Analysis Topic: Personal Finance
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Inland Revenue Extends Tax Filing Deadline to Midnight 1st Feb 08 / Personal_Finance / UK Tax & Budget
By: Shahla_Walayat
Due to technical difficulties which included the crash of the online self assessment filing system, the Inland Revenue announced earlier today that the penalty free deadline has been extended to midnight 1st of february. However as I highlighted in yesterdays article - UK Tax Filing Deadlines - 31st Jan 2008, 1st Feb 2008 and 4th Feb 2008! , earlier court rulings had already ensured that people could submit tax returns up to midnight on 1st of Feb without incurring the £100 penalty.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Lenders Raise Mortgage Interest Rates in Advance of UK Interest Rate Cut! / Personal_Finance / Mortgages
By: MoneyFacts
With speculation rife that the Monetary Policy Committee will cut base rate again next week, mortgage lenders have been preparing for the potential increased demand by increasing margins offered on tracker rate mortgages. Denise Harvey, mortgage analyst at Moneyfacts.co.uk investigates.
“In the last two weeks alone, analysis from Moneyfacts.co.uk has revealed that 10 lenders have increased the margins on tracker mortgages by as much as 0.45%.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
UK Tax Filing Deadlines - 31st Jan 2008, 1st Feb 2008 and 4th Feb 2008! / Personal_Finance / UK Tax & Budget
By: Shahla_Walayat
The UK Tax filing deadline is 31st January 2008, any return that is received on the 31st of January i.e. upto Midnight subject to tax office opening hours or online submission confirmation.
However, returns received upto midnight 1st of February despite being considered as late will not incur an automatic penalty.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Fixed Savings Rates Near 7%, Despite Easing of Interbank Rates / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
As fixed rate savings continue to fall, Rachel Thrussell head of savings at moneyfacts.co.uk looks at what this sector of the savings market still has to offer.
“Although we have seen a dramatic drop in some short term fixed rate savings over the last couple of weeks, with larger institutions such as Halifax dropping rates by up to 1%, there are still some really good deals to be found.”
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Fixed Rate Savings Interest Rates Take a Tumble / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
Rachel Thrussell, Head of Savings at Moneyfacts.co.uk, comments: “High savings rates have been a by-product of the credit crunch, as providers source deposits as an alternative option to raising funds on the money markets. Competition is still alive, with rates paying almost 1% more than Bank of England base rate in the variable market, and as much as 1.35% within the fixed market.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Choosing the Wrong Personal Loan Could Prove Costly / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: MoneyFacts
If your new year’s resolution is the tackle your debt by consolidation, tread carefully as you could be caught out by high interest rates and over priced insurance. Lisa Taylor, analyst at Moneyfacts.co.uk investigates:Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Credit Crunch Continues as Short-term Savings Interest Rates Remain High - Jan 08 / Personal_Finance / Credit Crunch
By: Shahla_Walayat
The worlds central banks announced in December 07 that they would take concerted action to help ease the liquidity crises that has been gripping the financial sector since August 07. Whilst this has had a big impact on the interbank market, this article looks at its impact on the personal savings market.Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Best Mini Cash ISA Tax Free Savings Accounts for 2008 / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: Shahla_Walayat
Concerted central banks action is attempting to cut money market interest rates, this has met with some success with the LIBOR rate falling from a peak of 6.8% to the current 5.75% This is resulting in a cut in savings interest rates, however the likelihood is that there will be further deep cuts in UK interest rates during 2008, therefore the warnings that I have been issuing over the last 5 months to lock your in Cash ISA rates now at high levels still stands, though the fixed rates approaching 7% are long gone.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Savings Top Agenda for Consumers in 2008 - Top Tips for Savers / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: Nationwide
Research* from Nationwide Building Society has revealed that when it comes to finances, the number one New Year's resolution is to save more money in 2008. Nearly half of all respondents said that the one change they wanted to make in the New Year involved their savings, with 48% admitting they either wanted to save more or actually start saving money.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, December 17, 2007
UK Investments and Pension Funds Feeling the Winter Blues / Personal_Finance / UK Stock Market
By: MoneyFacts
With the end of another year rapidly approaching, now is an ideal time to reflect upon the key financial events of the past twelve months and what 2007 has meant for consumers. For most savers and investors 2007 has proved to be another challenging year.
So how have the different products fared over the last year, and what have been the major developments?
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, December 10, 2007
UK Savers Benefit From the Liquidity Credit Crisis as Fixed Rates Rise Again / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
Andrew Hagger, Head of News and Press at Moneyfacts.co.uk, comments on the recent increase in short-term savings rates.
“It seems that some institutions had pre-empted the recommendations issued by the FSA yesterday and may have already been assessing their funding and liquidity positions, as a result attempting to bring in more funds through the front door.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, December 10, 2007
Children's Savings Accounts Could Be Costing Parents Over £6,000 In Tax / Personal_Finance / UK Tax & Budget
By: Nationwide
Nationwide calls for tax reform on children’s savings as Christmas approaches.
As 2007 draws to a close, Nationwide Building Society calls on the Government to bring about tax reform on children's savings in 2008. The Society reveals that parents who regularly pay money into their child's savings account could be faced with a tax bill of more than £6,000 over 18 years.1
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Poor Understanding of Monetary Value of 1% / Personal_Finance / Debt & Loans
By: Nationwide
Research from Nationwide Building Society reveals that 75% of people in the UK don't understand the monetary value a 1% difference in mortgage rates can make. A 1% difference in rates on a five year fixed rate mortgage deal could be worth over £4,000*. When given details of two five year mortgage deals to compare, the largest group of respondents (28%) said they thought the difference on a £120,000 mortgage with an interest rate at 5.6% compared to a rate of 6.6% would be between £500 and £2000. Another 23% said they had no idea at all. Only 25% of people correctly identified that the difference could be £4,000.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Best Mini Cash ISA Tax Free Savings Accounts - Nov 2007 / Personal_Finance / ISA's
By: Shahla_Walayat
The loss of confidence in the financial sector due to the US subprime mortgage sparked credit crunch had resulted higher money market interest rates over the last few months. Though as warned in several previous articles, these high rates are slowly in the process of being withdrawn from the market in advance of cuts in UK interest rates. Though opportunities do still exist to lock in relatively high rates before the first cut in UK interest rates. The following table represents a selection of the best Cash ISA accounts currently available.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
How To Protect Yourself From UK Child Benefit Bank Records Loss / Personal_Finance / UK Banking
By: Sarah_Jones
The Child Benefit Agency has lost the personal details of every parent who receives child benefit, including names, addresses, dates of birth, national insurance numbers, child benefit numbers and bank accounts. As a result, 25 million people are now vulnerable to identity fraud if the data on two discs falls into the wrong hands.
They aren't the only ones. In a matter of weeks, data breaches have been reported by organisations as diverse as Standard Life and Next.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Nationwide Launches New Range of Fixed Rate Savings Bonds Paying Up To 6.70% / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: Nationwide
Nationwide Building Society has today launched a new range of Fixed Rate Bonds offering highly competitive rates and guaranteed returns for savers. With effect from Monday 19 November 2007, the following new Bonds will be available:
- One year Loyalty Fixed Rate Bond paying 6.70%
- One year e-Bond paying 6.70%
- One year Fixed Rate Bond paying 6.60%
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Halifax - Some Bad News for UK Savers / Personal_Finance / Savings Accounts
By: MoneyFacts
Halifax has announced today that it is reducing its core savings rates by up to 0.25%. Rachel Thrussell Head of Savings at Moneyfacts.co.uk the leading independent financial comparison site comments: “Whilst we have seen the launch of some competitively priced savings products this week, Halifax has bucked the trend by cutting rates on its core range. It is uncommon to see a provider reduce their rates in a period of base rate stability.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, November 15, 2007
How Much Does Your Christmas Shipping On Your Credit Card Really Cost? / Personal_Finance / Credit Cards & Scoring
By: Nationwide
Half of credit card holders do not know the rate they pay
With Christmas around the corner people are getting ready for one of the most expensive and stressful times of the year. A new survey by Nationwide Building Society has revealed that the majority of respondents (55%) still brave busy shopping centres to buy most of their Christmas gifts rather than shopping online. In addition to this the research shows that half (50%) of respondents do not know what rate they pay on the credit card they use most often.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Credit Crunch Causes Credit Card Chaos / Personal_Finance / Credit Cards & Scoring
By: MoneyFacts
A survey carried out by Moneyfacts.co.uk reveals in the last two months credit cards have been hit hard by rising charges, in particular cash withdrawal fees and rates,
- 69 cards have seen increased cash withdrawal fees
- 25 cards now face higher cash withdrawal rates
- 18 cards have been hit by higher foreign usage charges
Thursday, October 25, 2007
UK 2008-09 Income Tax Allowances, National Insurance Contributions, Child and Working Tax Credit Rates / Personal_Finance / UK Tax & Budget
By: Sarah_Jones
The UK Government's published 2008-09 rates and allowances for Income Tax, National Insurance Contributions, Working and Child Tax Credits, Child Benefit/Guardian's Allowance and State Pension and Pension Credit. These are set out below. Rates for other benefits will be announced later this year by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Read full article... Read full article...