The Equity Release Council is rubbing its hands with glee this morning. Its latest figures reveal £393.9 million was lent over the first three months of the year, making it the best first quarter on record. But it seems to me that this is no cause for celebration. Equity release – or a lifetime mortgage
Since the start of April, anyone buying a home with a granny flat could have found themselves hit by an inflated stamp duty bill. They would have been caught up in the government’s move to get landlords and those who own second homes to contribute more to the Treasury’s coffers by way of a 3
Savers are wasting a fortune by keeping their money in cash only. They may as well be burying the £735 billion they’ve collectively put by in a sock in the back garden for all the good it’s doing them. The figure was revealed by investment platform Selftrade, which also found that 62 per cent of
Birmingham, home of Cadbury, the X-ray and state education, has just scooped another accolade. Today it has emerged as the ‘crash for cash’ capital of Britain – and it’s nothing to do with Spaghetti Junction. A deliberate car crash was staged every three hours in the UK last year in order to net fraudsters compensation from
Do you trust your grown-up children with money? Apparently a lot of us don’t. More than half of the grandparents who plan to leave an inheritance to their grandchildren ring-fence the money so their own children can’t get their hands on it, according to data from insurer Sun Life. But is it any wonder? British
You could soon be able to dip into your pension in order to pay for financial advice – so long as the government listens to recommendations from the Financial Conduct Authority. The measure would go some way to addressing the City regulator’s ‘current concerns about the affordability and accessibility of financial advice and guidance’, it
Here’s an idea to improve social mobility, in the wake of Alan Milburn’s damning report a couple of weeks ago: why not allow young people taking unpaid internships to claim benefits? Right now, people are only entitled to Jobseekers’ Allowance provided they are out of full-time education and if they work less that 16
Laura Staples recalls the American-born retailer whose great Oxford Street emporium revolutionised British shopping habits — and is holding out against recession today Laura Staples recalls the American-born retailer whose great Oxford Street emporium revolutionised British shopping habits — and is holding out against recession today One hundred years ago this week, Harry Gordon Selfridge
