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Marketwatch
Last week it was no surprise to find ourselves in the shadow of gross domestic product figures showing the economy shrank by 0.2% in the last quarter, and another Greek issue debacle.
DROs: Is a second wave of serious debtors forming offshore?
The insolvency figures from the fourth quarter of last year came out this morning and it was encouraging to see that personal bankruptcies dropped by 28%.
Uncertainty leaves economy in jeopardy
The outlook for the mortgage market has deteriorated in recent months as the impact of the slower economic recovery and upheavals in Europe are taken fully into account. But this revision in expectations has been pretty modest so far compared to previous shifts in the market.
Transfer of second charges to FSA is a long time coming
The Mortgage Market Review has confirmed the regulation of secured loans will move from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Services Authority/ Financial Conduct Authority no earlier than 2014, once a decision has been reached on the transfer of consumer credit regulation as a whole.
A walk through the pros and cons of quantitative easing
Apart from reducing the base rate to 0.5% - the lowest level since the Bank of England was established in 1694 - governor Mervyn King has introduced a quantitative easing policy worth up to £275bn.
Soft skills necessary for successful selling
People like me have been talking about the need to increase protection sales for years.
We need to talk about lenders deleveraging
Looking at gross lending predictions from the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association, it is clear they are not expecting this year to be too different to last.
Taking responsibility to prevent a disaster
The reason none of us likes to think about the worst case scenario is, I believe, because we all like to think we’re invincible.
Helping clients earn extra the right way
The Office for National Statistics has stated that the number of unemployed in the UK has risen to 2.68 million - the highest number of jobless people since 1994.
Amendment vital to welfare reform bill
After publication of the Welfare Reform Bill last year, many expressed concern about its plan to pay housing benefit direct to tenants instead of landlords.
Broker roadshows on MMR will be handy
Change is something advisers have had to get used to in recent years. From the introduction of regulation in 2001 to the devastation caused by the credit crunch, advisers have had to learn to adapt to survive.
Restricting panels may be good thing
There has been a lot of talk, mostly negative, about HSBC restricting its conveyancing panel to 42 firms.
Clients should insure family before phones
New research shows Britons are more likely to insure their mobile phones than to take out life insurance to protect their families.
