July 30th, 2008
The downward slide in the housing market has many people very concerned with the threat of foreclosure but they are not the only ones that are feeling a squeeze with the outlook of the market. Many people are wondering if their current plans for retirement are going to still be enough to cover what they will need in their retirement years and are actively seeking independent pension advice.
Years ago people actually planned to use the equity in their homes to cover their costs in their retirement years. People are now realizing that this is not a guaranteed pension and they might be better off downsizing their home now before home values dwindle even more. With home values on a steady decline now and no immediate relief in site, many are concerned that by the time they need their retirement it will no longer be nearly as much as they once thought it would be.
July 17th, 2008
UBS - US Congressional investigators will today accuse UBS and Lichentenstein’s LGT Group of using the “cloak of bank secrecy laws” to help American clients evade billions of dollars in taxes. UBS told committee investigators it held 19,000 accounts worth $18bn for US clients that it had not declared to the IRS. In 2001, when tax rules, under the so-called Qualified Intermediary Programme required foreign banks to disclose the names of clients holding US securities, UBS’s US clients in Switzerland sold $2bn in such assets to avoid disclosure the report claims.
HBOS- Underwriters to the HBOS rights issue were last night preparing to pick up the tab for the UK mortgage bank’s £4bn cash call after a fresh slump in the stock made it highly likely that shareholders would shun the fundraising.
Barclays- Shareholders in Barclays are expected to avoid a £4.5bn capital increase. Investors have until 11am today to buy to buy new shares at 282p of face the prospect of investors led by the Qatar Investment Authority taking up the issue in full. Barclays’ shares closed at 266.75p, up 6.25p.
Icap- Shares in Icap closed higher after the interdealer broker continued to benefit from market volatility with a 15% rise in quarterly revenues, Icap confirmed that annual earnings were likely to be “broadly in line” with analysts’ consensus of £375m, compared with year-to-March earnings of £330m, sending its shares up to more than 8.5%.
Swiss Re- Shares in Swiss Re tumbled yesterday after the reinsurer said it has $9.6bn of exposure to corporate debt issued by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the beleaguered US mortgage finance companies.
Citigroup-Wells Fargo passed Citigroup to become the third-biggest bank by market value after its shares rose 33% on second-quarter results that were better than expected and an increase in it’s dividend.
Merrill Lynch - Merrill Lynch is to sell its 20% stake in Bloomberg for about $4.5bn in the latest sign of bank’s need for fresh sources of capital to shield them from the credit storm. But Merrill is set to retain its far more valuable 49% holding in BlackRock-and prolong its relationship with the asset management group-after weeks of talks between the groups failed to produce a deal. Merrill had hoped to get more than $4.5bn for the Bloomberg stake.
This summary was written by Martin Ward Anderson, for more News and Financial Services Jobs please click here
July 14th, 2008
If you are planning to make a compensation claim to try and recoup financial loss from a work injury that is stopping you from earning money, then you should take a look at the Injury Claim Estimator on the Claims for you website.
The calculator allows you to select an area of the body that the injury is in, what type of injury it is and the level of severity. The final step of the process is to enter in some details and then Claims for you will text you your accident compensation quote and how to make a claim. There seems to plenty of companies floating around on the internet offering services like these, so make sure you do some research before choosing one as it could make a big difference to your financial situation.
July 8th, 2008
We have now launched our online business blog that will be dealing with broader business topics than the finance topics found in this blog
The rest of the blog family
Online travel blog
Online property blog
Online health blog
Online finance blog
