Month: November 2012

The votes have been cast, Mitt Romney has phoned President Obama to concede and the victor has graciously accepted the challenge of guiding the faltering US economy through the next four years. But what does Obama’s re-election mean for world stock markets – and more particularly, for your savings and investments? At first glance, the...

Traditionally, parents have attached great importance to leaving an inheritance to their children, but attitudes are changing according to a recent survey by Just Retirement, the equity release and annuity provider. The survey of retired homeowners and retiring homeowners aged over 55, explored consumer attitudes towards housing equity withdrawal and found that a majority of...

Changes to the rules on Child Benefit come into force in January 2013 and will reduce the entitlement of about 1.2 million families. Families where one parent is earning more than £50,000 a year will no longer be able to claim the total amount of benefit, under government rules which will be implemented by Her...

A recent Scottish Widows Savings and Investment Report, dated October 2012 and exploring a variety of features of saving in the UK, suggests that there is a shortage of knowledge among the general public when it comes to saving and investments. Scottish Widows have suggested that the financial industry work with the government to encourage...

Ask most people to guess at the most depressing day of the year and they might choose the day they go back to work after the summer holidays, or the day when the clocks go back and it’s suddenly dark at five o’clock. In fact, studies have shown that the ‘worst’ day of the year...

On average women live longer than men. It’s one of the facts that virtually everyone knows and although advances in medicine mean that the life expectancy of men is increasing that fact still holds good today. According to figures quoted by the BBC in September last year, life expectancy in the UK has reached its...

Introduction Whatever else happened in October, Hurricane Sandy happened. Or Superstorm Sandy or ‘Frankenstorm.’ Take your pick. A week before America was due to go the polls, the storm hit the North Eastern seaboard with tragic consequences. President Obama broke off the campaign to help and Mitt Romney wisely decided that addressing a tanned group of supporters in the sun...