Finance

The outcome of the 2016 US elections could significantly affect the forex market. With Clinton and Trump currently leading the survey, it’s essential to examine what will happen when one is elected over the other. Businessmen and traders are used to treating the election year as a time of uncertainty. This is especially true for countries under democratic or parliamentary governance, such as the US. Issues facing the nation’s economy often make their way in the presidential discussions. If you...

The release of the new plastic five-pound notes has inspired people to donate the hi-tech currency to charity. A social media campaign has been set up to ask people to give their brand new polymer fivers to good causes. The notes are machine washable and likely to last a lot longer than the traditional paper notes. The note features a picture of war time leader Winston Churchill. Fundraiser John Thompson was the bright spark behind the initiative to part with...

Pension crisis leads many to consider other investment options for retirement. With markets struggling and the pound in crisis, take control of your pension fund and invest it in ways that will promise better returns for the future. Annuities have been struggling for some time, but over recent weeks they have taken another hit, with some government gilts now offering a negative return. This followed a failure by the Bank of England to meet its target of buying £1.17bn of...

What does the EU ever do for us? It is a question that many people in the UK asked during the referendum, they concluded the EU does very little and voted for Brexit. Well today, according to European commission rules, Apple should repay Ireland 13bn euros or 11bn pounds in back taxes. Interestingly the Irish government are not very happy about the ruling. The EU has been involved in a three-year investigation into the tech giant and concluded that the...

Are you in the market to get yourself a commercial property loan? If answered yes, this shouldn’t be too tough right? After all, the lenders are waiting to lend you money and earn money in the form of interest rates. But the fact is that getting a commercial property loan can definitely be frustrating and difficult as there are a number of formalities that you have to go through. Nevertheless, you need not fret if you’re about to take out...

Over two hundred Scottish schools that have been constructed under PFI (private finance initiative) are in some way owned by investment funds located offshore. This means that 80 per cent that could be at least partly located outside of the UK. PFI schemes have come under criticism recently as schools, hospitals and other large public sector build projects are locked into huge payments over a number of years, that can typically range up to 30. Many public institutions are struggling to...

A shocking new report has found that private landlords hauled in £9.3bn in 2015. It is huge figure and double what the level was a decade ago. The study was undertaken by the National Housing Federation (NHF) and they said the figure was due to a huge increase in private tenants who are receiving housing benefit. A decade ago the there was £4.6bn handed out to private landlords by the state. These figures will anger many, who will see taxpayers’...

As house prices have began to fall in the capital, there is more news that London may be struggling, perhaps the gloss has come off the largest city in the UK, until recently one of the most desirable cities in the world to live in. Now a new study has found that people living in the capital have the worst debt issues of anyone else in the UK. This news will come as no shock to people struggling in the...

Families up and down the country are living on a knife edge, missing one pay day would mean they would not be able to pay to remain in their dwellings. Leaving millions of the brink of homelessness. A missing payment would mean that a shocking 37 per cent of working families would not be able to remain in their homes, unless they manage to borrow or find finance from elsewhere. The study shows that families simply do not have enough...