The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is to issue new mothers with special information packs in a bid to help them cope with the costs of raising a family. Included in the information packs will be helpful advice about maternity leave and state benefits – both of which are designed to ease the financial burden placed… Read more

A third of all Brits with savings are totally unaware of what rate of interest they receive, new research by Investec Private Bank has suggested. While four out of ten UK adults currently save on a regular basis, around 33 per cent are incapable of giving an approximate estimate of their savings rate and just… Read more

Couples are being urged to taken a shared approach to their finances if they wish to secure comfortable living standards in retirement. The Hartford Life Limited said that contrasting financial approaches by couples could be broadly split into three categories: Joined at the Hip; Going Solo; and Divide & Conquer. Citing new research carried out… Read more

An external member of the Bank of Englands Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) – the body that sets national interest rates – has predicted a slowdown in consumer spending. Tim Besley said even modest increases in the price of credit could have a significant increase on already-overstretched household expenditures, forcing many to reign in spending. His… Read more

Most parents in the UK are missing out on the opportunity to build up savings of up to £21,000 for their childs future, new research has suggested. Parents are allowed to invest up to £1,200 each year in government-sponsored child trust funds (CTFs) that mature when their offspring turn 18, but according to Nationwide very… Read more

British consumers are tightening their belts as worries over the impact of the credit crunch continue to linger, new research suggests. Two third of UK adults now say that the current financial gloom has got them sufficiently spooked to start reign in their spending, according to the FTSE 100-listed pensions firm Friends Provident. The situation… Read more

Savers look set to escape the Bank of Englands (BoE) latest round of interest rate cuts thanks to an ongoing shortage of funds. Last summers US sub-prime crash led to an immediate bottleneck in the global money markets and with no end in sight to this credit crunch financial institutions remain desperate to lay their… Read more

Britons are likely to spend large amounts this Valentines Day, although people in Scotland and Yorkshire could be splashing the most, according to one survey. Credit card giant American Express has found that people from Scotland and Yorkshire are the most likely to whisk their loved ones away for a break overseas for the romantic… Read more

Bank of England (BoE) officials have cut interest rates 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent as widely predicted. The news will bring some welcome relief to mortgage holders – presuming lenders pass the savings on to customers – but analysts say it marks a worrying trend in the overall state of the UK economy.… Read more

Teaching personal finance in schools could go a long way to offsetting the UKs mounting debt crisis, the editor of a leading financial magazine has claimed. Rachel Lacey of Moneywise said that working financial responsibility into the national curriculum would mean that every child leaves school with a solid understanding of key financial issues. These… Read more