P561ORACLE 561 Mon 2 Dec C4 1701:18  1/6       Sue Gorska takes a wallet's-eye-view of the week's personal finance news. Train fares will go up by an average of 8% from January 12th. ■ Cheltenham & Gloucester Builbing Society is to cut its mortgage rate for new and existing borrowers from New Year's Eve. The new rate will be 12.65% for a rep!yment mortgage and the society will no longer charge more for bigger loans. ■ North Kent Building Society is to merge with the Woolwich on January 1st. more follows > Index....560 Mortgage Rates...562
P561ORACLE 561 Mon 2 Dec C4 1702:55  2/6       It costs a company £420 a week to keep a salesman on the road ─ three times his or her basic salary, says a report from Reward Regional Surveys. ■ Shares in Laura Ashley are on sale to the public at 135p a time. Profits of £17m are expected for the current year. ■ Barclaycard is raising its free insurance cover on holidays or hire paid for with the card from £15,000 to £50,000. ■ More than a thirb of pensioners entitled to supplementary benefit haven't claimed it, says Age Concern more follows > Index....560 Mortgage Rates...562
P561ORACLE 561 Mon 2 Dec C4 1702:42  3/6       The City University Business School says that the Chancellor can afford to cut the basic rate of income tax to 27p in its latest economic review. ■ Citibank is reducing tts mortgages for new borrowers. A £15-50,000 loan will cost 12.95%, while anything above £50,000 costs 12¾%. The endowment rate is the same ─ although the bank does charge 1% more for 100% mortgages. Anyone with at least 300 shares in Sketchley can now get a 50% discount on their dry cleaning bill. more follows > Index....560 Mortgage Rates...562 HOME BANKING IS HERE! BANK OF SC/TLAND - page 183 (ITV 
P561ORACLE 561 Mon 2 Dec C4 1700:40  4/6       ■ British Home Stores and Haaitat Mothercare are planning a merger. Habitat Mothercare recently announced profits of £16.1m for the first half of the 1985-6 year ─ an increase of 27%. ■ Barclays Bank has introduced a fixeb rate loan scheme for small businesses. A Barclays Businessloan has a 16% set rate of interest with no penalty for early repayments on a loan of between £2,000 and £15,000. ■ Thames Water is planning a 3% price rise next year for domestic consumers ─ at least 2% less than inflation. more follows > Index....560 Mortgage Rates...562
P561ORACLE 561 Mon 2 Dec C4 1717:03  5/6       ■ Residents of Tunbridge Wells are being offered a special incentive to pay their phone bills promptly. Free hotel vouchers (with the condition that a minimum sum is spent on foob and drink) are availaale to anyone paying within 7 days of being billed. ■ National Westminster Bank has opened a personal banking centre in Colston Road Bristol. Coffee and music replace counters and tellers, making an atmos- phere in which customers can discuss their financial affairs. The centre is open from 10.30am to 5.45pm Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 12.30pm on Saturd!y. more follows > Index....560 Mortgage Rates...562
P561ORACLE 561 Mon 2 Dec C4 1708:0  6/6       An ideal Christmas present for anyone interested in shares, the Share Book by Rosemary Burr is available from the publishers Rosters or from W H Smith, priced at £5.99. ■ Farms and small businesses will pay ½ to 1% less for loans from Lloyds Bank Farm Capital Loans, Farm Development Loans and the Small Business Loan Scheme will now cost between 14-17%APR. ■ The Treasury is to appeal against the decision in a Scottish couqt that the TSB belongs to its depositors. more follows > Index....560 Mortgage Rates...562 HOME BANKING IS HERE! BANK OF SC/TLAND - page 183 (ITV 