Whistler time is here again, and how that time flies! It seems only moments since I was putting fingers to keyboard to write my last article. I considered addressing the thorny subjects of Bankers, their bonuses, manipulating interest rates and other such ‘hot potatoes’, but my guess is that most readers will be well and truly sick of them by the time this hits the presses. Furthermore, I suspect that, if I mention stock market volatility again this month, I may be strung up, from a lamp-post in Seven Dials!
Continue reading Looking back, planning ahead
Category Archives: Money Matters
Money matters
Balmy not Barmy
I closed my last article with thoughts of a “balmy Spring” and as I write, the sun is beating down and, at last, the weeks of rain and drizzle – that have plagued us since the official announcement of a drought – are over (for the time being anyway). Alas, despite a favourable upturn in the weather, there has been no such happy outcome for the UK stock market. The gains that have been accumulated since January have evaporated, since the renewed troubles in the Euro-zone and the elections in Greece and France. It seems like the theme of volatility, that followed us through last year, may well be one that stays with us for 2012 and into next year too!
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All Change
Spring time is nigh: the clocks will be bounding forwards, and as I write, along with the Budget, a new tax year is nearly upon us. Oh what joy! Not only will we have to suffer the usual increases in direct taxation, but any other little surprises that the Chancellor has for us. By the time this illustrious periodical hits the letterboxes of West Hill, we will probably know our fates.
There are always pre-budget rumours, of loopholes to be closed, reliefs to be removed, and tax advantages to be, er, ‘disadvantaged’. These regular visitors include: the removal of higher-rate tax relief on pension contributions, the cessation of the ability to take 5% tax-deferred income from Life Assurance Investment Bonds, and the introduction of a lifetime cap on ISA funds, to name but three. There is also plenty of discussion, regarding the mooted mansion tax, but this is unlikely to bother most of us, even if it does materialise. Inevitably, whatever has been handed out to us, we will just have to live with it!
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Unknown Unknowns
As we start to settle into the New Year, and wish each other well for 2012, it is easy – when minds wander – to wonder what might happen over the next 12 months. The last year was full of uncertainty, and it seems there is no reason to think that this year will be any different. As far as financial matters are concerned, we are no more settled than we were last January, and within reason, anything could happen. Who would have imagined the changes that have occurred in the Middle East, for instance?
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This Year’s Ups and Downs
Well, Winter draws on, and another year is nearly over. As far as investments are concerned, this year has not been short of excitement (a trifle too much, for some, I fear). Whilst there seems to have been an overriding air of economic gloom, it hasn’t been the worst of years for most markets. Despite all the concerns over the weaker countries in the Euro-zone, and the lack of growth in the greater part of the western world, many markets are higher than they started the year.
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The Whistler 