Analysis Topic: Personal Finance
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Beginning of the End of Free Banking / Personal_Finance / UK Banking
By: MoneyFacts
Speculation is rife that in tomorrow’s Budget, the Chancellor, Alistair Darling will announce that all UK citizens must be offered a basic bank account from UK banks if they want one.
Currently, basic bank accounts are available to the majority of customers, with only a few being declined in exceptional circumstances, including having a previous bankruptcy judgement against them.
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Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Inflation Continues To Erode the Value of Savers Money / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
Inflation figures released today show that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has fallen to 3%, a level still well above the Government’s target of 2%.
To stop their savings pot effectively eroding away, a basic rate tax payer needs to find an account paying 3.75%, while a higher rate tax payer needs to find an account paying 4.98%.
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Thursday, March 18, 2010
Credit Risk Hits the 0% Balance Transfer Market / Personal_Finance / Credit Cards & Scoring
By: MoneyFacts
Virgin Money’s decision to reduce its 0% balance transfer period from 16 to 14 months has highlighted another tactic by credit card providers who, over the course of the credit crunch, have adopted a risk based approach to lending.
The number of cards offering balance transfers has fallen by 10% since the credit crunch began in 2007. As of today, 152 out of 219 cards offer balance transfers deals, 140 of them at 0%.
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010
UK Petrol Prices to Hit Record High As Stealth Inflation Rages / Personal_Finance / Inflation
By: Nadeem_Walayat
UK Petrol prices are set to hit new record highs over the coming weeks despite Crude Oil at near half its mid 2008 peak of $150, Why ?
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Conquer the Crash, What To Do With Your Pension Plan / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: EWI
Enjoy your 8 free chapters from Prechter's Conquer the Crash -- the book that foresaw what others have missed.
By Editorial Staff
There is no question that Robert Prechter’s Conquer the Crash foresaw and explained nearly every chapter of today's financial crisis, years before it happened. Enjoy your 8 free chapters from the book with this free Club EWI report; here's a quick excerpt from chapter 23, "What To Do With Your Pension Plan." Note especially the last two paragraphs.
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010
More Pensions and Retirement Disasters / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Nilus_Mattive
I can’t believe the number of frightening retirement stories I’ve seen in just the last week. They suggest that the vast majority of our country’s citizens are completely unprepared for life after work. They point to a governmental backup system that is getting ever more desperate. And they suggest that other traditional sources of retirement income — such as corporate pensions — are in grave danger of imploding.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
UK Savings Interest Rates Tumble to Fund Mortgage Cuts / Personal_Finance / UK Interest Rates
By: MoneyFacts
In order to maintain their balance sheets, providers can either offer competitive mortgage or saving deals, not both.
Since November 2009, mortgage rates have been reducing, but in order to fund these cuts, savings rates have fallen too (see appendix).
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Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Tax Free Cash ISA Deadline, Best Savings Account Pays 3.5% Interest Rate / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Just four weeks remain for savers to fully utilise at least the £3,600 cash element of their annual £7,200 ISA allowance. Even if you have already utilised this years allowance, savers need to ensure that they check the interest rates being paid on a regular basis, especially for those accounts that have matured as the banks and building societies are notorious for cutting rates on existing accounts and dumping matured accounts into pittance paying cash ISA accounts, paying as little as 0.1%. i.e. 1/30th the rate of a top current instant access account which on an ISA account balance of £3,600 means the difference between receiving £3.60 or £108 in interest per annum.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Transfer Your Cash ISA to Maximise Savings Interest Rate / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: MoneyFacts
The ISA season is now in full swing and there is growing competition amongst providers to secure that top Cash ISA rate.
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Monday, February 22, 2010
Two Cheers for Credit Cards / Personal_Finance / Credit Cards & Scoring
By: Robert_Murphy
Ever since someone in grad school deviously introduced me to the concept of "irrational" debt aversion, I have been carrying credit-card balances that are far too high. Believe me, I understand the tricks these companies pull, like the clause in fine print where you unwittingly pledged away your firstborn.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
UK Savers Suffer as CPI Inflation Doubles / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
The consumer price index again rose even sharper to 3.50%, nearly double the Government’s target of 2%.
Savings rates are still falling after a flurry of lenders cut a selection of mortgage deals. The average no notice rate fell by 0.02% to 0.73% since last month.
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Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Pension's Retirement Income Has Collapsed By More than 70% / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: MoneyFacts
Personal pension savers are facing an uphill battle in their quest to fund a comfortable retirement, according to the latest survey by Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts.
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Retirement Armageddon / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Gary_North
I have just posted a video of my 90-minute seminar: "Retirement Armageddon." It presents the background for a series of nasty surprises.
For those of you who don't have time to watch a 90-minute video, let me summarize its implications.
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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Why the Government Wants to Hijack Your 401(k) / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Money_Morning
Keith Fitz-Gerald writes: It's bad enough that we've been forced to bail out Wall Street. But now the Obama administration is hatching plans to raid our retirement savings, too.
To say that I'm "outraged" doesn't come close to describing the emotions I experience every time I think about the government's latest hare-brained scheme.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Cash ISA Savings Interest Rates Starting to Improve / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: MoneyFacts
Traditionally ISA season starts to gather pace in mid February, but this year things appear to have started early.
Since the start of the year, new and/or revised products have been launched by, amongst others Alliance & Leicester, Birmingham Midshires, Chelsea BS, Leeds BS, The Post Office and Santander.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
UK Savers Losing Money on Virtually ALL Instant Access Savings Accounts / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The savers and borrowers of Britain are being forced to pay for the crimes of the bankster's by an inept, incompetent, and culpable Labour government that has so far bent over backwards to placate the bankster's to the fullest extent even if it ultimately means bankrupting Britain.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Major Credit Card Changes Looming for 2010 / Personal_Finance / Credit Cards & Scoring
By: Amber_Dakar
Do you remember the days of easy credit? It doesn’t seem that long ago when we “benefited” from loose lending standards in the credit card industry. It seemed like every day there were multiple credit card offers in the mailbox with no annual fees, extremely low and prolonged introductory interest rates, and very generous credit lines.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Building Societies Better than Banks in Saving Accounts Interest Rates Consistency / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
Building societies have once again dominated the first Moneyfacts consistency survey of 2010, with 72.5% of all accounts listed as performing consistently.
Key points of the January 2010 Moneyfacts.co.uk Consistency Survey:
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Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Best Cash ISA Tax Free Savings Account for 2010 / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: Nadeem_Walayat
One of your New Year resolutions should be to first fully utilise the cash element of your annual ISA allowance of £3,600, especially as it is a case of use it or lose it as we march towards the end of of the current tax year on April 5th 2010. Even if you have already utilised this years allowance, savers need to ensure that they check the interest rates being paid on a regular basis, especially for those accounts that have matured as the banks and building societies are notorious for cutting rates on existing accounts and dumping matured accounts into pittance paying cash ISA accounts, paying as little as 0.1%. i.e. 1/30th the rate of a top current instant access account which on an ISA account balance of £3,600 means the difference between receiving £3.60 or £108 in interest per annum.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
UK Boxing Day and Christmas Holiday Sales List, Shop for Recession Bargains / Personal_Finance / Money Saving
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The deepest recession since the great depression gives shoppers an opportunity to buy on deep discounting before the January 1st VAT increase to 17.5% from 15%. Distressed high street stores have already started cutting prices before Christmas with discounts typically of 50%.