Volkswagen shares are in pole position for a 2017 comeback January 3, 2017 Time to take down the stockings, tuck away the ornaments and get shopping! Because as any bargain-hunter knows, the disappointment that comes from not getting what you want under the tree is easily forgotten by trading up for something better in the January sales. That may be the hope of VW chief executive Matthias Mueller [...]
With diverging monetary policy and more political uncertainty, should investors expect 2017 to be the year that growth makes a comeback? January 3, 2017 This year is being heralded as a new dawn for markets. The economic malaise which has dogged developed economies since the financial crisis will finally subside; the battle against deflation has been won; fiscal stimulus is firmly on the agenda, and real growth will return. Such optimistic assessments may prove to be on the money. [...]
Working for longer isn’t an option for those who are forced into early retirement, survey finds January 2, 2017 Many of the Britain's workers are being forced into early retirement due to illness or redundancy according to new figures released today. More than four in 10 of retired people have been forced to quit full-time positions due to circumstances outside of their control, a survey by Just Retirement has revealed. The news is a concern [...]
Trinity Mirror defends buyback amid pension shortfall criticism January 2, 2017 Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror has defended a £10m share buyback amid criticism over its £426m pension shortfall. Frank Field, chair of the influential work and pensions select committee, has called on the Pensions Regulator to block the buyback, while the move has also been criticised by former Tory pensions minister Baroness Altmann. Read more: New [...]
Happy New Year: We’re about to spend 9.5m hours filling in self-assessment tax returns December 30, 2016 Mark your calendars: it's just over one month until the deadline to submit your self-assessment tax return on the 31 January, and new research suggests nearly 2m taxpayers will spend the better part of a working day completing their annual submission. It took 45 per cent of sole traders five hours or more to file their tax return, [...]
Investment trust winners of 2016 December 29, 2016 | City Talk Investment trusts focused on Asia are on course to deliver some of the best returns in 2016, according to data for trust sectors. Investment trusts are an alternative to more commonly held open-ended funds or unit trusts, offering some advantages. This is explained here: investment trust v open-ended funds Here, we look at the performance [...]
Over half of consumers expect to still be paying off Christmas shopping this time next year December 28, 2016 Nearly nine out of 10 people in the UK will wake up with a post-festive spending hangover in 2017, according to price comparison service uSwitch. Britons are heading into the new year with an average credit card debt of £636 after consumers put £11bn on plastic to fund Christmas. In a survey of 1,261 adults, uSwitch estimate [...]
Are world stockmarkets good value going into 2017? December 22, 2016 | City Talk Global stock markets have seen a turbulent year, but surprised many with the resilience shown after the Brexit vote and the US presidential election result. Both the US and UK markets are significantly ahead of where they started the year, as is Japan, although Europe – which faces a series of major elections in 2017 [...]
Are world stockmarkets good value going into 2017? December 22, 2016 | City Talk Global stock markets have seen a turbulent year, but surprised many with the resilience shown after the Brexit vote and the US presidential election result. Both the US and UK markets are significantly ahead of where they started the year, as is Japan, although Europe – which faces a series of major elections in [...]
Pensions Regulator racks up external costs of £1.4m on probe into BHS and Sir Philip Green December 21, 2016 The pensions watchdog has so far incurred external costs of at least £1.4m from its investigation into BHS and Sir Philip Green, City A.M. has learned. The money, nearly £400,000 of which is in legal expenditure, is in addition to internal costs for the Pensions Regulator (TPR), which has 16 staff working on the probe, [...]