The Budget speech comes at a crucial time for the UK  both politically and financially and depending on the upcoming election result we could be going through the whole process again, if the incoming Chancellor decides on implementing emergency fiscal measures.

For now however, the current Chancellor Alistair Darling’s speech will be put under the microscope by financial analysts as well as political hopefuls for the next election and it will be interesting to hear how he intends to strike a balance between tackling the annual public deficit and sustaining a fragile recovery programme during 2010.

It is an argument that is currently raging in financial circles following statistics revealed by MoneyFacts this week after conducting a comparison of interest rates currently on offer from the UK’s biggest lenders.

Basing their research on a two-year, fixed-rate deal for someone able to put down a 25 per cent deposit on a home, MoneyFacts found that Cheltenham & Gloucester, part of the Lloyds Banking Group, charges 4.57% compared to a UK average of 4.19%.

Northern Rock which has 100% Government backing came in second place offering their services at 4.37%, and in third place was the Halifax, another Lloyds lender charging 4.27%.

The only Government supported lender that came out of the poll smelling of roses was the Royal Bank of Scotland, where the average rate for a two year fixed mortgage is shown as being 3.84%.

The lenders involved made a case for themselves by explaining that they each offer a wide variety of mortgages that offer substantial discounts to lenders meeting certain criteria.

But should these banks be seen as being more competitive in a market that almost caused their downfall, the argument is that having taken the tax payers backing the banks priority is to build up their balance sheets in order to repay the funding and show that they can stand on their own two feet.

The argument goes on.

Instead the Financial Times report says that the 50% tax levied on bonuses over £25,000 is more likely to bring in a more welcoming £2.5billion to the government, after a survey conducted through the UK banks.

While the Treasury could not confirm the Financial Times figures the much needed extra cash would help to payoff some of the Governments record budget deficit and help the UK on the road to financial recovery.

Now is the time that many will be looking to transfer their debt from one credit card to another, to take away the pain of having to pay excessive interest on their credit card account.

While there are plenty of credit card comparison sites on the internet, choosing a new deal is by no means a simple choice. Despite our pleas for plain speaking and easy to understand terms, the credit card market still represents a minefield for those looking to transfer outstanding balances.

It is therefore very important to take stock of personal finances and ability to pay off the outstanding balance before making a switch to another provider, bearing in mind that if you cannot repay the balance during the interest free period, interest on the balance will be charged at the standard rate.

One of the best credit card deals around at present is the MBNA Platinum card, which charges an interest rate of 5.9% throughout the life of the outstanding balance, so even if it takes ten years to pay off, the interest will remain at 5.9%. This would represent a far better deal than many of the zero percent transfers on offer if you are unlikely to be able to pay off the card balance in a restricted time frame.

This comes out favourably against many of the providers offering, say 0% on transfer balances for 15 or 16 months and then reverting to standard rates.

These deals are not restricted to personal credit cards, as there are also similar offerings for professionals looking for a business credit card that offers a great deal along with greater online protection and chip and pin security on the high street.

During the last  forty years credit and debit cards have taken over from bank cheques for payment, while Standing Orders, Direct Debits and BACS payment systems have emerged as direct payment methods.

In the internet age, technology is such that most of us are able to conduct our banking online from anywhere in the world, with instant transfers from one account to another at no cost.

Surprisingly over 3.8 million cheques were written out each day last year in the UK, although that is a far cry from its peak of popularity in 1990 when almost 11 million cheques were issued.

finance minister christine legarde

France are to follow the lead outlined by the UK government in Alistair Darling’s recent pre-budget speech and introduce a special one off tax on banker’s bonuses for 2010.

French Finance minister Christine Legarde has said that a bill will be put before the French parliament in January that will commit tax bonus payments of over 27,000 euros, to fifty percent taxation.

The French government had indicated last week that a similar tax to that announced by the UK would be announced, but no further details were available at that time.

Germany’s Chancellor Angel Merkel has said that she is sympathetic to the idea but fears that it may be against German law.

Licuro.com is a totally independent market place designed to bring together, on the one hand, UK savers looking for the highest interest rates for their time deposits and on the other hand banks and financial institutions looking to access alternative sources of funding and gain new customers.

A time deposit is an amount of money that you deposit in a deposit taker for an agreed period of time. For this the deposit taker pays you a certain time deposit interest rate. Licuro provides you with a quick and accurate overview of where you receive the best interest rate.

For instance, if you have say £50,000 to invest for three months, you can put your funds up for auction and recieve interest rate bids from some of the UK and Denmark’s most competetive financial institutions. With just a few clicks you will be able to find the best interest rate in the market for your deposit.

Since July, Licuro.com has processed over £20 million in the UK and two sister sites will be launched in Luxembourg and Belgium in February 2010 with Germany to follow in March 2010.  It is expected that these new sites will see a rapid increase in traffic over the next 12 months.  The original site in Denmark, mybanker.biz, founded in 2002, has processed the equivalent £1.4 billion in the last twelve months.

John Norden, CEO of Licuro.com in the UK and founder of mybanker.biz inDenmark says:

“We are delighted to see Licuro gaining momentum in the UK. We’ve a proven model in Denmark, which has translated very well to the UK although it is still very early days, and with the roll out elsewhere in Europe UK will in the long run give savers the option of depositing with banks in other European countries, with the obvious foreign exchange advantages.

From the savers’ perspective, Licuro is the site to go to if you have, say, £25,000 to invest (although the minimum accepted, which is set by deposit takers themselves, is currently £12,000 with no maximum). We offer savers a totally transparent way of depositing their money at an interest rate that is pushed up by the competition created by the several building societies, each with their own distinct liquidity requirements, bidding for their cash online in real-time.”

In what is seen as an open attempt to lure US President Barrack Obama on board, the article says;

“This crisis has made us recognise that we are now in an economy which is no longer national but global, so financial standards must also be global. We must ensure that through proper regulation, the financial sector operates on a level playing field globally.”

Calling for a ‘new compact between global banks and the society they serve’, Brown and Sarkozy said;

“We agree that a one-off tax in relation to bonuses should be considered a priority, due to the fact that bonuses for 2009 have arisen partly because of government support for the banking system. However, it is clear the action that must be taken must be at a global level. No one territory can be expected to or be able to act on its own. And if we can find a solution, implemented consistently across the major economies, then we may find a way to ensure that taxpayers do not pay for the risks taken by the banking sector.”

In the US a poll has revealed that 75% of the public believe that none of the US banks that recieved state aid should even consider paying bonuses this year.

The report says that more customers in the UK are making inroads into their mortgage debt, with many households keeping repayments at the same level as they were before the interest rate cuts, allowing them to make a substantial overpayment without affecting their monthly budget.

The news is confirmed by most of the UK’s leading lenders, with the Lloyds banking group saying that customers making overpayments has doubled on last year, with a surprising monthly average of £350.

The Lloyds banking group includes the Halifax, Cheltenham & Gloucester and Birmingham Midshires Building Societies as well as Lloyds TSB and Bank of Scotland.

Barclays said that the number of home owners making overpayments on mortgages with them had risen three fold on last year, but the average overpayment was smaller.

The Bank of England released data last week that suggested that the UK public are also making an exerted effort to clear unsecured loans, confirming that a record amount had been paid off  by households in October.

casa se vende

As the winter draws in and the recession bites further into our incomes, memories of summer holidays long since passed may start us thinking of next years vacation or even thoughts of a life changing experience of  a ‘better life’ overseas.

The ‘easy’ life always sounds attractive, but is the grass really greener? It is worth remembering that the credit crisis was a global phenomenon and nowhere in Europe has escaped unscathed.

The financial crisis has taken its toll on property markets across Europe and while the UK sees a minor recovery in the market, property prices in Spain for instance are still falling dramatically. That is good news if you are in the market to buy, but ex pats selling property have had to deal with a double whammy.

Not only have prices fallen but the GB Pound/Euro exchange rate has also been badly hit, leaving ex pats who rely on a UK income facing all sorts of financial problems when they come to exchange money.

It is good to know therefore that there are financial companies around who can make  international payments at better exchange rates than those offered by high street banks.

World First is the leading currency exchange broker in the UK, exceeding £1 billion turnover in 2008 representing over 20,000 private clients and 3,000 business transactions. They also guarantee the best foreign exchange rates, the fastest available international payments and boast an exceptional level of service.

At World First they also offer ‘forward contracts’ which allow you to set the sterling cost of your property up to a year before payment is due, avoiding fluctuations in currency rates.

Savings can also be made by ex pats who rely on income from the UK, World First do not charge extra for transfers made to Europe and offer the option of fixing the exchange rate of all payments from six months to 2 years in advance, a great way to manage finances with no fear of fluctuation.