First-time buyers are alive and well as house prices become more affordable, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Despite higher deposits being required, reports of the disappearance of first-time buyers are greatly exaggerated because falling house prices are making property more affordable, banks and building societies claim. Paul Smee, director general of the [...]
Trader on the BBC says Eurozone Market will crash
www.facebook.com www.twitter.com In a scary and painfully frank interview BBC interviewer Maxine Croxall, is visibly shaken when market trader Alessio Rastani predicts that the “Market is Toast.” Apparently there is nothing Euro governments can do. Fat Cats insist on massive pay awards www.youtube.com “Everybody is suffering apart from the people who caused this” video www.youtube.com [...]
Treasury says tax reform does not mean more tax. Can we believe them?
Savers, pensioners and the self-employed will not pay more tax as a result of Government plans to merge National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and tax, the Treasury insists, despite accountants’ claims that the changes could produce losers. Who should we believe? Income paid by bank and building society accounts, as well as dividends from shares, and [...]
Could your star sign affect what you earn? Yes, says IFS
Could your star sign or the month of your birth affect how likely you are to hold down a job and what you will earn? Yes, according to new research by no less an authority than the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), whose research was funded by the Nuffield Foundation. But the explanation has less [...]
America will lead global stock market recovery, says investment guru
One of the world’s biggest independent investment advisers, managing more than £22bn for 20,000 clients, claims share prices will bounce back next year because of rising corporate profits and the American electoral cycle. Fisher Investments, founded in 1979, remains relatively little-known in Britain but its founder and chief executive Ken Fisher is well-respected in America [...]
Greek PM says time for Europe to wake up
George Papandreou rules out bankruptcy for debt-choked country and says it is time for Europe to wake up and take brave decisions View full post on Financial Times – UK Homepage
Obama says time to get ‘serious’
US interest rates could rise if Congress fails to pass an increase in the country’s borrowing limits, effectively imposing a tax rise on all Americans, Barack Obama said View full post on Financial Times – UK Homepage
Currency wars not over, says Brazil
G20 still a long way from agreeing guidelines on managing currencies, and there were ‘struggles between countries’ such as US and China, says finance minister View full post on Financial Times – UK Homepage
Karzai says US in peace talks with Taliban
Afghanistan’s president said that the US is involved in preliminary peace talks with the Taliban – the first official confirmation that Washington is in discussions with insurgents View full post on Financial Times – UK Homepage
Karzai says US in talks with Taliban
The US and other foreign powers are engaged in preliminary talks with the Taliban about a possible settlement to the near decade-long war in Afghanistan View full post on Financial Times – UK Homepage