Read the latest news and articles from the Gem & Co team
Introduction This time last year Philip Hammond was the Foreign Secretary: then came Brexit, Theresa May as Prime Minister, George Osborne’s opportunity to spend more time with his family – or on the after-dinner speaking circuit – and Mr Hammond’s move into 11 Downing Street. He delivered his first Autumn Statement in November of last
Read moreWith both property prices and the cost of living continuing to rise, as well as low interest rates making it difficult to save, the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ is increasingly becoming a partnership with the ‘Bank of Gran and Grandad’. If you have grandchildren, it’s only natural that you’ll want to provide for them
Read moreRecent figures suggest that house prices are set to slow during 2017. Property prices grew by 5.7% in the year to the end of January, slower than the annual growth of 6.5% in the previous month. In January, the average UK home was valued at £220,260. Whilst prices in the three months to the end
Read morePremium bonds celebrated their 60th anniversary last year; whilst they’ve remained popular throughout that time, it’s not hard to see that what they offer is closer to a lottery ticket than a viable investment opportunity. The chances of winning the jackpot is 26 million to one, and as all the interest generated in money invested
Read moreIntroduction Last month was the month when it was almost impossible to keep up with the stories coming out of the White House. Normally as I make notes for this commentary through the month I end up – Not surprisingly – with far more notes about the UK than anywhere else. That was BT – Before
Read moreIntroduction Despite the claims of Brexit and the debate on triggering Article 50, it is impossible to start this commentary anywhere other than in Washington where, on January 20th, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States. It is remarkably difficult to find a news outlet that has a neutral view
Read moreOn a slightly different note and with a view to helping local schools, if you have a minute to spare please can you complete the attached survey. It will help Wimbledon College & Ursuline High School’s Sixth Form team who have made it through to the London Final of The Bank of England Interest Rate Challenge.
Read moreRichard Harrington, who was made pensions secretary by Theresa May soon after she assumed office as Prime Minister in July last year, recently wrote an article for This Is Money divulging his spending tips for 2017. It’s a piece littered with what could be called ‘financial advice’, so what does the new minister recommend we
Read moreRetirement consultancy Mercer recently revealed that the final salary pension deficit of the 350 largest companies listed in the UK had reached £137 billion by the end of last year, despite the FTSE 100 index closing 2016 at a record high. That figure is more than three times the corresponding deficit amount of £39 billion
Read more“It’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future”. A quote which is usually attributed to either baseball player Yogi Berra or author Mark Twain – which in reality was most likely never actually said by either man – but nonetheless pithily sums up the problem with trying to work out what is going to
Read more