The world’s share markets had a bad first half of 2022, but for once the UK performance was better than many. The first six months of the year was a disappointing one for many investors. The S&P 500, the leading US market indicator, had its worst first six months since 1970. To be fair, it […]
In the financial year 2021/22, Action Fraud received 4,244 reports of holiday and travel related fraud – a substantial increase of over 120% when compared to the previous financial year. Victims reported losing a total of £7,388,353 – an average loss of £1,868 per victim. Action Fraud has launched a national awareness campaign to urge […]
June was a month for rising interest rates on both sides of the Atlantic. June was a notable month for interest rates: Firstly, the US central bank, the Federal Reserve (the Fed) increased its main interest rate by 0.75% to 1.50%–1.75%. It was the third consecutive meeting at which the Fed had raised rates and […]
New statistics show this year’s ISA season attracted less than half of last year’s total net investment. The Investment Association (IA) recently published net sales figures for the ISA season, which it defines as March and April. It showed that the net inflow into the stocks and shares ISAs of its members amounted to […]
The high marginal tax rates created by phasing out the personal allowance are back in the news. ‘A million to pay 60% income tax within years,’ ran a recent headline in The Sunday Telegraph. The next day The Times picked up on the same story with the article ‘Inflation may leave million more workers paying 60% […]
Be prepared If you are a business owner, succession planning and insurance are important. Business succession planning is simply the process of planning for what you want to happen if you (or your co-owner, if you have one) were to die or fall seriously ill. If this happens, family and business partners can be […]
An annual survey from major investment manager abrdn has provided a snapshot of people who have or plan to retire in 2022. Wherever you are in your retirement planning, the research offers an interesting insight. When do you plan to stop working? Whatever answer you give, the recent survey of 2,000 people who were either […]
Higher rate taxpayer numbers are rising sharply, and if that’s you, then professional financial advice is now more important than ever. There was once a time when paying tax at more than the basic rate made you a member of a somewhat select club. In 2010/11, the first year in which additional rate tax was […]
In theory, high inflation should mean high interest rates for student loans. But it is not that simple. The Retail Prices Index (RPI) is no longer used as a National Statistic, but the government still finds uses for the index when the results work in its favour (because it is usually higher […]
