Save money when buying overseas October 31, 2014 Whether it’s a villa in the sun-kissed Côte d'Azur, a chalet in the Alps or a pied-à-terre in Paris, France has long been a favourite destination for second home owners. And that desire shows no sign of abating, as trends in the French capital are showing: “In Paris, foreign buyers are now accounting for nearly [...]
Russia: Rouble descends into freefall despite central bank’s rate hike to 17 per cent December 16, 2014 The rouble descended into freefall during trading today despite the Russian central bank's drastic action which hiked interest rates from 10.5 per cent to 17 per cent late last night. After starting the day with a brief rally, the Russian currency dropped again and was down 12.2 per cent to 73 roubles per dollar at pixel [...]
Save money on your overseas transfers November 5, 2014 Whether you’re dreaming of buying a place in the sun, emigrating abroad or need to send money to family and friends overseas, you could save money with a currency specialist. For many people their bank would be the obvious choice when moving money overseas, but banks do not traditionally offer the most competitive exchange rates. [...]
Rouble takes a beating as Apple halts sales in Russia December 16, 2014 Russia’s economic situation spiralled out of control yesterday as its central bank’s shock decision to raise interest rates to 17 per cent failed to prevent a further collapse in the rouble. The currency’s extreme volatility was reflected in a decision late last night by Apple – the world’s largest company – to suspend online sales [...]
Libor fines to be spent on air ambulances and forces charities December 3, 2014 Hundreds of millions of pounds in Libor fines will go to air ambulances, Gurkha and veterans’ hearing charities, the chancellor said yesterday. Banks paid the fines after their traders were accused of trying to manipulate key interbank interest rate Libor. The pledge comes after Osborne announced the fines for foreign exchange benchmark manipulation would be spent [...]
Here’s how UK businesses can protect themselves against a strengthening US dollar February 5, 2015 The US dollar's strength is surging against the pound and the euro – a trend that could cause problems for some UK businesses. As international confidence in the US economy intensifies, many investors have turned to the dollar as a much safer bet than its Asian or European counterparts, with China's growth slowing and [...]
Save money on a property overseas November 14, 2014 NOW could be a great time to buy property overseas. The strength of the pound coupled with a depressed European housing market means that bargains are available on the continent. In Spain, for example, house prices are 35 per cent below their 2007 peak. And for UK based buyers the good news is that [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 16 June 2014 June 16, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES GSK spin-off set for possible listing A British biotech company spun out of GlaxoSmithKline is gearing up for a possible stock market flotation after strong trial results for a new painkiller. Convergence Pharmaceuticals was set up in 2010 as part of a restructuring of GSK’s research and development operations. The UK’s biggest drugmaker [...]
Banks are back: How the UK’s banking sector got its mojo back as dividend payments rise March 26, 2015 The UK’s banks are back on form and could be the best place to invest for good and growing dividends. British banks such as Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays were once the best places to invest for solid dividends. Ten years ago, banks provided a quarter of all dividends in the UK market, according to figures [...]
Tobacco giant BAT’s revenue drops by 12pc April 30, 2014 BRITISH American Tobacco saw its declining sales ease off during the first quarter, but revenues were hit by unfavourable foreign exchange rates. The world’s second largest cigarette maker yesterday reported tobacco volumes, which measures total quantities sold, fell one per cent to 158bn sticks during the three months to the end of March – an [...]