Unsurprisingly, interest rates have just been raised to 5%. I’m not going to dwell on the obvious. (Expect your mortgage rate to rise soon, look out for better savings accounts – blah blah blah). Instead I’m going to consider how to stay solvent and prosper during a prolonged period of rising interest rates.
Category: Aggregator
This Is Money: MPs Want Action Over Financial Adverts
The FSA has been criticised by a committee of MPs over the ‘worrying level of compliance’ among financial advertisers
Motley Fool: Start Saving With Just A Quid!
First the good news: according to a new survey from Sainsbury’s Bank, there are 39 instant-access, easy access and notice savings accounts which pay annual interest of 5% or more before tax. Now the bad news: the majority of these accounts are aimed at serious savers, because only twelve pay 5% gross AER on balances of £1 or more (including Sainsbury’s own Internet Saver Account). One problem with these high-paying accounts is that many rely on introductory bonuses to boost their interest rates, which then disappear after, say, six to twelve months. In addition, a number impose restrictions or penalties on withdrawals. For instance, several table-topping accounts pay no interest in any month during which a withdrawal is made. So, take out just £20 and you lose one month’s interest on your entire balance, even if you have thousands of pounds sitting there. Ouch!
Motley Fool: Profiting From The Calendar
The recent recovery in share prices, following a generally miserable start to the summer, has led some to consider the old stock market adage of “sell in May, and go away; don’t come back until St Leger day”. (If you don’t follow the horses, the St Leger is in early September).
This Is Money: Interest Rates Rise To 5%
The Bank of England has raised interest rates to their highest level for five years, putting up mortgages and the cost of Christmas
Motley Fool: Making Money From Royal & Sun
Turn-around situations can be very profitable for investors. One such has been at insurance giant, Royal & Sun Alliance (LSE: RSA). Those Fools who bought the shares 18 months to 2 years ago have been richly rewarded.
Motley Fool: BT’s Chunky Yield
Before today, BT Group (LSE: BT-A.L) was already one of the top-yielding shares in the FTSE 100 index. Today’s 19% rise in the interim dividend means it should retain that status for at least another year.
Motley Fool: Five Ways To Increase Your Christmas Coffers
I was watching an unfortunate victim of the Farepak fiasco being interviewed on television the other day. She had been saving £25 a week for months with the Swindon-based firm which ran a savings scheme for 150,000 people for vouchers and Christmas hampers until it went into insolvency last month. Her Christmas would be ruined, she said.
Scotsman: Pension Changes Help Boost Aegon UK
AEGON UK, the financial services firm, said it was continuing to benefit from changes to the UK pension system heralded by A-Day, helping it boost underlying earnings over the first nine months of 2006 by 22 per cent to £127 million.
This Is Money: PC World Fails Repairs Test
Staff at the computer chain failed to spot simple faults and told undercover researchers they needed to spend hundreds of pounds, says Which?