Worldwide Financial Planning

Skipton has just brought back in the 100 per cent mortgage. You must have proof of rent paid for 12 months in a row within the last 18 months, along with the household bills and you can’t have any credit issues.

The sell-off in US banks resumed following the collapse of another regional bank. Last week First Republic reported the scale of deposit outflows in the first quarter and this spooked investors and caused a further outflow of deposits. By Monday it has been seized by US regulators and sold to JP Morgan Chase.

"Not having a will is just…. well…I can’t describe the pain. Just go for it. Not having a will at all is also very expensive, let alone an irreparable family break up." Peter McGahan

Consumer businesses with strong brands are continuing to benefit from the ability to pass on rising costs to their customers. Despite rising wages and input costs, companies including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Nestle all declared higher profits in the first quarter as they passed on above inflation increases to consumers.

If a customer took out a standard variable rate, for 25 years, for example, the best rate with an independent broker could save you £160,800 over that term, versus a typical high street lender.

Inflation running in double digits since September is very bad news, and when you add a strong employment market and private sector wages rising at more than 6% a year it is easy to see why markets are predicting further interest rate rises. Gilt yields extended their recent rise as investors now see rates increasing to 5% this year. But there are already strong signs that the UK’s economy is slowing down.