This weekend will see the crowning of Miss England and Mr England at the Riviera International conference centre in Torquay. Devon beauty, Charlotte Holmes is the reigning Miss England and she will hand over the crown to her successor on Saturday. The organisers of the event are keen to point out the strong focus on raising funds for charity under the Miss World’s ‘Beauty with a Purpose' banner.
After seemingly weeks of dull weather, the warm sunshine of the last week in Devon and Cornwall reminds us that Summer is on its way. Unlike many commentators I view this week’s new lending figures from the Bank of England with guarded optimism. The good news is that money is starting to flow more freely, with an increase in lending to individuals and an improving trend in corporate lending, particularly by Barclays and Nationwide, which have together lent an additional £11b over the last year.
6 June 2013: A Professional Women’s 'Lunch and Learn' event is to turn into a regular occurrence after it was given a big thumbs-up from its delegates. The lunch event was held at Milford & Dormor Financial Planning Financial Planners Wealth Management's office in Exeter.
Read the full article at Western Morning News.
I have always taken a keen interest in history and particularly if the past can offer any useful lessons for investing. In 1986, ‘Big Bang’ marked the start of deregulation of the City and the move from human to electronic trading reflecting the pressures of globalisation. Until then, we are led to believe that the City had been a more genteel place, where each Summer traders would take time out to watch cricket, Wimbledon and Ascot.
We have more than 11,500 pages of tax legislation, the longest in the world. Little wonder then that the Office of Tax Simplification is tasked with streamlining our 400 tax reliefs, allowances and exemptions. Whilst the ‘tax tail should never wag the investment dog’, tax is nevertheless a key consideration for financial planning. After all a pound of tax saved is at least as good as a pound of investment growth.
In a long overdue announcement, Michael Gove, the Education Secretary has signalled that all children will be taught personal finance under the new revised national curriculum. I am delighted that the need for a basic level of financial knowledge at school has been recognised. The younger generation face huge financial challenges in the coming decades – funding university fees, buying a first house and adequate pension provision to name but three key issues.
Thank you to everyone who attended our launch party at Exeter Golf and Country Club and made it a most enjoyable and memorable evening, as well as a raising £237.55 for FORCE Cancer Charity. A big thank you to Justin Urquhart-Stewart as our keynote speaker, who gave a highly informative and entertaining talk. Press coverage in the Western Morning News.
After seemingly endless debate and discussion, this week sees social care as one of the flagship issues to be included in the Queen’s speech for the coalition government’s plans for the next session of parliament. The admirable aim of the reforms is to put the social care sector alongside the NHS at the heart of the welfare state for the first time, something overlooked when the NHS was set up in 1948.
Read the full article at Western Morning News.
