PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS October 7, 2010 CONSUMERS PAYING OFF CARDS FASTER Data from the British Bankers’ Association shows that the number of credit card purchases has been on the rise over the last year. While there were 158m purchases on cards in August 2009, July 2010 saw 169m and in August this year consumers upped the number of purchases to 173m. [...]
FTSE bounces four per cent as hope for euro plan grows September 27, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index gained strongly yesterday, posting its biggest one-day percentage gain for 16 months, boosted by a rally from commodity stocks and advances by banks on increased hopes that European leaders will take decisive action to alleviate the region’s debt crisis encouraged investors. Banking stocks, among the most sensitive to the twists in [...]
International Personal Finance profit soars October 19, 2010 Emerging markets lender International Personal Finance posted a 36 per cent rise in third-quarter adjusted pre-tax profit, helped by a strong recovery in Hungary. The company, which lends small cash sums to consumers in central Europe and Mexico, also expects to be in a good position to deliver further improvement in 2011 on stronger growth [...]
50P tax rate goes at last March 22, 2012 GEORGE Osborne yesterday announced he was scrapping the 50p rate as he unveiled a raft of tax cuts for individuals and businesses – but he decided to stage a raid on pensioners, banks, buyers of £2m properties and other groups to fund his headline grabbing measures. In what he described as a Budget that “unashamedly [...]
Finance and marriage – should go together like a horse and carriage February 12, 2012 TAKING care to maximise income and capital gains tax allowances and reliefs may not seem like rocket science but over the years it can save a great deal of tax. In a world where “clever clever” tax mitigation is increasingly frowned upon there is a lot to be said for this low key approach. There [...]
Budget could be surprisingly radical March 18, 2012 MAYBE, just maybe, this Budget could end up being a big deal, a defining shift in direction for the coalition and the day George Osborne finally rediscovers his radical inner self. I certainly hope so, and there are growing signs that this may be the case – but instigating a revolution would require breaking away [...]
LONG TERM INVESTING IS NO GUARANTEE OF WEALTH April 9, 2012 DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT THE other day I saw a chart that astounded me. It was a simple chart of the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the past 20 years against a single upward sloping line. The line gently rose at about 6 per cent per year (which is the average historical compounded rate [...]
FSA fines former JC Flowers boss £3m January 31, 2012 The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined the financier Ravi Shankar Sinha almost £3m for a false invoicing scheme while he was in charge of the UK operations of private equity firm JC Flowers. The financial services watchdog demanded that Sinha, one of JC Flowers’ leading dealmakers who had led attempts to buy Northern Rock [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS September 23, 2010 LONDONERS WORRY ABOUT DEBT… R3, an insolvency trade body, has conducted research showing that 40 per cent of adults in the UK are anxious about their personal debt levels. Londoners are most affected: 49 per cent admitted being concerned. Nationwide, credit card debt is the source of the greatest worry at 51 per cent, followed [...]
Comparison site pays out a £20m divi August 2, 2011 PRICE comparison site moneysupermarket.com yesterday announced a special £20m dividend payment triggered by a 28 per cent revenue rise in the first half. Founder Simon Nixon, who owns 52 per cent of the shares, will pocket a £14m payout. The company rejected suggestions that Nixon, who has hinted he might sell his stake, forced the [...]