Posted in Money Box Monday |
Working with markets, understanding risk and return, diversifying and portfolio structure—we’ve heard the lessons of sound investing over and over. But so often the most important factor between success and failure is ourselves. The current rocky period in financial markets has brought to the surface some familiar emotions for many, including a strong urge to try to time the market. The…
Posted in Money Box Monday |
Should the U.S. have a Debt Ceiling? Until recently, the U.S. government’s debt ceiling didn’t get a lot of publicity; it has been raised without fanfare 70 times in the last 50 years. Now that it’s front page news, some analysts are wondering why the U.S. have such a thing in the first place. An article in the August 1 issue…
Posted in Money Box Monday |
Is the U.S. government about to receive calls from debt collectors? By now, you’ve probably heard that the Standard & Poor’s debt rating agency has downgraded all U.S. government debt with more than a year of maturity, from the top AAA rating down to AA+. To put that in perspective, now only 17 countries enjoy the AAA rating on their government…
Posted in Money Box Monday |
A JUDGE’S decision to include regular payments for the life of a child paralysed at birth is “a significant step in the right direction” for families affected by such tragedies, according to a financial planning expert. Lord Stewart recommended part of the settlement in the case of an unnamed boy left paralysed from the head down after suffering “catastrophic neurological…
Posted in Money Box Monday |
Offset mortgages are very tax efficient. However, if interest rates rise offset mortgages will lose some of their appeal. Borrowers should therefore take advantage of low rates of interest while they can. There is little doubt that an offset mortgage can be a very effective way of repaying a house purchase loan for a higher/additional rate taxpayer. The concept of…
