One month to go before the end of the tax year and the banks and pension investors are inundating us all with the “use your ISA allowances” and “maximise your pension contributions before the changes next tax year”. Interest rates remain pitiful and again the rates are being reduced across the board yet again on [...]

The UK appears to be showing the signs of a possible second recessionary phase with a retail malaise and consumer confidence shaky at best. Consistently high fuel price rises, increases in utility costs around the corner and food inflation forcing households to review their weekly spend. Interest rates’ remaining static has become the “norm” over [...]

Interest rates remain at 0.5% in the UK, but for how much longer as record monthly leaps in food and transport costs raised the consumer prices index (CPI) to 3.7% in December 2010, (up from 3.3% in November), according to the Office for National Statistics. Continued high level rises in food and fuel prices could [...]

The much awaited “austerity budget” is due on 22nd June and both individuals and business communities await the various instruments of torture to be applied to direct and indirect taxation, benefits and spending cuts. There will be a lot of pain but how much can the electorate stand, noting that even if the election had [...]

The best news in the last week for the political parties in the run up to the UK election has been the Icelandic ash cloud that has engulfed most of Northern Europe over the last few days. Apart from causing travel chaos to thousands of people and costing the travel and ancillary industries millions in [...]

At last the 6th May 2010, a date for the nation to decide on the next few years of Government. Which party, if any, will have the majority of the country’s vote and more importantly what will be the turnout level. The media have already done enough in the first few days since the announcement [...]

The Bank of England kept interest rates at a record low of 0.5% for the 12th consecutive month on Thursday, a decision widely expected as any rise in the cost of borrowing could damage the UK’s fragile economic recovery. The bank has not pumped any more money into the economy under its quantitative easing (QE) [...]