‘General’ News
Saving cash at home
Posted 2008-04-27
New research has found that one in ten people in the UK would feel more comfortable saving their cash at home.While the majority of those questioned by the Newcastle Building Society preferred to keep their money in a building society, with 34 per cent or respondents saying so, the number of people preferring to keep their money at home has risen to 11 per cent.Last year, a survey found that banks and buildings societies were the most secure places to keep money, with 28 and 46 per cent respectively.Recent research has shown that confidence fall by 17 per cent and Wendy Lee, commercial director at the building society, believes peoples fears may be misplaced."With some attractive savings products available, you might think people are barmy to stash their cash at home. Unfortunately, some savers now have an exaggerated view that investing their money with a building society or bank can be a risky business, which is not the case," she said.The Midlands and Wales were found to have the most people keen to keep money at home, with figures of 15 per cent.A savings expert recently claimed that more and more young people are saving their money rather than spending it....
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OFT pleased with overdraft charges ruling
Posted 2008-04-23
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has welcomed the decision by the high court that it can regulate overdraft charges imposed by banks.In a test case brought by the OFT and eight banks, Mr justice Andrew Smith stressed that the banks charges were not necessarily unfair but the ruling paves the way for enquiries into them.However the judge did reject the offices claim that the banks terms and conditions were unintelligible.In a statement, the OFT said it will work with banks to make sure that the market is fair for consumers, but was pleased with the judges ruling.This is an important early milestone for the OFT and our investigation into this area of high consumer interest. We are now analysing the implications of the judgement for our overall investigation into the fairness of the terms, it stated.It is estimated that banks earn up to £1 billion annually from unauthorised overdraft charges.Barclays, HSBC, Clydesdale, Lloyds TSB, the Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS, Abbey and the Nationwide building society were the institutions involved....
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Saving is “sexy” to young people
Posted 2008-04-23
A savings expert has claimed that saving money has become "sexy" for young people and that mass-consumerism is beginning to wane in todays society.Emma Byrne says new research shows that 18 to 34-year-olds see saving as a higher priority than those over 55.She also noted that around a third of Brits are putting spare cash they have at the end of the month into a savings account and urged those who arent to look for a high-rate interest account to and take advantage."I think we are seeing a propensity for people to save more and the younger generations 18 to 34-year-olds are actually increasingly seeing saving as more of a financial priority for them, more so than over 55 year olds," Ms Byrne said.She went on to say that consumers are a lot more frugal with their funds as the have it all society is no longer as strong as it previously was.Recent research from Kaupthing by Opinium Research found that men required an average of £101, 999 to be financially secure, while women needed £82,193....
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Capital Economics ’surprised by scale of crunch’
Posted 2008-04-14
Leading macroeconomic research consultancy Capital Economics has revealed its surprise at the far-reaching impact of the credit crunch.Paul Dales, a UK economist with the firm, said that he was somewhat taken aback by "how marked the rises in mortgage lenders rates have been, how widespread it has been and how many lenders have had to pull different mortgages".He refrained from some of the more pessimistic assessments of colleagues in the industry, insisting that while the Bank of Englands latest interest rate cut was "not particularly encouraging", it was also "not really surprising".Commenting on the perception among many consumers that banks and other financial institutions have held back from passing on the cut in a bid to raise profits, Mr Dales said this was not entirely accurate."Theyre holding their mortgage rates higher because they are subjected to higher funding costs from the wholesale market," he explained. "I think if their costs go up it makes sense for them to pass them on, to a degree."The Bank of England this month confirmed that mortgage approvals have hit a 13-year low....
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ISAs more popular than ever
Posted 2008-04-13
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has revealed that record amounts of cash were placed in Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) during the 2007/08 financial year.The figures show that there were more investors putting money in Mini Stocks and Shares ISAs than ever before, with 1.4 million accounts presently receiving deposits over the past 12 months.That marks a year-on-year increase of 7.6 per cent on the previous tax year, with volumes of cash also increasing by 15 per cent.Monies deposited in either Maxi or Mini Cash ISAs, meanwhile, saw an increase of 5.3 per cent to nearly £18.1 billion. The government has now scrapped the Mini/Maxi distinction after heeding warnings that it was confusing."In the first three quarters of the 2007/08 tax year, roughly 11 million people invested £25.7 billion in ISAs despite considerable uncertainty in financial markets and some rather mixed commentary in media," noted Tax Incentivised Savings Association (TISA) director general, Tony Vine-Lott. "These numbers are the most powerful evidence possible to demonstrate consumers affinity for ISAs and their viability into the future - which the government has made clear is without question."...
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Govt ‘in denial’ over economy
Posted 2008-04-13
The government is in "denial" about the current state of the economy, according to finance portal Fool.co.uk. ...
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Crunch driving consumers to govt savings
Posted 2008-04-10
The government-backed savings and investments provider NS&I has reported an "upsurge in interest" as a result of the economic downturn.NS&I said that while its premium bonds have not seen a significant boost in demand, other products such as "inflation-beating savings" have become markedly more popular.A spokesperson for the financial services provider attributed this to a growing understanding of the potential pitfalls of the current economic climate."People have a greater awareness of whats going on in the banking and financial industry at the moment," the spokesman explained. "So theyre really looking [at products] not just based on interest rates - theyre looking at the complete package of what banks, building societies and NS&I offer."The spokesperson reiterated that "security and accessibility" were being ranked increasingly higher on savers list of priorities, leading to the surge in demand for NS&I financial products.NS&I is backed by HM Treasury and so all money invested with the provider has a 100 per cent guarantee....
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Bank cuts rate to 5%
Posted 2008-04-9
The Bank of England has cut the base rate of borrowing to five per cent, as widely expected.Analysts say the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that is tasked with setting the base rate is responding to concerns over the credit crunch, particularly in relation to the mortgage market.But inflation remains its number one concern and pundits have questioned whether another rate cut is viable in the short-term.Concerns have also been raised about whether or not lenders are planning to pass on the rate reduction to mortgage borrowers.Adrian Coles, director-general of the Building Societies Association, cautioned: "The MPCs rate decision may not be reflected by changes to the money market rates. Therefore the quarter point reduction will not necessarily be reflected in the fixed rates on offer straight away."He added that the rate cut would go some way to boosting consumer confidence, but said the bottleneck in global money markets would remain.According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, repayments on a variable rate mortgage of £150,000 should fall by about £23 after a 0.25 per cent rate cut....
Brits fork out to appear as wealthy as peers
Posted 2008-04-9
Britons are prepared to spend beyond their means in order to appear well-off, according to a new study. Research, conducted by CreditExpert.co.u...
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Consumer confidence heads south
Posted 2008-04-8
The latest Nationwide consumer confidence index has shown Brits are growing increasingly uneasy about the state of the economy.According to the figures released for March, consumer confidence has now reached its lowest level since the building society started keeping records some four years ago.Only 14 per cent of Brits expect the economy will improve over the coming six months, with a majority (62 per cent) saying future employment levels are not positive."The downturn in consumer confidence over the last six months is not surprising given developments in the financial markets and a weakening housing market," commented nationwide chief economist Fionnuala Earley."The effect of recent interest rate cuts has yet to trickle through to peoples pockets, particularly as food and energy costs are still high. "Consumers may begin to feel more comfortable following the expected cut to rates this week, but it is unlikely that confidence levels will increase in the short term."Further adding to the gloom, Halifax yesterday revealed that house prices have begun falling at their fastest rate in 16 years....