The squeeze has become so tight that some middle-class families are pawning diamonds and cars to pay school fees, it has been claimed.
But with some medium term financial planning, there should be no need to take the engagement ring or BMW down to the pawnbrokers.
So what are the best ways to save and pay […]
The vast majority of firms say they have insufficient assets to meet their pension promises, with only 9% of companies still having a surplus.
The figures from the Pension Protection Fund, the body created to bail-out bankrupt pension schemes, revealed a ‘black hole’ of £219bn facing almost 7,800 final salary schemes.
This is up from £191bn […]
Accountancy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers reckons the total annual tax rise needed because of the deepening black hole in the Treasury finances could reach £25bn.
Its report today, which warns that the banking crisis and recession are placing the public finances under ’severe strain’, follows claims in the Commons last night that Labour’s latest bank bail-out means […]
Spencer Winfield at stockbroker Charles Stanley replies: Warren Buffett, arguably the most famous US fund manager, once said that to be a good investor ‘one should be fearful when all around you are greedy and greedy when all around are fearful’.
It is presumably with this sentiment in mind that some investors started […]
The news comes as the battle to attract savers’ cash Isa money hotted up yesterday, with a best-buy cash Isa launch from Barclays.
However, Barclays was one of the banks mired in cash Isa delays during the spring of 2007 and 2008, after it launched best-buy Isas in March and could not deal […]
While some are seeking to cash in on the rise of the euro, others have found the cost of running a holiday home or retiring on the Continent too high as the pound has fallen to historic lows.
Foreign currency broker HiFX has seen a 180% rise in the amount of euros being converted into […]
Demands for fresh bailouts for financial giants HSBC and AIG sparked a rout in global stocks.
The bad news from both sides of the Atlantic pushed the FTSE down 204.26 points to 3625.83, the first time it has closed below 3,700 since April 2003, just after British and US troops invaded Iraq.
Investors switched into panic-selling […]
In the heady days of the property boom securing a mortgage often simply involved a quick hunt online, a phone call and filling in a form.
But with lenders tightening their criteria, demanding bigger deposits and cherry picking the best borrowers, potential homebuyers or remortgagers now need to put in some hard work.
The good news […]
If I register at their address would this cause a massive problem and invalidate my mortgage? M.R., South Kensington, London
Louise Cuming, head of mortgage and protection services at Moneysupermarket.com, replies: I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but unfortunately, the terms of your mortgage contract have already been […]
Doesn’t this mean there is no longer any need to go to the trouble and expense of making a will? P.C., Derbyshire
Matthew Cox from Skipton Financial Services replies: Your are correct that new intestacy legacies rules came in on 1 February and increased the amount that partners will inherit if their spouse […]
© 2008 Daily Financial News