Introduction A year on from the Budget 2013 and the outlook for UK plc looks considerably brighter. Growth has returned since last year and the forecasts for 2014 and 2015 are being continually revised upwards. In George Osborne’s 2013 Autumn Statement, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted growth of 2.4% for this year: at […]
Most of the major stock markets enjoyed a good month in February, more than making up for the falls experienced in January. The UK, German and US Dow Jones index were all well ahead in the month, as were Hong Kong and India.
Child benefits are currently paid out at a rate of £20.30 per week for the first child, and £13.40 for each subsequent child, with an increase planned for the 2014/2015 tax year to £20.50 and £13.55. These benefits are claimed by many families for all children under the age of 16 and in some cases […]
Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, will deliver the 2014 Budget on Wednesday, 19th March – little more than three months after he delivered the Autumn Statement. When Osborne delivered his Budget in March 2013, the news for the UK economy wasn’t particularly good – in fact, many commentators were worrying about the UK slipping […]
As always, the end of the tax year is an important date in anyone’s financial planning calendar. In most cases, tax allowances end with the tax year: making the best use of them while they are available can mean a big difference to the eventual returns from your savings and investments.
During the depths of euro crisis, the countries at the periphery of the Eurozone, with the greatest debts and weakest economies, became known collectively as the Piigs. They were Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain.
UK families are divided by a growing income gap despite their typical incomes reaching a three year high, the latest Aviva Family Finances Report revealed in December 2013. The report, which tracks the financial circumstances of different UK family types, also shows that while more families than ever have savings, an increasing number have less […]
Company directors and owners of SMEs make plans and do forecasts all the time. Cash flow forecasts, SWOT analyses, plans for renewals and refurbishment; there’s hardly a day when they’re not eyeball to eyeball with a spreadsheet.
Why pay more tax than you need to? It’s that time of year again when we encourage you to make sure you are taking advantage of your ISA limits before it’s too late. It’s important to remember that each year you get a new ISA allowance, which rises year-on-year within inflation, so how can you […]
Well, not a good start to the year. In order to bring you this bulletin we record the month-end figures of eleven of the world’s leading stock markets. They were all down in January: Germany and France were the ‘best’ performers with falls of only 3% whilst Brazil and Japan recorded falls of 8%.