Three terms—percentage, percentage point and basis point—are widely used in finance. Their meanings are different, and getting them mixed up can lead to an expensive mistake. A percentage is a way of expressing a ratio as parts per hundred. Five parts per hundred can be written as 20%. To convert any ratio to a percentage, simply [more...]
A “spread”, in finance, is a pair of prices—one for buying and one for selling. The most common type of financial spread is the bid-offer spread. The offer price is the price at which a broker or market maker will sell you shares (or some other financial instrument). The bid price is the price at which [more...]
Once a year is Budget Day in the UK when the Chancellor of the Exchequer of behalf of the government attends the House of Commons and makes a speech to the Members of Parliament outlining a summary of the current economic situation and a more detailed account of how the government intends to raise money [more...]
The G-7 is an informal forum for the finance ministers of seven big industrial economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. It was formed in 1976 to discuss economic issues and seek agreement. It superseded the G-6 which didn’t include Canada. There’s also the G-8 which adds Russia [more...]
The insurance industry makes important contributions to the UK’s economy, is a major employer, and source of overseas income. It is the second largest insurance industry in the world with its premium income at 11% of the world’s total. It is still some way behind the United States insurance industry which has 30 % of the [more...]
Although stocks and bonds are very popular types of investments, they are far from the same thing. Stock refers to ownership in a corporation. If you buy stock, you are buying a share in the company (in fact, the basic unit of stock is called a share, and they typically range in price from a few [more...]
Credit cardholders According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 173 million credit cardholders in the United States in 2006 and that number is projected to grow to 181 million in 2010.(1) Number of cards There were 1,488,000,000 credit cards in use 2006 and that number is projected to grow to 1,618,000,000 in 2010. Number of cards 2006 2010 projected (mil) Total [more...]
The phrase “printing money” is loaded with all kinds of negative connotations. It’s something we associate with Robert Mugabe, destroying the value of Zimbabwe’s currency. But now “quantitative easing” is about to begin. How does that work, and is it really the same as printing money? Most of the money in circulation is not in the [more...]
According to the AVMA (1), there are more than 72 million pet dogs in the U.S. and nearly 82 million pet cats. Ownership A little more than 43 million households own dogs and nearly 37.5 million households own cats. The average number of dogs per household is 1.7. Cat owning households have an average of 2.2 cats. DOGS Percent of [more...]
There are more than 56,000 pharmacies in the United States. The NACDS reports that there are over 39,000 pharmacies operated by traditional chain pharmacy companies, supermarkets and mass merchants. In addition there are nearly 17,000 independent pharmacies. (1) Walgreens and CVS dominate the drug store chain market with the largest number of stores and the highest sales. According [more...]
The terms Bull Market and Bear Market are jargon relating primarily to the stock market, although they can be applied to any kind of investment that is openly traded and therefore has a market price. A Bull Market refers to a sustained period of time when the prices are generally rising faster than the historical average. [more...]
Deflation is the opposite of inflation. Deflation is what we call it when things get cheaper. What could possibly be wrong with that? And yet some people argue that deflation is one of the worst things that could happen. How can that be? Suppose flat panel TVs keep getting cheaper. Some people will spend less on [more...]
The UK’s HM Customs have recently been very active in their attempts to counter and prevent tax evasion and avoidance, and track down money hidden in off-shore accounts which should have been disclosed to the tax man in the UK. In the past six months several off-shore jurisdictions previously thought of as safe tax havens have [more...]
In the UK this information is available to the public. It is free in England and Wales, but Northern Ireland and Scotland requires payment. Information on those subject to bankruptcy orders and bankruptcy restrictions orders in England and Wales are found on the Individual Insolvency Register which is controlled by The Insolvency Service. You can access it [more...]
In the UK this is new technology in the domestic environment. According to BWEA, a renewable energy trade association, in 2007 approximately 3500 micro- and small-wind turbines were deployed with the UK. The 2008 figures are expected to be higher. Wind turbines providing “green energy” can now be purchased from DIY stores, but should be installed [more...]
For a person with no business knowledge it may sometimes seem a daunting prospect to find out who the directors of a UK company are. However, it is relatively easy, and most importantly, inexpensive to find out. You can also find other information such as the company’s accounts and annual returns, and their Registered Office [more...]
Here are a few tips for saving money on your medications. 1. Ask your doctor if there is a lower cost generic drug available. 2. Shop around. Did you know that the price of commonly prescribed drugs varies significantly among pharmacies in the same city? 3. Purchase your medications from an online pharmacy 4. Use a drug discount card. 5. Check [more...]
Today’s announcement (2009-01-08) by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee setting the interest rate at 1.5% makes it the lowest interest rate since the Bank of England was established in 1694. In relatively recent times, 29 years ago, it stood at a record high of 17%. The Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time raised [more...]
You may come across a financial adviser in many different areas of the management of your finances: banking, mortgages, accountancy, tax planning, investments and pensions. It is always wise to check they are regulated before parting with any money or signing any form of commitment. Members of the public have open access to check them on [more...]
In today’s worrying financial climate it is a good time to take a serious look at where you can save money. Here in the UK savings can be made and the key strategy is ‘shop around’. Do not be complacent and remain with the same bank or service provider for years. Look around see what new [more...]