Analysis Topic: Personal Finance
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Doing the Roth IRA Conversion Arithmetic / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: Terry_Coxon
Terry Coxon, Casey Research writes: It's clear to me, even though it may not be clear to you, that unless there is something very unusual about your situation, if you have a traditional IRA, you should pay the tax now and convert it to a Roth IRA. Not just maybe, but definitely. Not just for a small advantage but for a big one. If you don't convert today, you'll ultimately surrender much more to the tax collector. You'll be throwing money away. And you'll keep throwing it away. It's a result neither of us wants.
Friday, April 06, 2012
Public Pension Funds: Tens of Billions at Significant Risk / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: EWI
To meet ambitious investment return targets, some public pension funds must now swing for the fences.
But many are down two strikes already, due to their previous big bets with hedge funds.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Child Benefit Cut Cliff Edge Tapered, Middle Class Can Continue to Have Babies / Personal_Finance / UK Tax & Budget
By: Nadeem_Walayat
As widely expected, George Osbourne performed a major u-turn today on the proposed cliff edge Child Benefit cuts that would have seen any family with a higher rate tax payer (Gross income of £42k) have their child benefit scrapped (£2,450 per year for a 3 child family) whilst a family with two joint earners on £41k per annum (total £82k) would have retained their child benefit payments in full.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Best Cash ISA Last Chance, 4% Fixed Santander, AA Instant 3.5% / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Whilst George Osbourne prepares to mask Budget 2012 tax rises by means of the stealth Inflation tax on indexation of allowances, against which one of the primary ways savers have to protect the value of their wealth against inflation theft is via Cash ISA's, for which the deadline deadline for utilising 2011-2012 allowances is imminent (5th April 2012) therefore this is your last chance to use it or lose.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Why March Madness is Bigger than the Super Bowl / Personal_Finance / Gambling
By: Money_Morning
Jason Simpkins writes: If you're planning on taking a little bit of time out of your work day to watch the first round of March Madness today, you're not alone.
A survey by MSN showed 86% of employees will spend at least part of their workday checking in on the tournament, up from 81% last year.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Cash ISA Season Hots up, but Savers Beware of the Bonuses / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: MoneyFacts
The 2012-13 ISA season is gathering pace, with providers showcasing their latest tax-free offerings.
Many of this season’s variable cash ISAs include large introductory bonuses, designed to boost the initial rate and attract customers.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, March 12, 2012
How Savers Can Get 10% Yields Without Buying a Single Stock? / Personal_Finance / Investing 2012
By: Casey_Research
By Alex Daley, Casey Research : The average interest rate for a savings account today is 0.45%. It wasn't that long ago that one could easily earn 5% in a well-chosen savings account, like those offered by ING Direct, or bump that up by a point or two by putting money away in a CD. Thanks to the largesse of our Federal Reserve and the antics of bankers around the country and world, those days are over, probably for a very long time. Interest rates are at an all-time low, and they look poised to stay there for a while. It's just about impossible for a saver to find the kind of yield that will beat inflation, let alone be enough to provide an income one can live on.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Desirable Credit Card Benefits, Far and Few Between / Personal_Finance / Credit Cards & Scoring
By: MoneyFacts
Worldwide travel insurance is often considered a desirable credit card benefit; however, Moneyfacts research has shown that it’s offered on just 6 credit cards out of approximately 220 in the market.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Satander Cash ISA's Paying upto 4% / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: MoneyFacts
Santander has just launched a new range of market-leading ISAs.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, February 23, 2012
UK Savings and Morthage Products Picks of the Week / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
The Moneyfacts Pick of the Week showcases the best of the latest products to hit the consumer finance market.
Brief product details together with independent Moneyfacts analysis can be used with confidence in your finance sections. You can select one or two products to sit beside a relevant story or use them all as a general feature.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 20, 2012
Flexible Pension Drawdown Choice Widens / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
By: MoneyFacts
Less than a year after its introduction, flexible drawdown is available on around three quarters of SIPP plans, research by Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts has revealed.
When the April 2011 start date for the facility was confirmed, providers wanting to offer the option at the earliest opportunity had just four months in which to prepare, leading to predictions that only the more fleet of foot specialist SIPP providers might be able to prepare in time.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, February 18, 2012
The Destruction of Savings by Inflation / Personal_Finance / Inflation
By: Submissions
Alasdair Macleod writes: In the past, insurance companies and pension funds have been keen to advertise the benefit of compounding arithmetic for savings. Over the last 30 or 40 years the rate has been lifted by inflation, but to understand the cost inflation brings you have to consider the whole savings cycle: not just the accumulation stage, but also annuity values in retirement. Furthermore, the historical experience of a typical working life should be compared with a theoretical sound-money alternative.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Moneyfacts UK Mortgages and Savings Picks of the Week / Personal_Finance / Mortgages
By: MoneyFacts
The Moneyfacts Pick of the Week showcases the best of the latest products to hit the consumer finance market.
Brief product details together with independent Moneyfacts analysis can be used with confidence in your finance sections. You can select one or two products to sit beside a relevant story or use them all as a general feature.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
UK Inflation Rate Falls,Cold Snap Lifts For Savers / Personal_Finance / Inflation
By: MoneyFacts
Inflation figures released today show the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell during January from 4.2% to 3.6%.
To beat inflation, a basic rate taxpayer at 20% needs to find a savings account paying 4.50% per annum, while a higher rate taxpayer at 40% needs to find an account paying at least 5.99%.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, January 28, 2012
HMRC Extends Tax Deadline by 2Days for Self Assessment Online Filing / Personal_Finance / Taxes
By: Nadeem_Walayat
A strike by HMRC staff on the 31st of January 2012 has prompted the Inland Revenue to extend the tax deadline by 2 days to cope with the annual last minute rush by upto 2 million people to complete online personal self assessment tax returns on the last day.
Strike action on the 31st of January may have meant that many of those calling the HMRC for advise and guidance may have not been able to get through.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Money-Markets, CDs, and Bonds: The Ups and Downs of Stashing Your Cash / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: Money_Morning
Don Miller writes:
In today's volatile markets many investors are faced with the same troublesome question - "Where should I park my cash?"
In fact, investors have withdrawn a net total of $328 billion from the stock market since 2007, according to Strategic Insight.
Ever since, a big portion that cash has been looking for a home.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Best Cash ISA 2012 to Reduce Stealth Inflation Theft of Value of Savings / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: Nadeem_Walayat
UK Inflation of 4.2% despite coming off of a 5.2% spike continues to soar at more than twice the official target rate of 2%, which stands against the more recognised RPI rate at 5% and real inflation as experienced by most of the population at 6%. UK savers continue to have the real terms value of their life time accumulated savings effectively stolen so as to bolster the bankrupt bailed out banks balance sheets. Savers can lessen the stealth theft of wealth by utilising their annual cash ISA allowances before the end of the current tax year (5th April 2012) as it is a case of use it or lose it.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
UK Inflation 4.2% as ‘Hard Times’ for Cash ISA Savers Continues / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: MoneyFacts
Inflation figures released today show the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell during December from 4.8% to 4.2%.
To beat inflation, a basic rate taxpayer at 20% needs to find a savings account paying 5.25% per annum, while a higher rate taxpayer at 40% needs to find an account paying at least 7.00%.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
New Year, New Credit Card, But Watch Out for the Fees / Personal_Finance / Credit Cards & Scoring
By: MoneyFacts
Balance transfer cards now offer the longest debt free deals on record, however, the fees charged to move to a balance transfer card are now at their highest level in four years, research by Moneyfacts.co.uk has revealed.
On average, balance transfer cards offer 356 days of interest free debt transfer compared to 295 days three years ago.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, January 05, 2012
UK Personal Loan Interest Rates Drop to Lowest Level / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: MoneyFacts
Rachel Springall, spokesperson for Moneyfacts.co.uk, commented: “Research by Moneyfacts has shown that 6.0% APR on a £10,000 borrowing amount over a five year term is the lowest loan rate on offer in four years. Previously the lowest rates for this borrowing amount and term were: 8.4% one year ago, 7.8% two years ago, 6.8% three years ago and 5.8% four years ago.
Read full article... Read full article...