums fell in the third quarter according to the AA British Insurance Premium Index, after rising steadily for several years and flattening out in early 2012. The cost of policies purchased directly from an insurance firm fell by 2.9 per cent in the third quarter but was still nearly 6 [...]
Nationwide may bid for RBS branches
There is growing speculation that Nationwide building society may be considering a bid for the 316 branches being sold by RBS group under EU rules. RBS was ordered to sell the branches under the terms of the £45 billion bailout it received from the UK government during the financial crisis. It had planned to sell [...]
Scottish Widows highlights growing gender gap in pensions
Women are saving £766 a year less than men for their retirement according to life, pensions and investment firm Scottish Widows. A new report by the firm suggests that the gender gap in pension savings has increased by 10 per cent in the last 12 months and is now at a record high level. Women [...]
Improvement seen in consumer finances
Two separate surveys have reported an improvement in household finances, bolstering optimism that the recession is coming to an end. Although Markit, the financial information services company, reported a worsening in consumer finances in October, it was the smallest deterioration in the past two years. The Markit Household Finance Index, which is designed to accurately [...]
Bank of Scotland fined over inaccurate mortgage records
The Bank of Scotland has received a £2.4 million fine from the Financial Services Authority (FSA), for failing to keep accurate records on the mortgage payments of 250,000 customers of the Halifax between 2004 and 2011. An investigation by the FSA, following a spate of customer complaints, discovered that 160,000 homeowners were incorrectly excluded from [...]
Average rent rises to all-time high
The average rent on a home in England and Wales increased to £741 a month in September, according to the latest buy-to-let index from LSL Property Services. This was 1.1 per cent higher than the average rent of £734 in August and represents a new record high. However the rate of increase has slowed, from [...]
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