Don’t let your pension shrink due to big fees October 21, 2010 WITH Britain’s traditional pensions model in crisis, more savers are opting to take full control of their pension. The latest data available from the Office for National Statistics shows that assets in self-administered pension funds grew from £620.4bn to £927.7bn between 2002 and 2008 and their total income was £61.6bn last year. This growth has [...]
Watch sterling for the market’s view on cuts October 21, 2010 AFTER all the millions and billions of pounds that were tossed around by chancellor George Osborne on Wednesday, many Brits will be left wondering what impact the coalition government’s spending review has on them. Some measures, such as the removal of child tax benefit for families with at least one higher earner, were widely expected. [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS October 21, 2010 HOME INSURANCE COMPETITION HOTS UP Independent research firm Defaqto has released a report suggesting that the home insurance sector could be in for a rough ride over the next few years, with hot competitionplaying a role. The number of providers has reportedly grown 73 per cent since 2004, driven in part by websites that let [...]
Hoarding gold bars can cost you a pretty penny October 20, 2010 THERE is a story that John Maynard Keynes once messed up when speculating on wheat futures. Instead of buying at a low price and selling higher, without ever having to take delivery of the wheat, he was caught out: the market went the wrong way. The Cambridge academic rushed to sort out storage for dozens [...]
LISTED PRODUCT NEWS October 20, 2010 RBS SEMINAR ON COVERED WARRANTS RBS are holding a seminar next Wednesday on covered warrants. Andrew McHattie, an expert on warrants, will guide new investors through a variety of trading strategies. McHattie is currently the editor of Warrants Alert and Covered Warrants Alert and has previously worked for Phillips & Drew on both its international [...]
THE TIPSTER October 20, 2010 DESPITE missing out on much of the recent rally in stocks, demand for Smith and Nephew seems to be picking up. Recent research highlights it as a potential takeover target, but aggressive call option buying would indicate the stock could be in for a big move higher. ETX Capital is quoting 568.43p-570.07p. A month ago [...]
FTSE 100 ends up following mixed reactions to the cuts October 20, 2010 Britain’s top share index closed higher yesterday, led by miners on the back of firmer metals prices, with investor sentiment buoyed by positive corporate earnings releases from the United States. The market reaction to the government’s spending review was muted. The FTSE 100 ended up 25.04 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,728.93, having closed [...]
Falling dollar boosts commodity stocks October 20, 2010 Wall Street bounced back yesterday as a fall in the dollar spurred buying in industrial and commodity-linked shares, while another batch of strong corporate earnings added to gains. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 129.35 points, or 1.18 per cent, to 11,107.97. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 12.27 points, or 1.05 per cent, [...]
Make sure you are the centre of attention when presenting October 20, 2010 HERE’S a statistic for you: according to Microsoft, 30m PowerPoint presentations are made every day. You are probably thinking one of two things now. Either that this is a wonderful thing, and it means that clear, concise information is being conveyed all over the planet as we speak. Or you imagine a horrible hell of [...]
ODD JOBS October 20, 2010 SEAN WOOLLERSON PIRACY INSURER, JLT My first job after university was with M&S, but I joined JLT about 20 years ago and now one of the big things I deal with is Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. I get calls in the middle of the night to tell me that a ship has [...]