Return of the 100 per cent mortgage
SOMEHOW a home became an investment. Then, it became an economy. I’m not sure how that occurred. They are a depreciating asset from day one. Take Switzerland, with arguably the richest population in the world. They don’t really buy houses, choosing instead to invest their capital elsewhere. Home ownership is around 45 per cent. It […]
Interest rates rise to 4.5 per cent
UK inflation is expected to fall slower than previously thought as food prices remain stubbornly high, the Bank of England has said, as it raised interest rates for the 12th time in a row. Seven members of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to increase the base interest rate to 4.5% from 4.25%. Food prices have […]
Preparing for the unexpected or inevitable
I WAS back in my old primary school from 52 years ago chatting to the children. What a feeling. There was a little girl aged around seven with her hand up. ‘How did you build such a big company?’ she asked with interest. I wondered how she knew it was a big company. “It’s simple” […]
Mortgage apathy can cost £160,000
FOLLOWING last week’s coverage on the benefits/advantages to use a mortgage broker rather than going to a high street, I mentioned I would cover the savings in rate charges. They are quite staggering, so hang on in while I ramble back over a couple of points I’ve missed. While I mentioned last week that the […]
The benefits of a mortgage broker
IT’S said that a cynic knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing. Or, as one other friend of mine once put it – ‘we want Swedish services for American prices’. With inflation soaring it’s easy to focus on the actual cost of an item but not the value. Let me show you […]
What’s the risk to my money in banks?
THE last two weeks’ columns explained the issues with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), Credit Suisse and Deutsche. I hope that was helpful. And now on to bank shares as a whole. Bank safety is vitally important to an economy, in that confidence in deposits provides our floor, both politically and economically. The issues in SVB […]
Are banks really in trouble – part two
WE covered the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) last week, and the perfect storm of risk that knocked it off its perch. For the record, there were several hundred venture capitalist firms who had signed a letter to keep their deposits there. Those venture capital firms with an interest in destabilising the dollar and banking system […]
Are the banks really in trouble?
HEADLINES, headlines, fear, and more fear. It can all become a little overwhelming indeed. You may remember this column covering ‘shock financial headlines that lose you a fortune’. Endless sensationally positive headlines in 1999 were followed by a 48 per cent fall in global markets over the next three years, in fact the FTSE100 was […]
Two cool ISA tips… before the rush ends
IN a final ISA column before the rush ends, here are some useful tips. Many people put off investing into an ISA for fear of loss. Instead, they wait until the markets are sounding buzzy, everyone feels great, and the TV is telling us all about how much the markets are rising. Like every party, […]
The boring Budget good bits
I WAS going to cover ISA allowances this week, but the ‘show’ that is called ‘Budget’ put an end to that. I’m regularly asked to do radio coverage on the Budget but it’s like taking a slice of cardboard which is covered in cardboard flavour sauce and trying to make it palatable. Oh, its grey […]
The brutality of tax on your investments
ISA season is upon us, so let’s look at their benefits. The basic, but very important benefit is that of tax-free growth on your money. How important is that? Two reasons: You don’t have to manage the money in and out of where it’s invested to take care of annual tax allowances. This can cause […]
Watch for the April 5 investment tax change
IT’S coming up to that time of the year again for the last-minute ISA rush. This year takes on a slightly extra bit of urgency, however. Given that you are allowed to invest up to £20,000 per person per year, this tax break is one you just cannot afford to miss, particularly because of the […]