June saw a delay to the planned reopening of UK business and services, a drop in unemployment and some promising world economic news.

June brought the news that the UK’s unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in the three months to April – a slight improvement from 4.8% in the three months to March. This, coupled with strong consumer spending figures for the month, offered some hope despite inflation jumping to 2.1% - mainly driven by the increase in the cost of fuel, clothing and eating out. Overall, the job m...

The combined economic effects of stimulus measures, inflation and increased spending all contributed to an eventful month.

In May, vaccine rollouts gathered pace and pandemic-based restrictions began to lift in many countries. However, a new wave of cases in India raised concerns worldwide.

Despite reports that the UK economy shrank in the first quarter compared with the previous three months, the level of employment increased, although it remains below pre-pandemic levels. Inflation doub...

Lenders are now offering a government-backed 95% mortgage scheme to help more first-time buyers onto the property ladder.

The government is hoping to turn ‘generation rent’ into ‘generation buy’ with the help of a 5% mortgage deposit scheme launched on 19 April.

Following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, many lenders withdrew low-deposit mortgages. In just under a year, the number of 95% mortgages available to first-time buyers...

The pandemic has reportedly created 6 million accidental savers, but what’s the best way to use this extra cash?

The effect of the lockdown on millions of bank accounts has been to boost savings for people whose incomes have remained the same but whose spending has dropped.

With the prospect of life returning to a new normal, it’s a chance to think about how to make the most of these savings and build on them too.

Where were savings made?
Working from home meant the cost of commuting was...

We explore what makes an emerging market and why they can offer attractive investment opportunities.

For example, South Korea is one of the world’s largest and wealthiest nations. Its GDP per capita – which measures economic output divided by total population – was $31,846 in 2019, outranking countries like Spain, which had a GDP per capita of $29,600. Yet South Korea is still classed as an emerging market in many stock market indices, such as the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. So why does the country fall into this c...

The number of people using equity release schemes fell last year as older homeowners grew more cautious.

Older homeowners seemed to be more reluctant to release cash from their homes in 2020, according to the Equity Release Council. Data from the trade body shows drawdowns from lifetime mortgages fell by 21% last year and 10% fewer plans were agreed than in 2019.

This drop suggests the coronavirus pandemic affected the equity release market in 2020, with activity slipping to a four-year low between A...

Putting your hard-earned cash into savings accounts may not be the most efficient way to make your money work for you.

If you’ve been placing your cash into a savings account over the past decade, you might be surprised to find that your money could now be worth less now than when you first put it away. According to research from AJ Bell, if you’d put £10,000 into a cash ISA 10 years ago, it would now be worth £9,772 even when accounting for interest.

So why is this? Inflation is currently outpacing inter...

The economic recovery is gathering momentum as the pandemic recedes and successful vaccination programmes continue to roll out on both sides of the Atlantic.

April saw the continuation of progress made in March, as a more settled month in the investment markets, with equities performing well and bonds showing stability and positive returns. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased its forecast for growth in 2021 to 6%, citing stimulus bills in richer countries helping economies bounce back from the Covid-19 ...

With the vaccine rollout continuing to progress and the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions, there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel. With this in mind, we hope you and your close ones are staying safe.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused significant volatility in global equity markets and we continue to see larger daily falls and gains than we would normally expect. It is therefore really important that you think twice before taking any action over your pensions and investments.

The FTSE 100 index was up 1.7% yesterd...