The age of flexible pensions October 7, 2010 AS UNIONS reacted furiously to the publication of Lord Hutton’s public sector pensions review yesterday, Britain’s working population has a trickier issue to resolve than raising “French-style riots”: what to save and how. Despite de-leveraging significantly over the last year, Brits are still not saving enough. And on top of the pensions deficit, it is [...]
Free banking will soon be a thing of the past October 7, 2010 IN AN environment of persistently low interest rates, it has become increasingly hard to find a free current account that pays any credit interest at all, according to personal finance information website Moneyfacts.co.uk. Its research, which was published earlier this week, showed that 55 per cent of current accounts on the market pay no credit [...]
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. [...]
FOCUS ON: WOOLWICH, SE18 October 7, 2010 THE ACADEMY, WOOLWICH Price: Apartments in Kitchener House start at £260,000 for a two-bed. This conversion of the 18th century former Royal Military Academy has created a whole range of different-sized apartments ideal for the first-time buyer. Unusually for new-builds, the flats retain the original building’s period features. It is hoped the development will eventually [...]
Q&A October 7, 2010 CEO AND FOUNDER OF UPAD.CO.UK Q.Dear James, my tenant can’t provide a reference from a previous landlord. Is that a problem? A.When you’re assessing whether a tenant is right for your property, you can do all sorts of checks. That could be a credit reference, bank reference, employer’s letter and all sorts. You then have [...]
Sexier reasons for Soho investment October 7, 2010 SOHO is said to have been home to popular culture’s edgier side for the last 200 years: 18th century communists, beatniks and the swinging side of the sixties. Not exactly the kind of place respectable folk want to call home. Or so you may have thought. The area is undergoing what nostalgists might call “sterilisation”. [...]
Flats for the Eurocrat: a Brussels bargain October 7, 2010 IF YOU’RE moving to Brussels, it’s unlikely to be for the Belgian beer, the moules-frites and the chocolates. Most Britons relocate to the Belgian capital for work and join the 100,000-strong expat community of European Union workers, lobbyists and lawyers for at least a year or two. While most expats tend to rent when they [...]
The surest bet for business success October 7, 2010 ONLINE gambling grew faster than Facebook in the UK last year. Jason Trost and his business partner, Hunter Morris, spotted the opportunity three years ago and moved from the US to London to set up their online betting company, Smarkets. Trost quit his UBS job to come to the UK — a gamble that seems [...]
Getting the idea engine started October 7, 2010 JUN Tanaka and Mark Jankel’s entrepreneurial spirit offers hope to anyone who has ever fantasised about setting up their own restaurant. For just £4,000 initial set up costs the pair have rented an Airstream truck and are driving around London this week selling their gourmet meals-on-wheels. They are serving a seasonal British menu with dishes [...]
Q&A LOBBYING October 7, 2010 Q. I run a small business. Am I too small to lobby the government about my concerns? A.It is a myth that it is difficult to obtain the ear of government. It is in your constituency MP’s interest to listen to you because they want to at least appear to care about your company’s concerns. [...]
