Children heading off to University next month? They could be spending half of their student loan in the first 100 days August 17, 2016 Parents whose children are preparing to head off to university may be surprised to hear that students spend an average of £3,304 during the first 100 days of their studies. Nearly one in five students frittered away their entire student loan during this period and a quarter resorted to borrowing money before the end of the [...]
Economists blast “anachronistic system” system of setting rail fares as ticket prices set to rise August 17, 2016 More misery was piled on to beleaguered commuters yesterday as a hike in rail fares was unveiled. Fares will rise by an average of 1.9 per cent next year following the release of July’s retail price index (RPI), against which fare increases are pegged. RPI rose from 1.6 per cent. The jump in fares comes as rail [...]
Car dealerships are positive about what is in store for the rest of 2016 August 16, 2016 Two-thirds of car dealerships said they expected to either stabilise or grow profits during the rest of 2016 despite the "uncertainty" created by the Brexit vote. Every salesperson likes to be confident about meeting their targets, but the survey prepared by accountants MacIntyre Hudson also indicated that 53 per cent of dealers expected to hit sales targets. [...]
RMT vote in favour of station staff strikes on Govia network following planned ticket office closure August 16, 2016 The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) announced 70 per cent of members had voted in favour of further strike action on the Govia Thameslink (GTR) network. The total number of people balloted was 407 of which 120 voted against the action with a further six spoilt votes – a sizeable increase in the "no" vote compared to recent votes on industrial action. [...]
No Brexit concern for underfloor heating manufacturer Polypipe August 16, 2016 Polypipe broke its own records when releasing Olympic half-results this morning, which revealed half-year profits had spiked nearly 50 per cent. The figures Revenues for the six months to June were £223m, up from £170m. Operating profit margins climbed from 15.1 per cent to 16.9 per cent. Earnings per share were 12.0p, up from 9.1p in 2015. Interim dividends [...]
Workers might be prepared to compromise when buying a house but most are not prepared to compromise on their next job August 16, 2016 Workers are getting increasingly picky when hunting for new jobs with over three-quarters not prepared to make key compromises on their next role. The data compiled by online recruitment website CV Library also revealed that one in ten of those surveyed said that a long recruitment process would put them off a role. "Some organisations are recognising [...]
Now is the time to lock in post-Brexit gains say advisors August 15, 2016 Financial advisors are urging pension clients to lock-in post-Brexit share price gains before the market tails off later in the year. According to research by Metlife nearly one in three advisors said that they plan to contact clients about protecting savings and two-thirds have offered clients a review of their finances in the wake of the EU [...]
First anniversary of pension reforms shows we aren’t all cashing in and buying private jets August 15, 2016 Only a fraction of savers raided pension war-chests proving that Britons are not nearly as weak-willed as was feared when pension rules were relaxed a year ago. Reporting on the first anniversary of the "Freedom and Choice" reforms, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said that over half of people had only drawn down a small lump sum from their [...]
Clarkson share price spikes after benign results beat expectations August 15, 2016 Shipping services group Clarkson leapt nearly nine per cent today despite releasing six-month results that were accompanied with management commentary that referenced a "challenging environment" as well as a "challenged" and "continued challenging market". The figures Revenues were broadly flat at £147m compared to £145m in 2015. Underlying operating profit was slightly down at £21m compared to £24m. However, there were considerable [...]
