Ian Cowie

BAE Systems is one of just four British firms in the top 100 shares for income

Income-seeking investors battered by frozen Bank of England base rates and faltering returns from the FTSE 100 index of Britain’s biggest shares should consider a world of opportunity overseas. Until recently, most foreign shares yielded lower dividends than UK equities and so tended to be ignored by investors whose priority is income. Now that there are rising numbers of exceptions to that rule, some wealth managers argue it is time to set aside the ‘Little Englander’ approach to asset allocation and consider global equities for income.

For example, new analysis by Investec Wealth & Investment (IW&I) which has £12.7bn funds under management shows that… Read More

The number of homes sold surged up by 4.5pc last month, helped by frozen interest rates and the "loosest mortgage lending conditions seen since the Lehman Brothers collapse" but Britain’s biggest building society warns that house prices remain 25pc more expensive than the historic norm.

First time buyers and buy-to-let landlords found it easier to obtain mortgages as loans for home purchases reached their highest number since December 2009 in November, according to the latest mortgage monitor from e.surv chartered surveyors.

Richard Sexton, director of e.surv, claimed the firm had completed more than 1m mortgage valuations over the last five years to compile its data. He said: “The market is thus far showing resilience in the face of the eurozone crisis. For the last few months, the banks have been focusing their lending on buy-to-let investors, but this is the first time they appear to have increased lending to first… Read More

Financial stress caused by the credit crisis could be the reason more marriages are failing and divorce numbers increased by 5pc last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

One third of all marriages now fail within 15 years, compared to little more than a fifth of those where the wedding occurred 15 years earlier. Those most at risk of divorce are men and women aged between 40 and 44.

Nearly 120,000 marriages ended in divorce last year, compared to just under 114,000 the year before. The increase in 2010 reversed the downward trend since 2003.

An ONS analyst said: “One theory suggests that recession could contribute to a rise in partnership break-ups because of increased financial strain, changes in employment and related lifestyle changes.

“Social research in Britain has shown that unemployment and downturns in the housing market may be associated with family instability. In addition some individuals may… Read More

Should home buyers have to repay state help with their mortgage?

Home buyers who lose their job and need state help with mortgage interest may have to repay this or give up some or all of the proceeds of their property’s sale in future, if new rules being considered by the Government pass into law.

As unemployment rises and the house prices fall, is this another attack on the squeezed middle or an overdue reform to cut spending and improve public finances?

Lord Freud, the Minister for Welfare Reform, said “The current system of Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) payments does not encourage people to get on top of their own finances. It is also not sustainable. Even with today’s low interest rates it costs Government £400m a year.

“We are committed to supporting homeowner… Read More

Andre Agassi, whose earnings were made subject to British taxes by the House of Lords

Millionaire foreign footballers will be among the biggest winners from the Finance Bill which proposes to exempt their worldwide earnings from UK taxes but more British families will have to pay inheritance tax (IHT).

Other changes include removing references to “idiots, lunatics and insane persons” from the fiscal statutes and allowing people with small pensions to take them as cash rather than having to buy an annuity.

Mike Warburton of accountants Grant Thornton explained: “The House of Lords ruled a few years ago that part of tennis player Andre Agassi’s international endorsements income was subject to tax in Britain.

“Unfortunately, this approach had the unintended consequence that Britain has lost international sporting events – such as last year’s Uefa Final… Read More

Nick Clegg (right) and David Cameron

Pension fund deficits – or the difference between the promises they have issued to members and the assets they have available to pay for them – ballooned by a third last month as the shortfall soared from £60bn to £80bn.

That is the daunting conclusion of new calculations by actuaries at Mercer, which demonstrate the difficulty of saving to fund old age. It’s a timely warning, coming as it does just as Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg proposes new ways to punish people who save for their old age.

He wants to means test benefits that pensioners currently receive on the basis of their age alone and says this is necessary to balance the books. Free bus passes and TV licences are among the target… Read More

If you're expecting a parcel, watch out (Photo: Getty)

After further investigation the warning about Parcel Delivery Service has itself proved to be a hoax. I apologise for any inconvenience. Why do people do these things?

House prices could soon start to fall around the world as a result of the credit crunch and eurozone crisis, one of the biggest global estate agents has hinted.

Knight Frank, which operates in 43 countries, across six continents and claims to have sold property worth US $817bn or £498bn last year, can scarcely be accused of talking the market up. It reckons the average house price edged higher by only 1.5pc last year – little more than the margin for error across such a large sample.

The Knight Frank Global House Price Index includes fast-growing emerging markets where double digit increases were widespread until recently, but even these constituents showed more sluggish growth in the third quarter of this year.

As a result, the index remained flat for the last three months. Residential analyst Kate Everett-Allen said: “Looking forward, house prices are likely to show little improvement in the final… Read More

Investors should be like the Munster family. Just as the latter only went to the beach when it was raining, the former can take perverse pleasure in more bad news about the economy – such as the official announcement that Britain has entered a second credit crisis.

Why? Because stock markets are in business to discount the future; not act as a means of recording the present or the past.

Obviously, the credit crunch is very bad news for thousands of people who will lose their jobs and homes before the economic cycle turns up again – as it will, unless this really is the end of the world. But, much less obviously, the current crisis also presents opportunities for people who remain in work and do not need to spend everything they earn.

If that sounds somewhat hypothetical, then bear in mind what has happened since I made similar points in… Read More

Gullible investors sent a total of £1.5m to an online share tipster who claimed he had a computer program that delivered total returns of more than 105pc, Newcastle Crown Court heard this week.

But the doublingstocks.com website was run by a 16-year-old schoolboy, Alexander Hunter, now 21, who lives with his parents at Whitley Bay, North Tyneside. They had no idea what he was getting up to online.

New technology; same old human nature. Like most get-rich-quick schemes, it only made one person rich; its promoter.

Complaints about losses on American penny shares which Hunter tipped led to an investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, who contacted Northumbria Police.

Hunter pleaded guilty to four charges of unauthorised trading under the Financial Services & Markets Act of 2000. He was ordered to pay back £986,508 to investors and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for two years.

Whether his victims will… Read More