Recession poses the biggest threat to investors, according to the Association of Investment Companies (AIC).
Research from the AIC found that 37% of active investors think a recession is the biggest threat to their finances, while 26% were most concerned about a stock market crash. Due to concerns over the credit crunch, 28% of the […]

Despite the collapse of Bear Stearns this week, some positive factors have come to light in the current market conditions, according to Alex Lyle, head of managed funds at Threadneedle.
Although the Bear Stearns situation is likely to have caused a negative effect on confidence, Lyle said the Federal Reserve’s strategy to boost liquidity and reduce […]

UK financial watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has launched an investigation into trading in UK financial shares this week.
Sally Dewar, managing director, wholesale and institutional markets at the FSA, said: “There has been a series of completely unfounded rumours about UK financial institutions in the London market over the last few days, sometimes accompanied […]

As the purse strings tighten and the credit crunch takes hold, Callcredit Check is advising consumers to take a good look at their finances.
Its online service enables consumers to check their credit report online in real time, receive email alerts to notify them of any changes to their file and get monthly updated credit scores […]

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the consumer prices index annual inflation – the Government’s target measure – was 2.5% in February up from 2.2% in January.
The largest upward pressure came from housing and household services as recent gas and electricity price rises took effect.
Part of the impact for this upward pressure […]

Consumers paying fees for packaged bank accounts get little value for money compared with customers of free accounts, according to comparison site MoneyExpert.
Research from the website found that the average credit interest rate on packaged accounts is just 2.1% , 0.2% more than the average rate available through free banking, which is 1.9 %. Furthermore, […]

Research from Mintel shows that millions of Brits are taking an ethical approach to their day-to-day banking.
In fact, 16% of Brits took a company’s environmental and ethical credentials into account when they were choosing where to bank. But the green financial movement doesn’t stop there, as no less than 31% of adults - or some […]

Alliance Trust’s independent study of age-related inflation has found that the inflation rates facing all five of its identified age groups increased in February.
In each case the rate of inflation recorded is higher than the official headline rate of 2.5% released today. The figures released by Alliance Trust show that in February, inflation hit the […]