Housebuilder Persimmon shrugs off Brexit vote but says it’s staying cautious November 2, 2016 Housebuilders' shares were among the hardest hit after the Brexit vote – but it seems investors may have been over-cautious, after Persimmon reported a 19 per cent jump in sales. The figures In a trading statement this morning Persimmon, the UK's biggest housebuilder, said since it reported its half-year results at the end of August, sales have [...]
Rich grandparents are your ticket to a comfortable retirement: why liberalising inheritance tax rules could significantly reduce the UK’s pension saving shortfall November 2, 2016 It is no great secret that today’s young people are at serious risk of being poor in their retirement. While asset-rich baby boomers hoard their wealth, eight years after the financial crisis, working age people are stuck with low wage inflation, and depressed returns on any savings they can scrape together after paying their rent [...]
Lending leaps at Virgin Money but it’s cautious over Brexit November 1, 2016 Challenger bank Virgin Money shrugged off post-Brexit vote volatility, increasing mortgage and credit card lending – although it warned it was exercising caution. The figures Gross mortgage lending rose 19 per cent to £6.5bn in the nine months to the end of September, putting its total mortgage balances at £28.9bn. That pushed Virgin's share of total mortgage lending up to 3.6 [...]
September mortgage approvals well behind 2015 levels but edge up on August numbers October 31, 2016 UK mortgage approvals flopped nearly 10 per cent in September compared to last year, the Bank of England reported this morning. Although the figures did bounce back from the 19-month low recorded in August, the 62,932 approvals were well behind the 69,619 recorded in September 2015. Read more: Time to remortgage? Fixed rates are low, but watch out [...]
Know your benefit crystallisation event from your pension input period with our A to Z of pensions jargon October 28, 2016 National Pensions Awareness day came and went last month, with no apparent impact on people’s understanding of one of the best ways of saving for retirement. The Bank of England’s media-savvy chief economist Andy Haldane said in May that even he was unable to understand pensions because the system is so complicated. This situation is [...]
Persistent headaches: Five problems facing RBS chief exec Ross McEwan October 28, 2016 Ross McEwan may have been pleasantly surprised as he peaked through his fingers to see what had happened to the Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) share price this morning. Read more: RBS shares jump up and down to the noise of loss-making quarter Unfortunately for the chief exec of RBS, an initial jump of five per cent wobbled [...]
Don’t rely on downsizing to make up for your insufficient pension October 27, 2016 After years of runaway house prices, few will be surprised that a sizeable proportion of the UK’s net wealth is tied up in property. The latest ONS statistics show that dwellings make up a massive 62 per cent, or £5.5 trillion, of the country’s £8.8 trillion total. So it is also unsurprising that many see [...]
TSB waves away Brexit fears as profits and customers boosted at the challenger bank October 27, 2016 TSB has today announced a massive boost to profits for the year to date, as customers come calling despite the recent Brexit vote. The figures The challenger bank announced statutory profits before tax of £161.6m for the nine months to September, up 229.1 per cent from £49.1m for the same period the year before. Meanwhile, management profit before [...]
Time to remortgage? The rates on two-year fixed deals are very low, but watch out for additional fees October 27, 2016 Brexit has been kind to mortgage holders. As the Bank of England’s interest rate has come down, banks have been able to borrow more cheaply, allowing competition to increase and mortgage rates to fall. Borrowers have been quick to take advantage of the deals on offer; in August, the number of people remortgaging hit a [...]
Get ready for a more mature Autumn Statement – which might mean you get ignored October 27, 2016 All Autumn Statements are political, but some Autumn Statements are more political than others. Under George Osborne, we have become used to very political Budgets and Autumn Statements. The former chancellor consistently engaged the media with policy tweaks – from pensioner bonds to corporate tax cuts. The changes were generally small, but their appeal to [...]