George Osborne was last seen holding the famous red briefcase in March. On that occasion he was delivering a coalition budget. The new “emergency budget” is a fully-fledged Conservative budget. Some people may be tempted to ask “Why do we need a new budget so quickly?” That aside, there are actually a number of questions [...]
Deflation is not all it is cracked up to be. Recently, as we cheered at the fall in fuel prices to historic lows, the fact that several industries were dependent on buoyant oil prices barely occurred to many of us. However, the current plight of the oil city Aberdeen shows that there are significant problems attached to [...]
The Mortgage Market Review, which took effect in 2014, imposed “affordability criteria” on lenders. In simple terms it aimed to rein in high-risk mortgages. Like any change it triggered speculation about its potential effects. Almost a year later, mortgage approvals remain high, while house prices are currently holding fairly steady. So what does this mean [...]
As the old saying goes – what goes up must come down. Recently oil prices have been coming down quite spectacularly. This has naturally raised the question of how investors can benefit from this. To answer this question, we need to understand why oil prices have fallen. There are essentially three theories on this. Oil [...]
Whether or not you realize it, Experian, Equifax and Callcredit all have a huge impact on everyday life in the UK. They are the “big 3” credit-rating companies. . Businesses use their services for a whole variety of reasons. For example some companies use them to confirm a person's identity, particularly if they deal in [...]
Human beings, in general, are notoriously bad at calculating risk and weighing up reward, it’s almost hard wired into us. Our survival, millennia ago, was based around our inability to think too much about the future and focus on ‘eating today’. This, while useful hunting Mastodons, is less helpful when planning our financial futures and [...]
The concept of making mortgage payments after retirement age may be a new reality for some people. When looking at this situation, be aware that you can always get advice from a professional financial adviser to help you find the solution that's right for you. Decide Whether You Are Ready to Downsize There was a [...]
There are two basic parts to any loan. One part is the sum borrowed, sometimes known as the capital. The other part is the fee charged by the lender. In terms of mortgages, this fee is usually charged in the form of interest. At this time there are three basic types of mortgage available: [...]
Given that a mortgage is usually a long-term commitment, sometimes a significant one, paying it off can be a major financial (and personal) milestone. For some people it may even be worth considering taking steps to repay a mortgage early. The practicalities of overpaying a mortgage There are essentially two parts to a mortgage. The [...]
If you are going through a divorce, money is probably the last thing you want to talk or think about. Experiencing something as difficult as the end of a marriage cannot be helped by asking questions about your financial future, can it? Unfortunately, money cannot simply be an afterthought when your are ending a marriage, [...]
