New statistics from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) show that cash withdrawals from individual savings accounts (ISAs) are probably more than matching fresh contributions. In the world of ISAs, cash ISAs have long attracted more contributions than their stocks and shares counterpart. However, the pattern has started to change, as the graph below shows. In […]
The Bank of England has signalled that interest rates may rise soon. Early in September, the money markets were expecting the first Bank of England interest rate rise to occur in late 2018, at the earliest. A little more than a week later, the markets’ view was that there was a near […]
The Chancellor has announced the date of his first Autumn Budget as Wednesday 22 November. The second Budget of 2017 will be both Mr Hammond’s first Autumn Budget and the first Budget after the general election. Traditionally, the first Budget of a new parliament is the chance for a Chancellor to administer the “medicine” of […]
A consultation paper issued in August could mean changes to venture capital schemes. At the start of the holiday season the Treasury issued an open consultation paper entitled “Financing growth in innovative firms”. Its focus was on what has become known as ‘patient capital’, which the Treasury defined as “long-term investment in innovative firms led […]
Fraudsters are posing as officials from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and are cold calling people stating that they are eligible for a Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) claim. There may be an increase in these types of frauds following the FCA announcement and new campaign urging people to make a decision about making a PPI […]
The third quarter of 2017 has ended and despite the heavy political news, investment returns were generally positive. Think about the third quarter of this year – July to September – and you might think markets had suffered a hard three months. In the UK there was the backwash from the general election, the slowly-moving […]
