Dealing with the auto-enrolment challenge December 19, 2018 This year saw automatic pension contributions rise to five per cent, and an increase to eight per cent is scheduled for April 2019. While auto-enrolment has certainly been a positive step in encouraging people to save some money towards their pension, there are notable challenges that the initiative poses. The main concern is that there [...]
2019 Property Forecast: Here’s what the experts are predicting will happen to house prices next year December 17, 2018 It’s that time of year again, when people guess what’s happening next year. Only, it’s particularly entertaining this year because no one really knows what’s going to happen next week. Still, most of the UK’s big estate agencies have had a go, looking at house price growth in the UK and abroad, what effect Brexit [...]
Rate of remortgaging surges to ten-year high as homeowners lock in amid ‘competitive market’ December 12, 2018 Britain saw its highest levels of remortgaging in a decade during October, with homeowners locking into new deals as competition between lenders heats up. According to new figures from UK Finance there were 50,500 new homeowner remortgages completed in October, rising 23.2 per cent when compared with the same month a year earlier. The £9.2bn of [...]
Own, loan, or Drover: How the subscription economy is shaking up the car industry December 7, 2018 Felix Leuschner looks far too young to have founded three successful businesses. This German-born entrepreneur was just 23 when he launched what became Europe’s largest marketplace for gaming goods, where players could trade virtual products. After selling that company just nine months later, he moved to London and started a fast-fashion website called Stylistpick, collaborating with [...]
UK house price growth slumps to six-year low December 7, 2018 UK house prices grew by their weakest rate in almost six years last month, according to figures released today. Boasting just 0.3 per cent growth in the three months to the end of November compared to the same period last year, house prices fell to their lowest growth since December 2012, according to Halifax. House [...]
Artemis US equities: Late-cycle investing … December 6, 2018 Cormac Weldon, manager of the Artemis US Select Fund and the Artemis US Smaller Companies Fund, analyses the reasons for increased volatility in the US market and explains why he is currently favouring companies with stable, predictable earnings. Context is everything. Two of the factors behind the recent increase in market volatility and the significant [...]
We have paved the way for the next financial crisis December 6, 2018 Optimists believe that the last decade of roiling financial crisis and austerity is behind us, and that current fears of trade war, Brexit, populism, and market crashes are overblown. They hope for a global economy poised for many years of growth, increasing personal wealth and prosperity, and political stability. Sadly, hope is never a strategy. Realists, [...]
DEBATE: After one lender launched a six-times-salary deal, are we headed towards a mortgage timebomb? November 30, 2018 After one lender launched a six-times-salary deal, are we headed towards a mortgage timebomb? Andrew Hagger, personal finance expert at MoneyComms, says YES. A shortage in UK housing supply means that property prices continue to increase, albeit at a slower rate in recent months. This means that lenders must stretch their lending criteria in order to [...]
UK house price growth recovers from five-year low in November, Nationwide figures show November 30, 2018 UK house prices grew by an average of 1.9 per cent in November, up 0.3 per cent month on month to recover from a five-year low in October, Nationwide announced this morning. The figure is expected to improve if economic and political uncertainty surrounding Brexit lifts over the coming months and employment continues to rise, the [...]
Mortgage approvals rise to nine-month high while consumer borrowing growth slows, says Bank of England November 29, 2018 Mortgage approvals rose to a surprising nine-month high last month, while consumer borrowing increased at its slowest pace since May 2015, the Bank of England said today. While the Bank said mortgage market activity was “broadly stable” in October, households borrowed an extra £4.1bn against their homes and the number of mortgages approved rose to [...]