Financial news

• Home extension or loft conversion 'can add 20% to house value'

  27-03-2016 18:12
  
  Adding an extra bedroom or bathroom also increases value of property, according to Nationwide
  Extending your home or adding a loft conversion can add more than £42,000 to the value of an average property, while an extra bathroom could boost its worth by nearly £10,000, a report has found.Based on average house prices, Nationwide Building Society calculated that an extra bathroom could add 4.9% or £9,600 on to the value of a home in the UK, while increasing the floor area by 10%
  
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• Apps are getting millennials interested in money – but can they be trusted?

  27-03-2016 14:00
  
  Young people are using fintech for financial help, but shunning big banks and embracing new businesses doesn’t mean you’re removing risk from the equationIt’s official: the vast majority of millennials would rather go to the dentist than listen to anything that a bank wants to tell them about a new product or technology.In fact, given that this demographic group came of age, found jobs and began trying to make ends meet in the midst and aftermath of the financial crisis, I&rsqu
  
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• Brexit would weaken EU security, says former U.S. military commander - paper

  27-03-2016 11:14
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - A British exit from the European Union would significantly weaken the bloc's security, David Petraeus, a former U.S. military commander and CIA director wrote on Sunday, urging Britons not to vote to leave the union at a June referendum.
  
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• Bank of England must burst the buy-to-let bubble now

  27-03-2016 10:00
  
  All the ingredients from the Lawson boom are in place in the housing market again – minus rocketing interest rates, of courseLike Easter, the start to the buying season for househunters has come early this year. Mortgage approvals in February were 20% up on the same month in 2015.It’s not hard to see why. Higher stamp duty on buy-to-let properties and second homes comes into force at the start of April, creating an incentive for potential purchasers to evade the clutches of the taxma
  
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• InsureForAll wasn’t there for us when my father died abroad

  27-03-2016 09:00
  
  He had a heart attack and was stranded in France, but we had to prove his medical history before we claim on the travel insuranceIn September 2015 my elderly parents were on a Ryanair flight to Barcelona when my father had a heart attack. He was given life support and the pilot undertook an emergency landing in Toulouse. My father was taken to hospital where he was placed in a coma. Both Ryanair and the local paramedics and hospital went above and beyond what was expected. The following day I tr
  
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• Banks will recognise your voice when you call them with a query

  27-03-2016 08:59
  
  New technology means customers will be able to check how much they spent simply by ringing up and speakingThe high-street banks’ enthusiastic embrace of developing technology has taken customers further from the branches with the launch of mortgage advisers on video and a new voice recognition system to scour through bank statements.Santander last week launched a feature on one of its banking apps which allows customers to search through what they spent using their voice, a feature that wi
  
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• Dream of quitting your job? The joy of a new beginning may not last

  27-03-2016 01:05
  
  Economists find that there’s little satisfaction to be gained from switching jobsWho has not dreamed of the moment? You look your boss squarely in the eye and tell him to take his job and shove it. Then you move on to pastures new.But anyone hoping that new job will bring them happiness should think again, for it seems that a career change can deliver only shortlived joy – and not much of that. Continue reading...
  
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• MPs criticise DWP for confusion over April state pension changes

  27-03-2016 01:01
  
  Poor communication has led people to believe they will get flat rate of £155.65 when the majority will not, says committee Major changes to the state pension that are days away have been so poorly communicated to the public that even those who will end up better off may not know it, according to a select committee report.The government has failed to explain the complexities of the new state pension, which will come into effect from 6 April, according to the House of Commons work and pensio
  
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