Prices of UK Homes Still Falling

With the increases in mortgage lending that occurred in the UK during the month of March, many homeowners felt that the recession was nearing an end and that they would soon start to see an increase in house prices. Read more

Tags: fact, April, house prices, home buyers, housing market, real earnings, duty, Mortgages

100,000 a month could lose their jobs

Over recent weeks there has been rising concern over unemployment levels in the UK, with the recession and the current financial climate already have seen many jobs lost or threatened. Read more

Tags: job losses, hundreds of thousands, variety, colleagues, April, official, unemployment, 100

Singles ’spending more than couples’

Singletons are flashing more cash than those in relationships, a new study has revealed.

Research conducted by Legal & General has shown that six per cent more Britons managed to make some savings during April than was the case in the same month 2007.

However, six out of ten of the people still in the mood to spend their hard-earned cash on entertainment and fun are single, which Legal & General suggests is not surprising.

Julia Clayworth, the organisation’s wealth management head of marketing, commented that the findings show it is not “all gloom and doom” for Britons.

“It is reassuring that people’s saving habits are gradually changing despite the reported economic downturn and that they are still managing to have some fun as well,” she added.

A recent study by egg warned that just half of all workers in the UK could manage for four months on their existing savings, despite this being the average length of time people are out of work following redundancy.

Tags: average length, General, April, Relationships, Legal & General, britons, half, surprising.julia clayworth

Credit card users hit with default charges

All credit card borrowers are being hit with increasing interest rates in response to lenders cutting penalties for users who default on their payments.

In April 2006 the Office of Fair Trading said that default charges on credit cards were excessive and suggested that the fees should not be higher than £12.

However, lenders made up the lost revenue by increasing rates and charges for other customers.

The Bank of England base rate of five per cent is a third of the average interest rate of 16.4 per cent, leaving a substantial profit for lenders.

Customers who are most likely to be affected are those who repay the minimum on their cards, according to Moneyfacts.co.uk analyst Michelle Slade.

Ms Slade commented: “Anyone with a balance of £5,000 repaying just 2.5 per cent per month will end up paying an additional £755 in interest from the 1.5 per cent increase in purchase rates.”

However, she concluded that borrowers with a good credit history could still find good deals.

Tags: finance, michelle slade, cent increase, lenders cutting penalties, analyst michelle slade

BoE to cut interest rates next week?

The increasing downside risk due to the credit crunch is one of the reasons behind a possible interest rate cut by the Bank of England (BoE) next week, financial analysts have predicted.

Experts from six financial institutions including the Centre for Economic and Business Research, Global Insight, Nationwide and Barclays Capital, all anticipate that BoE’s monetary policy committee (Mpc) to cut rates by 0.25 per cent in April.

Lloyds TSB and HSBC said that there would be no change in rates this month.

Howard Archer, UK chief economist at Global Insight, said: “We believe that the increasing downside risks to UK growth stemming from tight credit conditions will prompt the Bank of England to trim interest rates by a further 25 basis points to 5.00 per cent at its April meeting.”

The decision by the Mpc on interest rates will be announced at 12 noon on April 10th after its monthly two-day meeting.

Currently interest rates stand at 5.25 per cent.

Tags: Lloyds Banking Group, UK chief economist, April, month, economist, Global Insight, business research, week

Savers not taking full advantage of Isas

Up to one in three savers are not taking advantage of their tax-free allowance with their individual savings accounts, according to new research.

Findings from Marks and Spencers Money shows that by not saving the maximum of £3,000 in current and previous tax years, savers could have lost out on £35 per head in tax free interest.

The firm said that this means savers could have lost a potential £23 million per year.

Brendan Cook, chief executive of M&S Money, said: “With an estimated 2million new Cash Isas to be opened in the current tax year, savers could be losing out on a huge amount of tax free interest.”

He urged savers to “take more interest in their savings”, and make full use of their Isa allowance, especially when the allowance increases from April 6th.

Last week, Adrian Lowcock of Bestinvest said that one way to get good value on an Isa was to search for a broker who only took a low rate of commission.

Tags: value, Last week, Brendan Cook, individual savings accounts, tax, Marks, ISAs, April

Mortgage lending down

Mortgage lending fell in April of this year but is still markedly higher than the same period in 2006.

Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that borrowing fell to £28.8 billion in the month.

That is down nine per cent on the £31.7 billion which was borrowed in March but remains 18 per cent higher than figures from April 2006.

It is also the highest ever figure recorded for April but CML officials say that the market is levelling out.

“Lending is still strong, but it does seem to be stabilising in 2007 following its major growth in 2006,” said Michael Coogan, director general at the CML.

“With higher interest rates now beginning to have an impact, the modest slowing in activity that we have been expecting over the rest of the year looks set to materialise.

“Even so, we continue to expect lending in 2007 to be around four to five per cent higher than in 2006,” he added.

Tags: month, materialise, economics, modest slowing, figure, April

Kent quake leads to increased insurance claims

Following the earthquake that struck Kent on Saturday April 28th, Lloyds TSB Insurance has reported a significant rise in the number of claims being received.

The quake registered 4.3 on the Richter scale and caused damage to a number of homes and properties in the region.

Lloyds says that it has been contacted by many of its 2,000 customers in the area, with many reporting collapsed chimneys, damaged walls, driveways and pathways.

However, the firm says that it is also actively contacting its customers in the affected region to see if they need to make a claim on their home insurance.

“As always in situations like this, time is of the essence,” explained Phil Loney, managing director at Lloyds TSB Insurance. “We have made sure that all our staff are fully prepared to handle the increase in claims following the earthquake.

“However, we’d urge anyone who has been affected to follow our advice and give us a call as soon as possible.”

Those who need to make a claim are also being encouraged to check their policies to see what exactly is covered.

Emergency repairs should be carried out as soon as possible and receipts should be kept so that a claim can be made later, however, it is vital that the insurer is contacted first as they may wish to inspect the damage first.

Tags: April, emergency repairs, pathways, increase, damage, Lloyd's of London

Isa deadline approaching

Consumers are being warned that they must not wait too long before putting their money in an individual savings account (Isa).

The Association of Investment Companies
(AIC) is telling consumers that waiting until the last minute can lead to disappointment.

The final deadline for putting money into an Isa is April 5th but the AIC is warning that some investment companies have their own deadlines in place.

“With just under a month to go until the April 5th deadline, investors may think they have plenty of time to make their Isa purchases,” said Annabel Brodie-Smith, communications director at AIC.

“Whilst it’s easy to leave things to the last minute, investors should be aware that many investment companies have deadlines well before then, so it’s important to act now to avoid disappointment.”

Isas have proved to be extremely popular since they were launched in 1999, offering people a great way of doing their banking in an efficient way.

Customers are given tax breaks on their savings and many find the fact that removing money early is a long process with some Isas to be very beneficial when it comes to saving.

If you are considering putting your money in an Isa start choosing the best one for you now as there are no concessions to the deadline of April 5th.

Tags: minute, Business Finance, deadline, concessions, Banking, Anime International Company, Smith