Consumers need to be ‘wary’ of introductory Isa offers

Consumers have been warned by a financial expert to tread carefully when considering introductory offers on individual savings accounts (Isas).

Bestinvest said that introductory offers emerge when an Isa product first launches, which means no one can know the track record of a fund manager or how well it will perform.

Adrian Lowcock, senior investment adviser at Bestinvest, said: “You have to be a bit wary of them, and know what you are getting into. We tend to recommend fund managers that have a proven track record.”

He added that that one way to get “good value” with a deal is to find an advisor who will offer a discount and charge a low rate of initial commission.

Figures released in November 2007 by HM Revenue and Customs showed that the amount of money saved in Isas has now reached £208 billion.

According to the BBC, the total value of Isas has risen sevenfold from £29 billion since April 1st 2000.

Tags: investment, bestinvest, november, sevenfold, individual savings account, Banking, bbc, value

Brits plan to spend £13bn on home green improvements

Homeowners in Britain are planning to spend £13 billion on improvements to their properties claims new research.

The findings from the Co-operative Bank have shown that a number of consumers have already begun to instigate general ‘green’ changes.

Up to 66 per cent of people are recycling, 60 per cent have switched to energy saving light bulbs and another 40 per cent have installed loft and cavity wall insulation.

John Barker, head of mortgages at the Co-operative Bank said: “This research clearly shows that people are really starting to sit up and take notice of green issues in relation to their homes.”

“Houses are one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions in the UK and taking steps to improve the environmental impact of homes is something that we strongly believe should be encouraged,” he added.

According to the research the ‘greenest’ region is Wales, where 75 per cent of people have taken steps to make their homes greener over the past year.

In last November the Co-operative Bank launched a mortgage package for those customers looking to reduce their carbon footprint.

Tags: co operative bank, homes greener, Cavity wall insulation, november, Brits, GBP, last november

Fewer analysts predict a cut in interest rates in November

Following the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting in October, 14 out of 52 economists that were polled by Reuters expected interest rates to fall in November.

However, according to the latest poll the number of analysts that are predicting a fall in interest rates has now fallen, with just 5 out of 60 analysts polled expecting the Bank of England to cut interest rates by a quarter point. It is thought that healthy economic growth could have something to do with the change in the level of predictions in terms of whether interest rates will fall.

Out of the 60 analysts and economists that were polled by Reuters at the end of October 55 predicted that after the next Monetary Policy Committee meeting on November 8th interest rates will remain on hold at 5.75%. Rates have gone up five times between August 2006 and July 2007, each time by 0.25%, which took the rate from 4.5% to 5.75%. However, since July of this year interest rates have remained stable at 5.75%, which is thought to be partly due to the possible effects of the credit crunch.

The poll also showed that 47 out of 59 economists that were polled expected interest rates to fall by at least a quarter point by the first quarter of 2008. Many had predicted that this interest rate would come in November’s meeting. However, these predictions fell after it was revealed that the British economy grew at its fastest rate in three years in the third quarter of this year.

One industry professional stated: “We would expect them to continue to bide their time and allow more data to come in on the extent of any economic slowdown before changing rates. With the UK economy as a whole apparently still growing slightly above trend in Q3, there is certainly no immediate need for such a cut.”  

Tom Smith

Tags: Mortgages, cuts, england, bank, interest

UK lending figures rise

Lending to individuals in the UK rose again in November, according to the Bank of England.

Figures show that there was an increase in all types of loans of £10.9 billion between October and November.

Credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts increased by £0.2 billion, while mortgages saw the biggest increases.

In total, November saw a £9.8 billion increase in mortgage lending compared to October, signalling a rise of 0.9 per cent.

“This is a very strong set of mortgage data. Mortgage approvals amounted to a near three-year high of 129,000 in November, while lending secured on dwellings amounted to a three-year high of £9.8 billion,” said Howard Archer of financial consultancy Global Insight.

Mr Archer said that unsecured borrowing “eased back” between October and November as consumers become more concerned abut their future financial situation.

“Elevated debt levels, higher interest rates, rising unemployment and increasing pension concerns mean that there is an increased need for many consumers to try and improve their finances,” he added.

He said that more and more people are switching to secured borrowing to finance their spending.

Tags: mortgage lending, need, consumers, abut, november, mortgage, Credit Cards, overdrafts