Author Archives: Emma

Global stock markets have had strong gains to date in 2024 as inflation has continued to subside. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P500 and Nasdaq Composite all hit new record highs this month. The annualised rate of Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) in the US eased from 3.4% Read the full article…

The Spring Budget was delivered by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, on 6th March, with the headline announcement being a reduction in the main rate of employee National Insurance contributions from 10% to 8% (from 6th April 2024). Other changes include the income level at which child benefit begins Read the full article…

Although the main ISA allowance of £20,000 is unchanged for the new 2024/25 tax year, there are some other changes coming in that should increase customer choice. The downside is further complexity, with JISAs (Junior ISAs), LISAs (Lifetime ISAs) and IFISAs (Innovative Finance ISAs) already added to the range of Read the full article…

The Bank of England again held the UK interest rate at 5.25% at the November meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The rate at which prices are increasing, as measured by UK Consumer Price Inflation (CPI), reduced to 4.6% for October, a sharp drop from the September figure of Read the full article…

The Autumn Statement was delivered by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on 22 November 2023, setting out the Government’s tax and spending plans for the year ahead. The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) expects the UK economy to grow by 0.6% this year, 0.7% in 2024 and 1.4% in 2025. Key figures Read the full article…