Frank O'Donnell

Credit card rates are set to increase, while bad debts may reach as high as 9% of all outstanding balances by the end of next year. Although credit card borrowing has actually fallen, a report from PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) says that bad debts have reached historic highs.

The majority of first-time buyers believe now is a good time to snap up new homes as the market has corrected and prices will shoot up.
According to a consumer confidence survey from property website Rightmove, most would-be home owners are now ready to get their foot on the UK property market, with 65% of first-time [...]

HM Revenues & Customs have been unable to cope with the increased complexity of people’s tax affairs when they retire, causing millions of pensions to pay the wrong amount in taxes.

Brits are handing over £144 million to the government in taxes they don’t need to pay by failing to put their savings in a tax-free account.
Research by Unbiased.co.uk found £109 million is being wasted by 6.2 million savers who don’t keep their savings in a tax-free cash ISA account. Some 1.7 million shareholders are wasting [...]

A quality mark for defined contribution pension schemes has been launched, with only schemes that meet key criteria on contribution rates, governance and communication qualifying for the seal of approval.
The award is being handed out by the National Association of Pension Funds to companies, upon payment of a fee. The companies that have already been [...]

It is a good time for homebuyers with a big deposit to put down. Mortgage lenders have been hitting the headlines with record low rates. HSBC launched a 1.99% mortgage on a two-year discounted rate earlier this month – available to customers with a deposit of 40% if you apply direct.

The governor of the Bank of England and two other committee members suggested injecting even more money into the UK economy than the £50 billion that was agreed, showing concerns about just how worried the committee is about the likely pace of the recovery.
This news resulted in a drop in the pound, to fall more than 1.5 cents at [...]