The Great Debate UK
The morally blind leading the arithmetically blind
You’ve got to admire the endless inventiveness of our politicians. Just when you think there’s nothing new under the sun, they catch you out by coming up with an idea so bad nobody seems to have thought of it before.
Now the All-Party (or was it All-night Party?) Parliamentary Group on Financial Education for Young People has come up with the daftest idea I’ve heard since the previous Government’s idiotic Home Information Pack scheme, but which threatens to do far more serious damage. They propose, in the FT’s words, that “High street banks responsible for some of the worst consumer mis-selling scandals of the past decade will be invited into British schools to help teach financial education”.
I had to read this paragraph two or three times, then ask myself if it was April 1st, before digesting the craziness of this idea. Presumably it will be followed by an invitation to Silvio Berlusconi to lecture our MPs on ethical behaviour in politics. After all, most people would expect a course in prudent personal financial management to start with the lesson: “Whatever you do, don’t take advice from your bank”.
Predictably, the general secretary of the largest teachers’ union is worried about kids being exposed to banks trying to brainwash them into loyalty to their brand, a fear which is surely overdone (just wait till the bloke from Barclays starts giving them homework) and is certainly not the thing that is going to keep me awake at night.
Budget will force ‘squeezed middle’ to muddle through
By John Evans, CEO of Incahoot.com. The opinions expressed are his own.
It’s a cold November morning last year, and in the Today programme studio Ed Miliband sits across the desk from John Humphrys.
John: “So Mr Miliband, can you tell us exactly what you mean by the ‘squeezed middle’?”
Rubbish rates – what is a saver to do?
-Rachel Mason is PR manager at Fair Investment Company. The opinions expressed are her own.-
The base rate is going to be stuck at 0.5 percent for years to come, according to experts, so where does that leave savers?
from UK News:
Satisfied bank customer?
We're wondering who is.
We see bailed-out banks returning to profit at the same time as headlines about others still refusing to lend. The personal finance pages are bristling with stories about mortgage famine . Big businesses may have been overcharged for banks' services in raising new equity capital; lending to smaller businesses is down, and the interest offered on savings is so derisory, would-be savers are being pushed into taking more risk to try to preserve their capital.
What are we missing? What is the magic ingredient that makes you as a customer happy with your bank? Or are we right in thinking "customer satisfaction" is a figment of executive imagination? Tell us your stories.
Battle over wages: the male-female wage gap
- Alison Steed is the editor of the personal finance website for women and families MyMoneyDiva.com. The opinions expressed are her own. Reuters will host a “follow-the-sun” live blog on Monday, March 8, 2010, International Women’s Day. -
Women have often been given a bad deal when it comes to work, whether we like it or not.
Second rate annuities can harm your income
-Bob Bullivant is chief executive officer at Annuity Direct. The opinions expressed are his own.-
There are two distinct phases in building a pension – first comes the process of building up a pension fund – the so called accumulation phase. The next part is actually turning the money saved into an income for life – or pension, the so called decumulation phase.
Budget boost for savers
–Fay Goddard is chief executive of the Personal Finance Society. The opinions expressed are her own.–
As predicted, Budget 2009 was heavy on figures and forecasts and hard on the highest earners. Unsurprisingly it is the latter that the press has picked up on. We all knew that there would be a new top rate of income tax – though some were taken by surprise at the rate of 50 percent and the speed at which it will be introduced.
The devil will be in the Budget detail
– Fay Goddard is chief executive of The Personal Finance Society. Any opinions expressed are her own. —
Though it’s a cliche to say that a budget is eagerly awaited you can be forgiven for saying so this time around. This year all eyes and ears will be focused on the Chancellor’s economic figures and forecasts. The big question is how will he balance the books – cut public spending or raise taxes? In the run up to an election cuts are ideal but needs must. What will it mean for personal finances?
Deflation? It’s inflation you need to watch
– David Kuo is a director at the financial Web site The Motley Fool. The views expressed are his own. –
What are consumers supposed to make of the latest inflation numbers? Do we have inflation, deflation or a bit of stagflation?
