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Latest News
28/05/10
Global stocks rise after China news reports Investment Week
28 May 2010 | 07:59
Global equity markets rallied yesterday as China denied reports it was reviewing its eurozone investments, with markets on both sides of the Atlantic climbing over 3%.
The S&P 500 advanced 3.29% to 1,103.06 in the US overnight, while the Dow Jones was up 2.85% to climb back over the 10,000 barrier. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index jumped 3.73%.
Investor sentiment was given a boost by China's reassurances it was not considering cutting its holdings of eurozone debt amid the recent crisis. China labelled the report saying it was mulling such a move as "baseless".
In London, the FTSE 100 ended yesterday up 3.12% higher, to 5,195.17.
Insurers were the big winner on the day following news the investor rebellion against the proposed Prudential of AIA has hit 20%. Pru shares climbed 6.83%; while Legal & General added 7.39% and Aviva gained 7.14%.
In Europe yesterday, the German Dax climbed 3.11% and the French CAC 40 increased 3.42%.
Over in Asia today, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 advanced 1.28% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng is 1.8% higher.
14/5/10
Competition Commission nears point-of-sale PPI ban
As reported by IFAonline. Read the article below or from their website (link above)
The Competition Commission (CC) has provisionally banned the selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) at the point-of-sale, following a legal challenge from Barclays.
A point-of-sale ban on PPI would stop it being bolted-on to the sale of an associated credit product such as a personal loan.
Following its investigation into PPI, the Commission found businesses which offer PPI alongside credit face little or no competition when selling the product to their credit customers.
Last year, Barclays legally challenged the CC's report into PPI and a proposed point-of-sale ban on the product at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), supported by Lloyds Banking Group and Shop Direct Group Financial Services Ltd.
CAT upheld the CC's findings on competition problems in this market, but ruled the Commission must consider further the role and importance of a potential drawback to a ban on customers.
In its provisional decision published today on its extended findings, the CC says the benefits of remedies including a ban will outweigh the disadvantages, in particular to some customers, by introducing greater competition and choice and lower prices to the market.
Inquiry chairman and CC deputy chairman Peter Davis: "Overall we concluded PPI providers are overstating the loss of convenience that would result from the introduction of a prohibition on selling PPI during the credit sale.All customers of course will appreciate the lower prices for PPI and the greater choice we expect to result from more competitive PPI markets."
However on retail PPI, the CC has yet to decide whether the advantages of introducing a ban alongside other measures would outweigh the disadvantages.
It is inviting comments on whether alternative remedies would be more effective or less costly.
PPI covers repayments on credit products if the borrower is unable to make repayments due to accident, sickness, unemployment or (in many cases) death.
Over 90% of PPI sold in the UK is either unsecured personal loan PPI, credit card PPI, mortgage PPI or secured loan PPI.
In its 2009 report, the CC stated the vast majority of the UK's more than 12 million PPI policies are sold at the same time as a consumer takes out a loan, credit card or other type of credit, and many consumers are unaware they can buy PPI from other providers to compare prices and terms and conditions of PPI policies.
In the absence of competitive pressure, consumers are charged high prices due to the resulting ‘point-of-sale' advantage.
The CC will now invite comments on its provisional decision before publishing its final verdict in July.
If it upholds its provisional decision, it will move to introduce the full package of measures as swiftly as possible.
02/03/10
80% of under 30s need help to buy a home
The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates 80% of all under 30s now need financial help from a parent or relative to get on to the housing ladder.
The figure nudged up to 45% pre-credit crunch, but has now almost doubled.
The CML says the overall effect is that for those in the formerly typical first-time age bracket of 25-34, the likelihood of buying at the moment is around half its level of a decade ago.
01/02/10
FSA issues share fraudster warning
The FSA and City of London Police have this week written to 6,500 UK homes to warn people that their details are on a master list being used by share fraudsters.
The master list contains the names of about 10,000 people, some with addresses and phone numbers.
The list was discovered by the FSA and City of London Police who launched Operation WARN because of serious concerns that it was currently being circulated among fraudsters.
The letter, which is the first stage of Operation WARN, explains what people on the list can do to protect themselves from the fraud.
The FSA and City of London Police have launched a secure consumer helpline so people who have received the letter can call in for further information.
The FSA says boiler room fraudsters usually contact people by telephone and use high pressure sales tactics to con investors into buying non-tradable, overpriced or even non-existent shares.
Boiler rooms are unauthorised, overseas-based companies with bogus UK addresses and phone lines routed abroad.
FSA head of the unauthorised business department Jonathan Phelan says: “By writing to people now, we can raise awareness of this type of fraud and help protect people from losing money to these criminals. Legitimate companies should not normally call you out of the blue offering to buy or sell shares. If you get such calls, just hang up and report it.”
City of London Police head of the economic crime directorate Steve Head says: “We are all potential victims for fraudsters and need to be aware of the heartless way they operate.
“Intelligence suggests that this list of people from across the UK is currently being shared amongst boiler rooms. I would urge those people who receive a letter from us in the next few days to contact the FSA and City of London Police on the Operation WARN helpline.”
09/12/09
BUDGET highlights:
08/12/09
In the first 11 months of this year house prices on average has risen by £6,800 or 4.2%, according to the calculation by the Halifax property index.
Although significant, this is within the fall in prices of 23% between August 2007 to April 2009, when the prices hit the bottom. Therefore, still many homeowners are trapped in low or no equity in their property. This is significant to those entering the market for the first time or those looking to move as seen by the high demand but low availability of suitable property for buyers.
With the ending of the stamp duty holiday we may see a slight diminishing of demand as there will be a 1% additional cost to purchases between £125k and £250k.
03/12/09
The stamp duty holiday extension comes to an end at the end of this month. From Jan 1st the tax will go back to following :
Property val 0 - £125 k = 0%, £125 - £250k = 1%, over £250 k = 3%.
You need to have exchanged contract by the end of the year to benefit.
11/11/09
Parents warned as motor insurance fraud rockets
From : debtmanagementtoday.co .uk
Finance comparison site, Uswitch.com, has found that reported cases of insurance fraud have soared by 30% in the last year, as many parents are unaware that it is illegal for a car to be bought and registered in their child’s name, but with the parent listed as the main driver on the insurance policy.
The practice is called ‘fronting’ and as the average age of a child named as a second driver on their parent’s car insurance policy has gone from 25 to 31 in the past year, it is clear that the recession and rise in unemployment is making it harder for young people to afford car insurance.
“Not only are hard-up ‘kidults’ living at home for longer, but they are hanging around on their parents’ insurance policies for longer too,” said insurance expert at uSwitch.com, Mark Monteiro.
Kevin Still, debt expert and director of debt solutions provider, EuroDebt, added: “It is interesting that the advent of the ‘kidult’ has highlighted potential financial problems at both ends of the scale. Older parents may be able to make meaningful savings on motor insurance premiums and other monthly expenditure if they stopped supporting grown up kids. Younger people are heavily penalized in terms of motor insurance premiums and reliant on parents to continually subsidise them. This sometimes creates a grey area in terms of what is determined as ‘soft fraud’.
“There is a strong correlation between financial stress and fraud on motor, travel and household insurances, but the reality is that majority of people are trying to make ends meet. EuroDebt will undertake a complete review of someone’s financial circumstances when completing a financial planner at their face-to-face meeting, establishing the reasons why they fell into debt, how to optimize income and streamline monthly expenditure before looking at the level of unsecured debts and any arrears with priority creditors, like mortgage, rent, council tax and utilities. Insurance premiums are assessed as part of this process.”
28/10/09
According to the FindaProperty.com October Rental Index, the number of rental properties on the market plunged by 10% between September and October, following a 6% fall the previous month, bringing supply back to the level last seen almost a year ago.
An oversupply of flats has been one of the main factors distorting the rental market over recent months, and October saw a significant correction in flat rental stock which fell by 12%. This is likely to be partly due to a seasonal surge in demand from students and graduates requiring lower-cost rental accommodation.
Rental Index showed:
- Stock of rental properties plummets by 10% in one month to October, as accidental landlords hasten to sales market
- Rents rise by 0.1% to £830pcm, the sixth consecutive month of stable or rising rents
- Properties let within 58 days, the shortest time since the start of the year
- Long-term landlords who rode out the storm are rewarded with rapidly normalising market
Buy to let landlords who have stayed the course over the last eighteen months, as the 'accidental landlord' phenomenon flooded the rental market with homes, are now being rewarded with rising rents and a dramatic reduction in stock levels.
In addition, a number of agents such as Marsh and Parsons and Townends report that the strengthening sales market, which enjoyed a further 0.7% rise in house prices this month, is now attracting a rush of sellers who have been temporarily renting their properties as they wait for house prices to recover.
Rents climbed by 0.1% this month to £830, continuing the clear trend of recovery since April as competition increases among tenants seeking homes to rent. This increased demand is also reflected in the number of days properties are taking to let, which now stands at just 58 days compared to 71 days at the start of the year.
20/10/09
Enquiry levels from distressed sellers have jumped in September as homeowners return to reality after the summer holidays, according to Portfolio Property Rescue. Individuals, landlords and small businesses are being forced to sell their home or residential property assets to avoid future repossession or bankruptcy, said the firm.
Distressed seller enquiries from homeowners in major cities in the Midlands and the North surged by more than 60 per cent on this time last year, as recorded by the Distress Index in Q3 2009. Many urban homeowners throughout the UK are seriously suffering financially, suggesting that any talk of a market recovery is London-centric and is not the reality facing the majority of homeowners, said the firm.
Nick Hopkinson, director of Property Portfolio Rescue, said: “Recent property surveys reporting a house price rally are based on very low transaction levels and cherry picked lending to high earners with huge deposits. Unfortunately, this is creating a false picture of recovery. While shortage of property stock within Greater London is pushing up prices at the moment, the UK as a whole has not seen positive growth and many homeowners are increasingly facing negative equity and difficulties remortgaging as they come off fixed rates. Many mortgage brokers are contacting PPR because their clients can’t get a re-mortgage and need to sell fast.”
14/10/09
A year after the financial sector bailout, Which? has found that there is still widespread consumer resentment against the banks.
Which? the consumer watchdog said its latest research shows that almost two thirds of people are still really angry with the banks for causing the financial crisis
Consumers feel that, for most banks, sorry seems to be the hardest word, with three quarters of consumers thinking the banks aren't genuinely sorry for causing the financial crisis.
The survey revealed three out of five people don't feel that banks have learnt their lessons from the crisis, and four out of five believe that senior level bankers have got away without having to pay the price for their mistakes.
Such is the frustration with banks that a third of people think that, in future, the government should allow them to go bust rather than bail them out, and just under four out of five believe the banks have not done enough to ensure a credit crunch doesn't happen again.
Which? head of campaigns, Louise Hanson, said: "People tell us they're angry - a year after the bailout, banks are still treating them like second class citizens with poor customer service and shoddy sales tactics. Consumers are wary of what the banks say. It's not going to be easy for the banks to regain the public's trust, but a good start would be for them to say sorry - and mean it."
20/08/09
The price comparison website reveals, on average, rates for new borrowers have fallen by just 1.3% in the past 12 months to 5.12%. This is despite the Bank of England cutting interest rates from 4.5% to 0.5% over the same period.
Some lenders have cut rates by less than 1.3%, with the two semi state-owned banks among some of the worst offenders.
Northern Rock reduced its rate for new borrowers by just 0.27%, leaving it at 6.42% while Lloyds TSB's average mortgage rate had dropped just 0.73% to 5.42%.
The best rate currently for new borrowers was offered by First Direct, which has fallen 2.21% to 3.92%.
Hannah Skenfield, mortgage channel manager at moneysupermarket.com, say: "Despite this low rate environment there is a significant disparity in the amount of this saving being passed on to mortgage borrowers by the main UK lenders.
"This further illustrates the divorce between mortgage rates and the base rate and with the variance in average rates offered this year widening to 2.5% compared with just 0.93% in 2008, shopping around for the best deal is more important than ever before."
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