The UK’s service sector bucks the gloomy economic trend

Offering hope that the UK can avoid a double-dip recession by redeeming Q3 GDP figures, the Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recorded a rise from 52.1 to 54.0 for the service sector in December.

Gold - Worth its weight ?

Gold has always been a store of value in troubled times, in today’s markets this remains the case.

Essential Insurance for directors and business owners

No one doubts the importance of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to the financial wellbeing of the UK. They are the engine-room of the economy. So what would you do without your key workers and directors?

Protection insurance with added relevance

HMRC pension allowance changes make ‘relevant life’ insurance potentially more attractive for some high-earners in small businesses.

The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement:

The Chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement realised the nightmare scenario that most economists and pundits alike had predicted.

Are Eurobonds the answer to the Eurozone’s woes?

Maybe the issue of Eurobonds could help ease the funding crisis gripping the Eurozone at the moment, but will the politicians let it happen?

Protection insurance: what’s under the bonnet?

Insurance is different from other consumer purchases. You may not find out how good it is until you make a claim months, years or decades later.

A volatile market only for the brave!

A massively volatile market, with tremendous daily movements, leaves even the professionals treading very carefully.

Investing in difficult times

Remember, just like a free lunch, in investment there is no such thing as “a sure thing”. Here we look at investment fundamentals in precarious markets.

The Bank of England to the rescue ?

How effective will the Bank of England’s latest round of Quantitative Easing (QE) be at boosting the UK’s economy, or will it prove to be a hard pill to swallow?

Support is there to aid recovery

Income protection policyholders and their insurers both benefit if recovery from illness or injury is assisted by physiotherapy or other appropriate intervention.

Investing with a clear conscience

Some investors only feel comfortable with a responsible and ethical approach to investment, even though this may narrow their investment options.

Is Inter-family lending a good idea?

Anecdotal evidence suggests that – perhaps unsurprisingly – inter-family lending is on the increase in the UK, is it a good thing?

Strategic importance of employee benefits

When did you last discuss how your employee benefits package addresses and supports your overall business strategy and goals?

Pound-Cost Averaging – How it can smooth out your investments

Whilst the long-term overall trend of the FTSE100 has been up, we have seen some quite dramatic short-term downturns since the financial and credit crisis of 2008. &&&&&&In the last two years for example, the trend has been down, so how does this impact on your overall investment strategy?

Protecting investments

There is no such thing as a risk-free investment, but you can take steps to minimise the risks associated with saving for the future.

Deferring state pensions

According to Money Management magazine (quoted in The Sunday Times 3/7/11) deferring the state pension by five years would increase annual income from £5,311 to £8,072.

Is it time to “fix”?

One of the perennial questions facing many homeowners is whether they should go for a ‘fixed rate’ mortgage, a ‘tracker’, or follow a lender’s ‘variable rate’.

VAT crackdown

In an effort to raise more revenue, HMRC is cracking down on businesses that should be registered for VAT but have not yet done so.

Protecting borrowings

Recent data from Credit Action (July 2011) suggest that consumer credit borrowing (i.e. not mortgages) stands at some £210 billion and is still growing at a rate of 1.4% a year.

Junior ISAs

Thanks to financial constraints imposed on the country by the credit crunch and recession, Child Trust Funds (CTFs) are no longer available for children born after 2nd January 2011.

Career average pensions

One of the recommendations made to the government by Lord Hutton was that public sector pension schemes should be altered from ‘final salary’ to career average. But what does this mean?

Working for the taxman?

According to the Adam Smith Institute, we have to work, on average, 149 days to pay our taxes this year – that is three days longer than in 2010. That made “tax freedom day" – when we started working for ourselves and our families instead of the taxman – almost the end of May.

Avoid expensive borrowing

Every so often, you may receive a letter from your bank offering you the opportunity to switch debt from ‘expensive store cards’ to your usual credit card with them. But is this always a good idea?

Are you saving enough?

According to research undertaken by part of the Royal London insurance group, while 44% of working women are responsible for family financial decisions, more than a quarter of all working women have no savings accounts in place.

Long-term absence hurts businesses

One of the issues that may not occur to many business owners until it actually happens is the potential impact on profitability should one or more employees suffer from long-term illness.

What if grandparents were not there

Grandparents are becoming one of the most important parts of the modern family, according to recent research.

Mortgages later in life

With the expectation that many people will be working well beyond 65 before they receive their state pension, we face the prospect of working much longer than previously.

Planning for an empty nest

We may think that when the children leave home, we will be better off. But recent data from leading UK insurance company Aviva suggests this lifestage must be planned for.

Switching to CPI

Governments have long preferred the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) over the Retail Prices Index (RPI) because the former generally rises at a slower rate and makes them look better. Now this will hit pensions.

Gender-neutral insurance

A recent decision from the European Court of Justice is likely to have a significant impact on family finances from the end of next year.

Reinvesting income

An interesting article in The Times a month or so ago highlighted the importance of reinvesting income from investments, in order to give them the best chance of growing.

Default retirement age

From the end of September this year, it will no longer be possible to enforce retirement at the age of 65. Concern that this might cause difficulties for employers between now and then has been allayed by a further government statement.

Falling housing demand

The housing market appears to have had a relatively weak start in 2011 – although viewings are apparently up on this time last year.

Shifting sands for women’s pensions

Phased plans are in hand to raise the age at which women are entitled to receive their state pension from the 60 that it used to be, to 66, by April 2020.

The impact of inflation on savings

According to data from the Bank of England, the average savings rate at the end of last year was just 2.58%. With Consumer Prices Index inflation at 4% (and the Retail Prices Index rising at 5.1%) the numbers do not stack up.

Where now for investments?

Now that we are firmly entrenched in the new year, many commentators believe that we are in for a good 2011 from a share value perspective.

SME pension provision

News that two-thirds of small firms do not offer employees any form of pension should raise alarm bells for everyone, in view of the rapidly approaching launch of the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) pension scheme.

Protecting your savings and investments

While nobody can be fully protected against the vagaries of investment markets, there is protection against many forms of default by banks and similar institutions.