How to best invest for your child’s future July 23, 2013 Make sure you maximise tax-free saving for your newest addition THE Royal parents may have few financial woes, but the cost of raising a child for most extends far beyond nappies or baby food. The current average cost of a wedding is £18,244, the average first-time buyer deposit is £26,956, and student debt for 2013 [...]
Capital comment: Tracker funds aren’t the only way to trade the FTSE 100 July 23, 2013 HAVE you reached that point in life where your outgoings are still more than incomings, and you need to grow up a little? Join the club. With company pensions affording you little more than a year’s subscription to your local golf club upon retirement, it is obviously important to put money away for the future. [...]
Planning for the education of your little prince and princesses July 23, 2013 INDEPENDENT SCHOOL fees have risen by an average of 3.9 per cent in the past year according to research by the Independent Schools Council. While this is the lowest annual rise since 1994, paying for your children’s education remains costly. Educating a child born at the same time as the new prince, at one of [...]
Unite members more likely to vote for Labour than in 2010 – but wouldn’t join or fund them July 23, 2013 Despite the fractious relationship of late between Labour and the Unite trade union, the proportion of members who would vote Labour has jumped nine percentage points to 49 per cent since 2010, to the detriment of the Conservatives (down five percentage points to 23 per cent) and the Liberal Democrats (down 13 percentage points to [...]
Capital Economics sees US economy on track for Fed to begin tapering this year July 23, 2013 Despite downward revisions to second quarter US GDP growth, economic analysis company Capital Economics thinks the Federal Reserve is still on track to begin tapering off its monthly asset purchases in September this year. While GDP growth is thought to have slowed to between one per cent and 1.5 per cent in the second quarter [...]
Greek aid payment delayed after failure to confirm reforms July 23, 2013 The German ministry has said that payment of the latest tranche of aid to Greece will be delayed after the country failed to confirm five of the 22 conditions required. The European Commission will discuss progress on the Greek programme on 24 July. Greek tranche delayed, EUR little moved. Now at $1.3213 — Holger Zschaepitz [...]
EU-China trade spat intensifies as anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese ironing boards extended July 23, 2013 The European Union has extended anti-dumping duties on ironing boards imported from China by five years, but lifted them for these products coming from Ukraine. China used to control around 40 to 45 per cent of the EU ironing board market – but this fell to 15 to 20 per cent when the duties were [...]
Eurozone consumer confidence picks up to hit 23-month high in July July 23, 2013 Eurozone consumer confidence has improved slightly in July, rising from -18.8 to -17.4, a 23-month high. Analysts had forecast an improvement to -18.3, but this beat remains markedly lower than a long-term 1990-2013 average of -13.2. Howard Archer, chief UK & European economist, IHS Global Insight: It is notable that in the European Commission’s full [...]
US manufacturing shows dramatic signs of weakening July 23, 2013 The US Richmond Fed manufacturing index has plunged from 8 to -11 in July, implying that the picture for sector is much darker. Analysts had predicted a slight fall to just 7.
US house price growth accelerates in May July 23, 2013 US house prices have risen by 0.7 per cent in May, according to the FHFA. That's an acceleration from last month's 0.5 per cent rise (revised down from 0.7 per cent), but falls short of the 0.8 per cent growth expected.