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Are UK house prices really on the rebound?

UK house prices rose by 2.2% in the year to November, to an average of £235,000, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Average prices rose by 1.7% in England (to £251,000), with a 7.8% jump in Wales (to £173,000), a 3.5% rise in Scotland (to ...

2020-01-15 15:41 open_in_new
Weak inflation data may gives the Bank of England an excuse to cut rates

Depending on whether you commute or not, it may not feel much like it – but the UK’s rate of inflation is edging lower. Indeed, it’s now well below the Bank of England’s central 2% target rate.

In December, inflation (as measured by the consumer prices index, CPI) came in at 1.3%, ...

2020-01-15 12:32 open_in_new
Money Minute Wednesday 15 January: UK inflation and house prices

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Good morning and welcome to Money Minute, where we preview the day’s biggest financial stories. In the UK, we get consumer price inflation data for December. Analysts expect the headline figure to come in at ...

2020-01-15 09:23 open_in_new
Where will markets be in 2030? Here are 20 forecasts for the 2020s

Every day, MoneyWeek's executive editor John Stepek and guest contributors explain how current economic and political developments are affecting the markets and your wealth, and give you pointers on how you can profit.

Sign up free here.

In early January 2010, the S&P 500 ...

2020-01-14 13:26 open_in_new
How to profit as tobacco stocks go up in smoke

Philip Morris International is the most vulnerable stock in the embattled tobacco sector.

Tobacco is bad for your health, but it has been good for investors’ portfolios. For decades, companies have been able to offset the gradual decline of smoking in Europe and North America with rising ...

2020-01-14 11:20 open_in_new
Great frauds in history: Reed Slatkin’s Investment Club

Reed Slatkin was born in Detroit in 1941, and was converted to Scientology by his uncle as a teenager, studying with the religion’s founder L. Ron Hubbard and eventually becoming an ordained minister in 1975. He would later use his position within the Church to set up an unlicensed ...

2020-01-14 11:20 open_in_new
Money Minute Tuesday 14 January: US bank results and inflation

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Good morning and welcome to Money Minute, where we preview the day’s biggest financial stories. In the US this afternoon, investment banking giant JP Morgan kicks off fourth-quarter earnings season for the ...

2020-01-14 09:14 open_in_new
Currency Corner: how high can the pound go against the euro in 2020?

Every day, MoneyWeek's executive editor John Stepek and guest contributors explain how current economic and political developments are affecting the markets and your wealth, and give you pointers on how you can profit.

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Welcome to the first Currency Corner of ...

2020-01-13 12:14 open_in_new
Go green and make money with this energy-efficiency investment trust

Helping the environment needn’t mean sacrificing profits, as this energy-efficiency investment trust shows.

There is a common view that environmental improvement requires sacrifice of living standards, of pleasures we take for granted and of profits for businesses; that the path to ...

2020-01-13 11:11 open_in_new
Carlos Ghosn: Le Cost Killer’s great jail break

Carlos Ghosn, the former Nissan boss charged with fraud, fled captivity in Tokyo and is now a fugitive in Lebanon. His memoirs should make for fascinating reading.

When Carlos Ghosn was languishing in jail in Tokyo last year he was reported by Le Figaro to be like “a lion in a ...

2020-01-13 11:11 open_in_new
Money Minute Monday 13 January: a busy week for UK data

It’s a busy week for UK data. On Wednesday we have the latest inflation data, for December. UK inflation has been fairly tame lately, coming in below the Bank of England’s target of 2%. With sterling strengthening somewhat in the wake of the election, that’s likely to continue for the ...

2020-01-13 09:05 open_in_new
Investors needn’t fear the rise of Europe’s green parties

Green parties across Europe are finding the centre-right to be natural allies. That will be great for business

Over the last couple of decades, the green parties have positioned themselves as part of the radical left and the enemies of big business. Most corporate bosses and investors ...

2020-01-12 13:08 open_in_new
A look at the state of Iran’s feeble economy

The Islamic Republic is a big player in regional geopolitics, but its economy is weak, its people in revolt and its enemies growing bolder. Simon Wilson reports.

In 2017, the last year for which it has published final figures, the World Bank put Iran’s GDP at $448bn, making its economy ...

2020-01-11 14:02 open_in_new
The charts that matter: nothing to see here, folks

Welcome back, to the first Saturday edition of the new year. Hope you had a great break over Christmas.

No new podcast this week, but if you missed our recording of entrepreneur and investor Jim Mellon talking at November’s MoneyWeek Wealth Summit, make sure you go and listen to it right ...

2020-01-11 11:56 open_in_new
How much the state pension will rise by this year

While Boris Johnson promised to hold a full budget within 100 days of his election victory, many of the details of next year’s state pension increases were unveiled last month. The budget will confirm the final figures, but the changes, which come into effect in April, are based on the ...

2020-01-10 13:53 open_in_new
Vanguard set to launch the UK’s cheapest-ever pension fund

Good news for pension savers worried about charges – as all pension savers should be. Vanguard, the giant US asset management company, is set to launch the UK’s cheapest-ever pension fund.

Vanguard has been promising a new pension product for more than two years. But the long wait ...

2020-01-10 13:53 open_in_new
Why you should set up a pension for your children

Families thinking about how to save and invest most efficiently during 2020 shouldn’t overlook pensions for children. Many people don’t realise that in addition to their own pension contribution allowances they can put money into someone else’s savings. And even if the recipient is a ...

2020-01-10 13:53 open_in_new
Here’s what really matters for markets in 2020

Every day, MoneyWeek's executive editor John Stepek and guest contributors explain how current economic and political developments are affecting the markets and your wealth, and give you pointers on how you can profit.

Sign up free here.

I’ve spent a lot of this week pointing out ...

2020-01-10 11:47 open_in_new
New year, new you: resolve to get your finances in order

For most of us the New Year heralds plans to get fit, eat better and generally be a better human. But have you thought about what you could do to improve your finances in 2020? There are a several simple steps that could make you significantly better off next New Year’s Eve.

Firstly, ...

2020-01-10 11:47 open_in_new
Why investors should venture into VCTs – and three to buy now

A professional investor tells us where he’d put his cash. This week: Alex Davies, founder of high net-worth investment service Wealth Club, picks his top VCTs

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the introduction of venture capital trusts (VCTs). The idea was to encourage investors to ...

2020-01-10 11:47 open_in_new
How the papers’ share tipsters fared in 2019, and what they’ve picked for 2020

2019 brought a welcome return to profitability for the media’s share tipsters. With indices in the UK and overseas roaring back to life even the worst performer (The Independent, whose 6.10% gain earned it the wooden spoon this time) managed to do better than the top-performing portfolio in ...

2020-01-10 09:41 open_in_new