Analysis Topic: Personal Finance
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Thursday, October 02, 2008
Savings Guarantee Raised to £50,000 to Halt Run on UK Banks / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
Gordon Brown confirms that to all intents and purposes all UK savings are guaranteed to £50,000 per depositor per financial group. This is a reaction to the the Irish governments decision to guarantee all depositor savings at 100% for 2 years which has ignited a flood of scared monies seeking refuge within Irish banks that have operations within the UK. This has resulted in increasing calls from media commentators and politicians for the UK government to follow suit with a similar 100% blanket guarantee.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Bailout Cost per US Tax Payer Analysis / Personal_Finance / Credit Crisis Bailouts
Pre-Vote Commentary- The bailout of Wall Street may not have ultimate costs as high as the nominal bailout amount, but the interest payments on the debt will come due immediately, and the recoveries from Wall Street, if any, will take many years.
The impact of the bailout which will surely happen in one form or the other, will impact taxes, interest rates, the exchange rate of the Dollar, imports and exports, foreign direct investment both in and out of the US, corporate sales and profits, and a long list of economic and investment dimensions too long to mention and to unknowable to predict.
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Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Best Cash ISA Tax Free Savings Accounts- Sept 2008 / Personal_Finance / ISA's
The credit crisis meltdown that last week claimed the scalps of HBOS and Bradford and Bingley continues to exert upward pressure on UK savings interest rates as the banks are unable to borrow from one another on the interbank money markets. However the market has also witnessed drops in savings interest rates as the UK economy is slumping towards a recession with interest rate cuts, for instance Halifax has cut their Fixed Cash ISA rate from 6% to 5.5%. So it pays to do your home work as there is an extremely wide range of between 5% and 7.32%
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Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Financial System Collapsing- Three Steps To Protect Your Funds Now! / Personal_Finance / Financial Crash
As we stated last November : “In A Short History of Financial Euphoria , John Kenneth Galbraith observes: “All crises have involved debt that, in one fashion or another, has become dangerously out of scale in relation to the underlying means of payment.” We have now reached this ‘ Minsky Moment .' According to Morgan Stanley, the risk is now greater than 50% that the financial system “will come to a grinding halt.” In this Bloomberg video , Gregory Peters, head of Credit Strategy for Morgan Stanley, describes the process of securitization, which “has created this cheap financing environment,” as “broken.”Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Abbey Fixed Rate Bond Maturity Experience / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
The following is intended to save investors time and potential loss of interest in dealing with maturing Abbey fixed rate bonds.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
ICICI 7.2% Fixed Rate Savings Account / Bond Review / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
ICICI Bank is currently offering a market busting fixed interest rate of 7.2%, whilst at the same time speculation is growing of UK interest rate cuts around the corner in the wake of a fast slowing economy, therefore a small window of opportunity exists to lock into a high fixed interest rate as already some banks have stated to cut rates such as Birmingham Midshires.Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Halifax Websaver Fixed Rate Savings Bonds Analysis / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
I have been tracking the Halifax fixed websaver rates for a number of years now, which includes periodically pulling the data down as the Halifax fixed rate websaver tends to usually provide good rates of interest whilst at the same time being easy to open for existing customers, the accounts can be opened instantly online and provide for instant online transfers between in house accounts.Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, August 02, 2008
UK 7% Plus Fixed Rate Savings Bonds- Aug 08 / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
Despite three interest rate cuts, UK fixed rates rose over the summer months to above 7% as cash starved banks, sought to get as much cash in through the doors as possible after failing to obtain credit on the money markets and rejected by the capital markets as evidenced by rights issue failures that prompted emergency action by arm twisting of the big banks to step in and buy up unsold stocks such as that of Bradford and Bingley.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, August 01, 2008
Americans Put Retirements on Hold as Fund Real Valuations Have Collapsed / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement
Everyone knows the story of the little boy who found that he was able to get into the cookie jar while Mom and Dad were busy doing chores around the house. First he took one cookie and rearranged the remaining morsels around so nobody would notice. Soon enough, however, he had to have another and repeated the process. We all know how this story ends. Eventually, the little guy had eaten so many of the cookies that it is no longer possible to hide the fact that there were but a few left. No amount of shuffling or jumbling could hide it any longer. Sadly, this is rather analogous to the state of retirement savings for many Americans today.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
British Gas Punishes UK Customers with 35% Price Hike / Personal_Finance / Household Bills
A 100% rise in the wholesale gas price has resulted in retail gas suppliers in recent days pushing gas prices sharply higher. First to raise was EDF which announced a 22% rise, quickly followed by Britain's biggest gas supplier British Gas which today announced a 35% price hike.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Best Cash ISA Savings Accounts- Northern Rock Fixed Rates- July 2008 / Personal_Finance / ISA's
Three bank of interest rate cuts have taken rates down to 5% from 5.75% and savers are still enjoying excellent Cash ISA savings interest rates courtesy of the ongoing credit crunch. However as the UK economy slows towards a possible there will be further cuts in UK interest rates and therefore cash ISA savings rates have started to decline from recent heady rates which in some cases passed 6.5%.
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Urgent Steps to Protect Your Savings from Bank Failures / Personal_Finance / Credit Crisis 2008
Sharon A. Daniels writes: The ongoing credit-crunch continues to shake-up financial markets in unexpected and frightening ways. It's hard to keep up with the fast-growing list of financial sector casualties. Just take a look at the fallout so far this year ...
Bear Stearns : This, century-old, brokerage firm was on the verge of collapse in March when the Federal Reserve arranged a last-minute fire sale to JP Morgan to prevent bankruptcy.
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Depositors Require More Secure Financial Institutions / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
As we referenced last April , it is very important in a deleveraging environment to hold your U.S. Treasury Bills at a secure financial institution. Calling brokers and reps up and asking them if your funds are safe at their institution is like asking the fox if the chickens he is guarding are safe. What do you expect them to say? Since we are independent and only work for our clients, we have been diligently researching the different types of asset custodians. Here is what we found:Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, July 06, 2008
How to Save Money / Personal_Finance / Money Saving
Saving money is one of those tasks that's so much easier said than done. There's more to it than spending less money (although that part alone can be challenging). How much money will you save, where will you put it, and how can you make sure it stays there? Here's how to set realistic goals, keep your spending in check, and pay yourself first.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, July 03, 2008
How to Get Rich / Personal_Finance / Money Making
It seems that everyone wants to get rich. There are books out on that subject, classes that are headed by someone who can show you an easy way to get rich, rich people willing to drop advice on how to get rich, and many other schemes that guarantee you will get rich fast. Getting rich is one of the main goals of most people, and while it is never easy, there are some sensible techniques that will increase your chances of getting rich.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, June 20, 2008
Inflation Out of Control- Three Ways to Protect Yourself / Personal_Finance / Inflation
Mike Larson writes: I hate to be the one to yell "FIRE" in a crowded theatre. But the time for keeping quiet has long since passed. The time for ignoring the gathering clouds of smoke is over. It's time to sit up, pay attention, and get your portfolio the heck out of harm's way ... because we have a full-scale, five-alarm, inflationary wildfire on our hands.
Allow me to walk you through the overwhelming, undeniable evidence ...
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Friday, June 20, 2008
Inflation Linked Savings Bonds / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
Rachel Thrussell, Head of Savings at Moneyfacts.co.uk, comments: “The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is currently trying to balance the scales between inflation and base rate. With increasing costs on fuel and food, inflation has grown to 3.3% (CPI) in May 2008, its highest level since July 1992 and well above the Government’s 2% target.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Pre Paid Credit Cards- Great Idea, or Financial Con? / Personal_Finance / Credit Cards & Scoring
Pre paid credit cards are, in a way, like a debit card, in that now actual credit is involved. They differ from debit cards however, because they are accepted pretty much anywhere that accepts the credit card brand (for example, MasterCard)Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Treasury Bill Accounts a Smarter Alternative to Money Market Funds / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
Investors are rushing into cash as the financial system is deleveraging. But what form of cash will preserve investor's wealth? ‘Cash-like' instruments, such as adjustable rate securities, have become illiquid with the credit markets. Some money market funds, full of asset-backed commercial paper, have had to be supported by their sponsors. Even bank deposits could be unavailable for a time in an FDIC backlog (they expect to be quite busy as their recent hiring suggests).Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
UK Credit Continues To Get More Expensive / Personal_Finance / Credit Cards & Scoring
Michelle Slade, analyst at Moneyfacts.co.uk, comments: “With increasing costs on all household bills, many people are relying on their credit card to get by each month. But these people are going to find themselves out of pocket as purchase and cash rates, along with charges, continue to increase.Read full article... Read full article...