The Daily Mail and its financial website Thisismoney have been making a huge amount of noise about the possibility of cash ISAs tax relief being restricted as the Government bids to get more money invested rather than saved.
The Building Societies' Association has warned that such savings back mortgages and loans to businesses. Lots of hard ball being played on this issue.
Perhaps not unexpectedly, the Bank of England monetary policy committee has cut the base rate by 0.25% to 4.5% as the BBC reports.
The Bank’s prediction for low growth and inflation later this year has garnered a lot of headlines. It suggests inflation could react 3.7% later this year with growth for 2025 may be 0.75% not 1.5% as previously predicted. The Guardian reports.
Does begin to feel a bit like stagflation for the UK.
The Investment Trust sector appears to have seen off the threat of US hedge fund manager Saba taking over several trusts. At time of writing, just one trust out of seven had yet to see off the threat of takeover in shareholder votes as Thisismoney reports.
The FCA required 20,000 advertisements and promotions to be pulled or amended in 2024 as Money Marketing reports. Have to say very good work.
The City minister Emma Reynolds argues that the UK needs to build an investment culture as FTAdviser reports. We have heard this before including from the previous Labour administration. It is a very difficult thing to pull off.
Writing in Money Marketing, Mark Dampier suggests that the IHT changes may be the final nail in the coffin of pensions.
MPs are “disappointed” with the FCA’s response to its report that labelled the regulator as an “opaque and unaccountable” organisation, again as FTAdviser reports.
I do think we have to put this into perspective. The report is not from a select committee but an all-party group and it did read to a degree as a collection of grievances. Not to say that there are not huge challenges for the FCA boss Nikhil Rathi.
Indeed, New Model Adviser asks pointedly can the FCA deliver on the government’s growth goals?
A personal view – the FCA’s job should be to stop scandals and collapses. It should not get in the way of growth with arbitrary decisions or unnecessary regulations. But deliver growth goals? A strange mission that actually risks hurting growth by distracting the FCA from its main job.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will be making a proposal to charge professional representatives (or in other words claims chasers) a £250 to refer a case to its service from 1 April 2025 as Professional Adviser reports.
