The Great Debate UK
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.
Tax year end – are you ready?
Rachel Mason is public relations manager at independent financial service providers Fair Investment Company.The opinions expressed are her own. Reuters will host a “follow-the-sun” live blog on Monday, March 8, 2010, International Women’s Day. Please tune in.-
With the end of the tax year fast approaching, now is the time to make sure all your finances are in order and that you are maximising all the annual allowances, reliefs and exemptions available.
The plight of middle-aged investors
- David Kuo is director at The Motley Fool. The opinions expressed are his own. -
What is the one thing that young investors have but older investors would give their eye teeth?
Pensioners feel pinch from low rates
- Sharon Bratley is chartered financial planner at Fair Investment. The opinions expressed are her own. -
What does the decision by the Bank of England to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent mean for the average Briton in retirement?
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.
