All keen savers out there will be rejoicing, following the announcement last week that ISAs are to remain indefinitely. Around 16 million of us have accumulated nearly £215 billion in our ISAs since they began, and this latest news that they are “this Government’s primary savings vehicle outside pensions” should help us feel more confident.
Motley Fool: Save 50% On DVDs!
As Christmas Day is less than six weeks away, many of us have started to put together our annual list of Christmas gifts.
This Is Money: High St Sales Leap Boosts Festive Hopes
This Christmas should be a happy one for retailers with shoppers already gearing up their spending patterns
This Is Money: M&S To Use Food Traffic Lights
Marks & Spencer is to adopt the traffic light system of health labelling for food favoured by the Government
Motley Fool: Pensions Reform At Last!
Various surveys in recent times have revealed that most people don’t mind the idea of working past the current state pension age of 65. I’m afraid I’m not one of them, which is why I save as much as I can afford to bring my retirement age forward. I’d rather go travelling.
Motley Fool: Who Wants To Be A Merger Candidate?
Rumours of a possible merger between ITV (LSE: ITV) and NTL (Nasdaq: NTLI) were confirmed last week when the companies announced they had been in communication. ITV described it as “a highly tentative expression of interest in holding discussions about a possible combination of NTL with ITV”; NTL referred to “interest in exploring a possible combination transaction”.
Motley Fool: Vedanta — A Zinc Plated Investment
In July I bought a copper miner, Vedanta (LSE:VED) and now I find that it’s a zinc miner. How did that happen?
Motley Fool: Betting On Ladbrokes
In with the old, out with the new! That’s what the gaming market is like at the moment.
This Is Money: House Price Rise Fastest In Four Years
House prices rose at the fastest pace in more than four years in October as the lack of available housing continued to drive prices, according to a report today.
MoneyExpert: Welsh Assembly Urged To Boost Mortgage Holder Numbers
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) is stating that affordable housing is imperative to the future health of the Welsh economy, following reports that the number of first-time buyers has fallen significantly.
Figures indicate that first-time buyer activity has recently fallen to the second lowest level since 1991, with only 4,300 first-time buyers having bought a home between July and September this year.
Speaking at the CML annual conference in Cardiff, CML Cymru chairman Mick McGuire raised the issue of housing affordability in Wales, citing it as a “key issue” for new buyers and suggesting that more be done on a policy level to resolve the problem.
“With fewer numbers of first-time buyers managing to get on the property ladder, the CML urges the Welsh Assembly government to look at innovative ways of helping those people who want to become homeowners to do so,” stated Mr McGuire.
“This could be done by encouraging low-cost home ownership or by expanding the HomeBuy scheme.”
Those looking for the best mortgage rate, including first-time buyers, are now searching a UK market with average house prices of over £200,000, according to the latest Land Registry figures.