Financial news

• Royal Bank of Scotland delays introduction of low-rate credit card

  24-09-2017 16:40 via theguardian.com
  Chief executive says high level of consumer debt is factor in decision despite bank’s shrinking share of marketRoyal Bank of Scotland has postponed plans to introduce a cut-price credit card amid concerns about the £200bn of lending amassed by UK households.The bank, which is 70% owned by the taxpayer, has decided against launching a more competitive credit card at a time when the consumer credit market – personal loans, credit cards and car finance – is facing scrutiny f
  
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• Britain's growing debt problem demands a fresh set of eyes | Phillip Inman

  24-09-2017 16:39 via theguardian.com
  The OBR’s figures haven’t added up for years. It’s time for an in-depth examination of where the economy is goingIt’s a sad economic choice: accept the need for mounting debts just to achieve moderate growth or crack down on borrowing and get no growth at all.When there are queues at food banks and child poverty is on the rise, it might seem irresponsible to choose between reckless growth and sober stagnation. Neither option does the poorest any favours, but that appears
  
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• 4 words that could decide your financial fate | The Motley Fool UK - Motley Fool UK

  24-09-2017 08:45
  Motley Fool UK
  4 words that could decide your financial fate | The Motley Fool UK
  Motley Fool UK
  Paul Summers reflects on the dangers of getting too comfortable when it comes to investing.en meer »
  
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• AA has been a bit of a car crash - can it get back on the road?

  24-09-2017 08:22 via theguardian.com
  Roadside assistance group stalled a little with the firing of its chairman, but still looks like a good runnerThe AA has been a bit of a car crash recently, and this week investors will be hoping for signs that it is getting back on the road.Over the summer the roadside recovery group fired executive chairman Bob Mackenzie for “gross misconduct” after an alleged altercation with another director. However Mackenzie’s son maintains his father left because of ill health. Continue
  
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• The Fed’s change of direction will only fuel America’s growing debt problem

  24-09-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Despite GDP growth of 3%, the US economy is still built on consumer borrowing, and higher interest rates would force millions into dangerous debtThe moment was hugely significant and yet so heavily flagged that it passed without a tremor in the financial markets. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen confirmed last Wednesday that the central bank would start to unwind the vast holdings of government and mortgage debt it acquired in the years following the 2008 financial crash.The Fed, under former
  
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• People’s Trust fund aims for long-term and sustainable wealth creation

  24-09-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The fund will welcome investors with as little as £500 to put in, and promises returns of 7% a yearAn investment fund that promises to break the mould of City short-termism and aims to make gains of 7% a year is to open for small investors able to put in as little as £500.The People’s Trust, backed by Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable, is the brainchild of Daniel Godfrey, the former head of the Investment Association, which represents fund management groups. He left after
  
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• Michael O’Leary: a gift for controversy and an eye on the bottom line

  24-09-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Ryanair’s chief executive enjoyed a rapid rise to the top, and his accounting acumen and combative personality has kept him there… for nowThere’s an old story about Michael O’Leary that sums up the outspoken boss of Ryanair. Former Aer Lingus chief executive Willie Walsh, now supremo of British Airways’ parent company IAG, was driving when he heard O’Leary interviewed on the radio, bragging about Ryanair’s low prices compared with those of the Irish fla
  
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• Leeds building society makes rate promise

  24-09-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Minimum of 0.5% will be guaranteed on savings accounts from the end of OctoberBeleaguered savers have been given a small ray of hope in the current era of low interest rates after Leeds building society said it would guarantee a minimum of 0.5% on savings accounts.The society, the fifth largest in the UK, will raise the minimum rate it pays from 0.4% across Isas and non-Isa accounts from the end of October. The new rate is twice the Bank of England base rate. The move comes at a grim time for th
  
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• I cancelled Virgin Active membership but it kept on taking my money

  24-09-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  I also realised belatedly that it had been overcharging me from the startI took out gym membership with Virgin Active in April 2016. Through my health insurer, Vitality, I was eligible for a plan discounted to £100 a month, which could be cancelled at any time. However, the rep persuaded me to set it up as a normal account, costing £134 a month and requiring 12 months’ notice to cancel, which they would convert into a £100 Vitality account. This would make the first parti
  
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• Brexit isn’t a new Black Wednesday. It’s far darker than that

  24-09-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  This autumn marks the anniversaries of two notable economic humiliations. But they are as nothing to what might happen if we leave the EUThis is quite an anniversary year for great British economic disasters. Last weekend saw the 25th anniversary of the ignominious exit of the pound from the European exchange rate mechanism – “the first Brexit”, and, I still hope, the only one.Then this November will see the 50th anniversary of the dramatic 14% devaluation of the pound –
  
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• The markets are betting on an interest rate rise. I'm not so sure | Greg Jericho

  24-09-2017 00:05 via theguardian.com
  The Reserve Bank will be cautious about raising interest rates while wages growth remains low and debt levels are highAn unprecedented run without interest rate rises has fuelled house price rices and record levels of debt. But while the Reserve Bank is signalling the end of rate cuts, that level of debt and ongoing low wages growth means a rate rise might still be some months away.It has now been 82 months since the Reserve Bank last increased the cash rate. It is fair to say things have change
  
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