Finance Tips

UK savers were badly hit in the worst of the recession, as base rates continued to fall to their lowest level in history – 0.5%, the rate at which they still remain, marking the sixth month in a row.

This caused the UK savings market to crash, forcing those that once lived off their interest returns to to dip into their capital.

However, the low rates mean that home-owners with tracker mortgages would have seen repayments plummet, leaving them with more disposable income.

Although the Bank of England base rate remains at a record low, the savings account market has been kick-started, allowing savers to earn up to 5% – 10 X the current base rate, depending on the savings product they choose. Continue reading ‘Fixed rate bonds and saving market 'recovering from recession'’ »

The Bank of England has today announced its base rate will remain at the record low of 0.5% for the sixth month running.

It also reported that it would continue to inject up to £175 billion into the economy as part of its quantitative easing scheme, but this amount will not be extended further.

This follows a number of recent surveys that suggest the UK has begun to emerge from the recession.

But the Bank said the recovery would be “slow and protracted” and that it is likely to be months before the full impact of its policies is seen.

The recent optimism about the future of the UK economy has had a positive affect on the FTSE 100 index, pushing it above 5,000 points for the first time since October last year. Continue reading ‘The Bank of England holds rates at record low’ »