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. [...]
Bank of Ireland raises cost of mortgages
The Bank of Ireland has become the latest lender to increase the standard variable rate (SVR) on its mortgages. Around 100,000 UK customers will be affected when the bank increases the SVR from 2.99 per cent, to 3.99 per cent in June There will be a further increase in September, when the SVR will rise [...]
House prices down 1.1% in February
House prices fell 1.1 per cent in February according to The Halifax, contradicting earlier figures from Nationwide suggesting that property prices have increased. According to the Halifax’s three monthly index, house prices were 1.1 per cent lower in February than in the previous three months. The mortgage lender’s annual index showed that property prices fell [...]
Debit card transactions declined by Yorkshire and Clydesdale
Customers of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank have been experiencing problems with debit cards being declined due to computer changes. The problem initially occurred while the banks, which are both part of the National Australia Bank (NAB), were transferring their systems operations to an external contractor on Sunday morning. Problems with some Mastercard debit transactions persisted [...]
Banks write to customers over PPI mis-selling
Banks are writing to millions of customers advising them that they may have been mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI), following the release of new guidelines by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA estimates that between four million and 12 million letters will be sent out, but not everyone who has been mis-sold PPI will [...]
Confidence in pensions plummets ahead of auto-enrolement
Public confidence in pensions has fallen to an all-time low just months before the Government starts automatically putting every worker into one, new research showed today (Weds). A survey for the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) found 54% of all employees are not confident in pensions compared to other ways of saving. 37% said [...]
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) expects the UK economy to grow more slowly than previously forecast and says it faces “serious challenges”. In its quarterly economic forecast the BCC forecast growth of 0.6 per cent in 2012, a slight decrease from its previous forecast of 0.8 per cent. It expects the government’s efforts to [...]
Pension annuities should be clearer under new code
A new code of conduct is being launched by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) which should ensure that the sale of annuities is fairer and more transparent. The new code is designed to make it easier for people to make decisions about their retirement income, including being more confident in using the so-called ‘open [...]
Saga sees financial green shoots for over-50s
Saga’s latest quarterly report is slightly more optimistic about the financial health of the over 50s than its report for the final quarter of 2011, but the organisation warns that the “green shoots” of recovery are very tentative at the moment. Compared with a year ago, the report suggests that the quality of life for [...]
Drivers switch to autopilot after 11 minutes
A study by car insurance provider, Esure, has found that drivers suffer from a lapse in concentration just 11 minutes into a long journey. Esure questioned more than 1,000 motorists in the UK about their driving habits and attention span. 22 per cent of those surveyed said they fell into ‘autopilot’ easily, while 34% said [...]
Metro Bank launches online ISA service
London-based Metro Bank is partnering with Australian online banking solutions provider Sandstone to create an online application platform for Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs). CallCredit will provide verification and credit checking data for the new service, which will be available in time for consumers to take advantage of the new Isa allowance, starting in April. This [...]
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