Autumn Statement
The Autumn Statement from chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne provided little cheer for either businesses or individuals, going so far as to sound a warning that the UK’s “debt challenge is even greater than we thought”. The UK government will have to borrow more money and accelerate its programme of spending cuts. Overall government[.....]
Dilnot report
Already struggling under the weight of rising costs and budget cuts, the UK faces a crisis in the funding of social care for the elderly. Since 2004, the number of Britons aged over 85 has risen by two-thirds, and demand for care has outstripped supply. Looking ahead, the UK’s elderly population will continue to expand.[.....]
Global update
Even though major markets were up significantly during October, the month was characterised by exceptional volatility across global indices. Investors remained jittery during the month amid intense speculation over the outlook for the eurozone and concerns the region’s leaders might not be able to reach an agreement over measures to resolve the debt crisis. The[.....]
Outlook for Shares
It is often said that stock markets are driven by fear and greed – and, right now, it is probably fair to say that fear is winning. A combination of negative factors – from disappointing economic data, fears of a “double-dip” recession, the eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis and the fiscal crisis in the US to[.....]
Junior ISAs
The Junior ISA (JISA), available from 1 November, replaces the Child Trust Fund (CTF) scheme, which closed to new entrants in January 2011. Unlike with CTFs, the government will make no contributions but the scheme does extend the popular Isa structure to those under 18. JISAs can be opened in the name of anyone not[.....]
Interest rate update
As policymakers try to reconcile their concerns about the health of the UK economic recovery with their worries about inflation, UK interest rates have remained unchanged at their all-time low of 0.5% since March 2009. However, the nine members of the Bank of England’s (BoE’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously for the first time[.....]
GDP Update
September proved another rough month for markets, amid mounting concerns about the state of the global economy and the possibility Greece might default on its loans. The FTSE 100 index fell 4.9% during September and 13.7% over the third quarter of 2011. In Europe, the German DAX and French CAC 40 indices both fell by[.....]
Interest rate update
As policymakers continue to try to reconcile their concerns about the health of the UK economic recovery with their worries about inflation, UK interest rates have remained unchanged at their all-time low of 0.5% since March 2009. However, the nine members of the Bank of England’s (BoE’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously for the[.....]
Banking reform
The UK banking sector is set to experience “fundamental and far-reaching” changes following the publication of a report from the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), chaired by Sir John Vickers. The report recommends that UK banks should ring-fence their retail banking operations from their investment banking divisions in order to protect retail customers and taxpayers.[.....]
What is a ‘double-dip’?
Against a deteriorating economic backdrop, speculation about the likelihood of a “double-dip” recession has intensified. While a recession is generally defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth, a double-dip recession occurs when an economy falls into recession, stages a recovery and then slips back into recession. Recessions can take a number of different forms.[.....]
