The wave of peer to peer (P2P)financial businesses is almost overwhelming at the moment.
Abundance Energy has just bought its first wind project back on line after a few cash flow hiccups. You can read my past views on this here, but it seems to me that it doesn't offer anywhere near a high enough return to make it worth the obvious risks. The fees are pretty high too. I've also written in this week's MoneyWeek magazine (subscribe to MoneyWeek magazine) about the Seedrs, a new launch business aiming to democratise investment in startups. Nice idea but, boy, is it ever risky. To say nothing of expensive
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Warning as Brits face €6,900 fine if they fail to follow new Spanish travel insurance ruleTourists are being warned of new rules in Spain that mean you must have fully comprehensive health cover in your travel insurance
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Rachel Reeves to announce permanent 95% mortgage guarantee schemeMortgages offered through the scheme will mean first-time buyers and home movers can buy a home with a deposit of just 5%
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Our pension system, little-changed since Roman times, needs updatingOpinion The Romans introduced pensions, and we still have a similar system now. But there is one vital difference between Roman times and now that means the system needs updating, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
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We’re doing well on pensions – but we still need to do betterOpinion Pensions auto-enrolment has vastly increased the number of people in the UK with retirement savings. But we’re still not engaged enough, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
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Older people may own their own home, but the young have better pensionsOpinion UK house prices mean owning a home remains a pipe dream for many young people, but they should have a comfortable retirement, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
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How to avoid a miserable retirementOpinion The trouble with the UK’s private pension system, says Merryn Somerset Webb, is that it leaves most of us at the mercy of the markets. And the outlook for the markets is miserable.
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Young investors could bet on NFTs over traditional investmentsOpinion The first batch of child trust funds and Junior Isas are maturing. But young investors could be tempted to bet their proceeds on digital baubles such as NFTs rather than rolling their money over into traditional investments
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Pandemics, politicians and gold-plated pensionsAdvice As more and more people lose their jobs to the pandemic and the lockdowns imposed to deal with it, there’s one bunch of people who won’t have to worry about their future: politicians, with their generous defined-benefits pensions.
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How to have a low-tax retirement in the sunNews Greece is to offer a ten-year tax incentive to foreign pensioners. That’s a pretty good offer, says Merryn Somerset Webb. But it might not last.
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Prepare yourself for a rise in capital gains taxOpinion With the UK desperate to raise more money to cover the massive rise in public spending, squeezing more revenue out of capital gains tax looks like an obvious thing to do.
