Crisis, what crisis? All good here!
Before anything else, have a really lovely Bank Holiday weekend. I shall be helping at Braunton Fair on Monday and catching-up tomorrow…
Crisis? What crisis? Could be the question our investors pose about the recent Trumpian-created volatility as we seemed to sail-through unscathed and emerging from the other side seemingly in better shape than when...
Tariffs leave shaken shares and markets
Well, the world is still coming to terms with what has been unleashed upon it and the volatility in the financial markets as a result. Not only have shares been shaken-up but other things are not necessarily reacting as they ‘should’ and perhaps for ‘other’ reasons. I am also taking this opportunity to wish...
Trump tariffs – don’t panic
This is not long after my last missive but clearly President Trump’s tariffs are creating temporary havoc. However, it is very disconcerting and especially when a whole year’s ‘normal’ returns for investors can be wiped out in just a day’s movement on a market. No-one alive has faced tariff announcements of this nature.
The last...
‘Low key’ Spring Statement contained few surprises
The Chancellor’s Spring Statement did not contain a great deal we hadn’t already heard and no immediate prospects for economic growth.
In a relatively low key affair, Rachel Reeves set out her latest update on the economy and restated plans to cut the welfare budget as well as making cuts to Government departments, as we...
Days left to make ISA and Pension contributions before Financial Year ends
So the dearly departed are coming to the rescue of the Chancellor, as Inheritance Tax receipts for the period from April 2024 to February 2025 topped £7.6billion and that is before the swingeing increases in the Autumn Statement where these death duties will affect pensions and businesses too.
The figure is projected to grow another...
What is likely to happen in today’s Spring Statement?
The Spring Statement is ‘not a Budget’ says the Chancellor as she prepares to unveil her plans for the UK economy in Parliament today (Wednesday).
Rachel Reeves has already pledged she will not be raising taxes, saying this would only happen with ‘one financial event a year’ – the Autumn Budget but measures announced will...
Are Cash ISAs under threat from the Chancellor?
Regular readers of this column will know we are not entirely (or certainly not universally) in favour of Cash ISAs simply because the balance of interest rates versus inflation means you can effectively be ‘losing’ money by having many thousands sat in an ISA ‘doing nothing’ as well as letting inflation eat it away.
Saving...
Good value, gold and Blackstone
Good afternoon. We hear BP may be in play as Elliott Investors in the US has accumulated a stake in one of our biggest companies. It’s ridiculously good value regardless and hasn’t kept up with other energy stocks. Meantime, our funds under management see yet new heights which is good, as many deep value...
Equity release – is it in your best interest?
Equity release – or remortgaging your home – saw a surge in popularity at the end of 2024, latest figures have revealed.
The Equity Release Council says there was an increase in lending of £622million in the last quarter of the year, up 16% on the year before, although the figure for the total year...