Choosing the right lender is crucial in a tough market June 3, 2010 HOUSES are selling like hotcakes thanks to fierce competition among buyers. The latest monthly survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed that houses are shifting quicker than new ones could come on to the market, despite the number of new sellers increasing. Even the dreaded gazumping is back. In such a market, [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS June 3, 2010 NO OVERSEAS FX FEES WITH KALIXA Whether you are heading to South Africa for the World Cup or elsewhere this summer, you ought to be thinking about your currency arrangements as early as possible. Kalixa, the pre-paid Mastercard, has announced this week that it will be waiving its standard foreign exchange fee for all point-of-sale [...]
Bubbly and with plenty of fizz June 3, 2010 CITY boys and girls can be a hard bunch to please, but Neleen Strauss seems to have found the formula that keeps them coming back to High Timber, the restaurant she co-owns that is located on the north bank of the River Thames. High Timber has arguably one of the best views in the City: [...]
No lament for the end of the family-run firm June 3, 2010 THE days of family-run firms could be numbered according to a survey carried out by Haines Watts, the accountancy firm. It found that out of the 650 small business owners it asked, a paltry 16 per cent responded that they planned to hand control of their business to another family member. So, what has led [...]
TIME TO PAY June 3, 2010 Q. What is the “time to pay” scheme and how does it work? A. The “time to pay” scheme is a long-standing tax deferral scheme by HMRC that was not widely known prior to 2008, when the government re-launched it as part of a package of recession-busting measures. It allows businesses to delay paying a [...]
Banks drag FTSE down even lower June 2, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index fell yesterday, led down by banks, but finished well off session lows on fresh hopes for economic recovery after strong US pending home sales data. The FTSE 100 closed 11.98 points or 0.2 per cent lower at 5,151.32, having dropped as low as 5,072.53. The index fell 0.5 per cent on [...]
US energy shares push Wall St up June 2, 2010 US stocks rallied yesterday as investors rushed back into beaten-down shares, led by energy, which bore the brunt of the sell-off a day earlier. The energy sector handily led the way up with the S&P energy index gaining 4.3 per cent. US-listed shares of BP climbed 3.1 per cent to $37.66 even as the company [...]
UK bank stocks are attractive but precarious June 2, 2010 COMPARED to some of the financial institutions in continental Europe, Britain’s banks, even the part-nationalised ones, are managing to exude an air of respectability and even strength. While French and German financial institutions – banks and insurers – are estimated by Barclays Capital to hold just under €80bn of Greek debt, British banks have minimal [...]
The search for safety fuels a rush to buy gold June 2, 2010 AS THE euro crisis simmers on, investors are rushing to stock up on physical gold in the search for a safe hold of value. Gold prices spiked to record highs in May, reaching $1,249 or £840 per ounce. Castlestone Management’s Angus Murray has even suggested a rise to $1,400 in the short-term and a trend [...]
THE TIPSTER June 2, 2010 SINCE Richard Glynn took over the helm of Ladbrokes on 22 April, shares in the bookmaker have dropped over 13 per cent. The technical outlook for Ladbrokes looks challenging because it is trading below its 50, 100 and 200-day moving average, which are all clustered around the 150p area. Downtrend resistance and indicators are all [...]
