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May 22, 2013 - Latest:

Pension charges, the government, retirement and you

Pension charges, the government, retirement and you

Pensions minister Steve Webb is taking bold steps to ensure better protection for workplace pensions from unfair charges by banning consultancy charging. Consultancy charges, levied by pension firms which advise [...]

Inflation falls to 2.4 per cent: expert views on the surprise fall

Inflation falls to 2.4 per cent: expert views on the surprise fall

Inflation has fallen more than expected which is, of course, good news for savings and investors. The consumer price index, the measure increasingly used by Government, fell from 2.8% to [...]

Ernst & Young Item Club says inflation outlook higher than Bank of England expects

Ernst & Young Item Club says inflation outlook higher than Bank of England expects

In a report that may be viewed with grim resignation by investors and savers, the Ernst & Young Item club has taken issue with the Bank of England’s relatively hopeful [...]

The City of London is resisting EU regulatory moves but can the UK – in or out of Europe – stop them?

The City of London is resisting EU regulatory moves but can the UK – in or out of Europe – stop them?

The City of London faces two huge challenges from the European Union. One is what is famously referred to as a Tobin tax which would see a levy on many [...]

Banks up, miners down FTSE 100 ends week up 1 per cent – Mindful Money’s Friday market close

Banks up, miners down FTSE 100 ends week up 1 per cent – Mindful Money’s Friday market close

The FTSE 100’s recent rally was broken on Thursday as disappointing data from the US quashed the recent wave of optimism. Official figures showed that unemployment rose by 32,000 last [...]

The UK – no rebalancing but some sectors are doing better

The UK – no rebalancing but some sectors are doing better

The Bank of England has upgraded its economic growth forecast. BBC reports. The perennially gloomy Sir Mervyn King says the Bank now expects GDP growth of 0.5% during the current [...]

Boring is best when it comes to investing argues Fundsmith’s Terry Smith

Boring is best when it comes to investing argues Fundsmith’s Terry Smith

Boring is best when it comes to stockmarket investment, says Terry Smith, founder of the fund management group Fundsmith. Jill Insley reports. By boring, Smith means a “good” company. Not [...]

Workers of the world unprepared for retirement

Workers of the world unprepared for retirement

Lack of preparedness for retirement is not just a UK phenomenon according to the Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey which examines attitudes to retirement in Europe, North America and Asia. The [...]

Mixed views on emerging markets

Following a period of disappointing emerging market returns, investors are crossing their fingers for a return to form across the world’s developing markets writes Philip Scott. Economic growth has pulled [...]

Bank of Ireland backtracks on rate hike but only for 1,200 out of 13,500 borrowers

Bank of Ireland has back-tracked on its decision to substantially hike its mortgage tracker rate but only for some 9% or 1,200 of 13,500 affected customers writes Philip Scott. At the [...]

Is your discretionary fund manager selling out of its underlying funds too quickly?

For investors who are using the services of a discretionary fund manager (DFM), new research suggests that DFMs are increasingly ruthless when it comes to sacking any underlying fund managers [...]

Could the Japanese market see European style return on equities?

Dan Morris, global strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management has issued a note discussing the depreciating yen and its impact on equities including asking whether returns on equities could reach [...]

Copper’s bear market may be reaching a turning point says ETF Securities

The copper bear market may be reaching a turning point according to Martin Arnold, research director at ETF Securities who has set out his view in a note published this [...]

Five things investors learned this week

1) The City of London may face a crackdown in its listing requirements with chair of the Business select committee Andrew Bailey MP leading calls for tighter restriction on companies [...]

Inflation falling as economies struggle to grow as Axa IM’s Chris Iggo considers the policy options

The inflation outlook in OECD countries appears to be down suggesting central bank interventions will continue according to Chris Iggo, CIO Fixed Income, Axa Investment Management. In a note to [...]

Mindful Money TV: Don’t let inflation erode your portfolio – a Q&A with Momentum’s James Klempster

James Klempster, portfolio manager at Momentum Global Investment Management talks to Mindful Money about inflation, why investors need to watch what it means for their portfolios and the firm’s Factor [...]

Moody’s moves Turkey to investment grade as HL suggests funds for exposure to the market

Turkey’s debt has been upgraded to investment grade by ratings agency Moody’s marking the significant progress of this emerging market in marked contrast to the peripheral countries of the eurozone. [...]

Average rents hit £736 a month in England and Wales for April

The average rents in England and Wales have now hit £736 a month with rents rising in every region according to the latest Buy-to-Let Index from LSL Property Services. The [...]

US reshoring continues and it’s not all down to oil shale says Axa’s Nigel Thomas

The US continues to benefit from re-shoring of manufacturing and not all of this is down to the shale oil boom although it is bringing many benefits too says Nigel [...]

Concentrating on the US – Q&A with Polen Capital Management’s Dan Davidowitz

Florida-based investment manager firm, Polen Capital Management, has launched the Polen Focus US Growth Fund as a Dublin Ucits fund. Managed by CIO Dan Davidowitz and Damon Ficklin, the pair [...]

Inflation for SMEs falls to 1.1 per cent due to lower wage inflation says Aldermore

The inflation rate for small and medium sized businesses has falling to 1.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 at least partly because of lower wage costs according [...]

Interest rates may not rise in 2014 or 2015 says L&G’s Richard Hodges

Interest rates may not rise for another couple of years says Richard Hodges, manager of L&G Investments’ Dynamic Bond Trust. Hodges says: “Bond investors are concerned about interest rates rising [...]

Don’t rely on the state for your retirement

Alan Easter group chief executive of the Beaufort Group gives his view of the current state of retirement. Back in the day….our parents told us to always put something aside [...]

Loans to first time buyers up by a fifth in March

Loans to first time buyers increased by 20 per cent in March according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors says demand for residential property [...]

Urquhart Stewart fears a potential interest rate timebomb as property prices forge ahead

Demand for property in London has grown three times faster than supply over the first three months of the year indicating London is nearing levels last seen pre-financial crisis writes [...]

More to Abenomics that just QE says Threadneedle

There is much more to Japan’s Abenomics than just quantitative easing says fund manager Threadneedle while setting out its view of the stocks and sectors which may benefit. In a [...]

High yield defaults below average but yields are lower too says Deutschebank study

The 15th Annual Deustchebank Default study, Analysing a Decade of Record Low High Yield Defaults, has revealed record low yields on high yield bonds in the US, yields close to [...]