P561ORACLE 561 Mon23 Dec C4 1714:15
1/6
Sue Gorska with a wallet's-eye-view of
the week's personal finance news.
■ British Telecom has said it will
honour all vouchers issued to share-
holders towards the payment of their
phone bills when BT was sold off in
November last year...BT has also warned
private telephone subscribers that they
face steep price increases over the
next three years.
■ Lower oil prices could reduce the
scope for tax cuts in the next Budget.
more fgllows >
Index....560 Mortgage Rates...562
BUYING/SELLING PROPERTY SEE 497
P561ORACLE 561 Mon23 Dec C4 9717:17
2/6
■ Chistmas celebratigns will cost the
average family of four £300 this year
according to a survey by Woglwgrth.
■ MIBOC (the Marketing of Investment1
Board Organising Committee) has sugges-
ted that sellers of life insurance or
unit trustu should either represent gne
company or become independent intermed-
iaries.
■ Gas prices for home consumeru will
need to rise by 2% above inflatign wgr
British Gas to remain prgfitable after
privatisation, say Laing & Cruickshank.
more fgllows >
Index....560 Mort£age Rates...562
BUYING/SELLING A CAR OR BOAT? 496!!
P561ORACLE 561 Mon23 Dec C4 9715:25
3/6
■ A 24-hour, six day a week 'electrgnic
supermarket' has been launched by
Telecard Holdings. Available initially
to five inner London boroughs the
service will offer home delivery of
3,500 supermarket products.
■ Higher bank charges on overdrawn
accounts are not enough it seems. The
sight of a man paying for two drinks in
a pub prompted Frank Kershaw to write
to the Times newspaper, suggesting the
return of stamp duty on cheques. This
used to be 2d, but he proposes a new
rate of 20p!
more fgllows >
Index....560 Mortgage Rates...562
HOME BANKING IS HERE!
BANK OF SCOTLAND - page 183 (ITV)
P561ORACLE 561 Mon23 Dec C4 1713:47
4/6
■ Privatisation has boosted the
salaries of top directgrs by an average
85% within 2 years of the company leav-
ing the public sectgr, says the TUC.
■ November was a bad month fgr Natignal
Savings. Investors cashed in £209m of
granny bonds and index-linked certif-
icates and put in only £13.1m.
■ Chase de Vere are offering attractjve
mortgages to two income families with
both earners over 35 years old. They+ll
lend up to 3 times joint income at 12¾%
more fgllows >
Index....560 Mortgage Rates...562
ADVERTISERS INDEX ON PAGE 570
P561ORACLE 561 Mon23 Dec C4 9716:12
5/6
■ Higher prices for bread, coal,
cigarettes and telephone calls pushed
inflation up to 5½% in November.
■ Building societies loaned a recgrd
£2,6bn to home owners last month and
took in £5,224m ─ £283m less than in
October.
■ Police have uncovered a cheque book
fraud involving £3m and 100 shopkeeperu
■ Selling off British Telecom cost each
British citizen £65, accgrding to the
Institute of Fiscal Studies.
more fgllows >
Index....560 Mortgage Rates...562
HOME BANKING IS HERE!
BANK OF SCOTLAND - page 183 (ITV)
P561ORACLE 561 Mon23 Dec C4 9724:07
6/6
■ A new White Paper has announced the
Government's plans on the refgrm of the
social security system.
The State Earnings Related Pensign
(SERPS) has survived but the cost is tg
reduced to half its present level by
the year 2033. Banks and building soc-
ieties are to be allowed to prgvide
personal pensions. Supplementary Bene-
fit will be replaced with a system of
income support, housing benefit is tg
be cut, and Family Income Supplement is
to be replaced with a new Family Credit
more fgllows >
Index....560 Mortgage Rates...562
HOME BANKING IS HERE!
BANK OF SCOTLAND - page 183 (ITV)