Belfast Telegraph

Public cuts to bring private pain: Belfast Telegraph

A cut in corporation tax for Northern Ireland of perhaps 10% is on the cards should the Conservatives win the general election.  But the sting in the tale is that this would be matched by spending cuts that would be additional to severe reductions government departments already face.
 
Shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Owen [...]

Dire interest rates see few saving: Belfast Telegraph

Fewer people are saving and those who do are saving less.  Figures from the Government’s National Savings & Investments arm make worrying reading.  Average monthly savings have fallen from £90 a year ago to £82 now.
This should be no surprise.  Savings rates are low and will remain so following last week’s decision by the Bank [...]

Economic future is bright for city with culture: Belfast Telegraph

 
Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture earned the city around £800m in extra income – half of which came directly from tourism. If Londonderry becomes the first ever UK City of Culture in 2013, the economic benefit will not match Liverpool’s – but should be substantial nonetheless.
As part of the bidding process, the city [...]

Why going to the Ombudsman is worth it: Belfast Telegraph

 
The latest figures on financial services complaints make interesting reading – and should concern financial services companies and consumers.
 
Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service - which can require finance firms to compensate consumers for monetary loss or poor service – rose by18% in the second half of last year. The grim economic conditions have made [...]

Shine a light: Belfast Telegraph

 
Often the best business ideas come from trying to overcome challenges that seem to have no existing commercial solution. This was the case with Shane Meehan, founder and partner of Newry’s Media Lightbox.
 
“I was working in marketing at the time and the idea came from a problem we had in finding images and distributing them,” [...]

Taking the water: Belfast Telegraph

 
It might be thought that water is self-evidently a healthy drink. But various scares have led to some consumers questioning this.
 
First there was the Perrier Water crisis, when traces of benzene were found in some bottles. Harmful bacteria entered the tap water supply in various parts of the Republic. And there have been allegations about [...]

Northern Ireland customers face top credit card rates: Belfast Telegraph

 Northern Ireland consumers using Northern Bank credit cards may be paying the highest interest charges applying anywhere on the UK credit card market – an astonishing 100 times the base rate set by the Bank of England.
 
 
According to analysis from Moneyfacts, Northern Bank charges 48.9% interest on its Platinum Mastercard. This gives it the [...]

Cooking up success: Belfast Telegraph

 
Fine dining doesn’t require fine restaurants. As the recession has hit incomes, so more people have turned to home cooking and the Chef Shop has benefited as a result.
 
Vincent McKenna, himself an experienced chef, opened his first Chef Shop in Belfast 12 years ago, selling high quality cooking equipment. And his business has steadily expanded [...]

Kicking the credit card habit: Belfast Telegraph

 
The big problem with relying on credit cards was dramatically highlighted last week by the report by Moneyfacts showing that several card issuers charge over 30% interest at a time when the bank rate is a mere 0.50%. Credit on cards has become more expensive, even while money has – theoretically – got cheaper.
 
What received [...]

Pensioners face poor living standards: Belfast Telegraph

Crisis is an overused word — especially in the last couple of years in relation to the global recession.
 
But crisis is the best word to describe the financial situation facing most people who plan to retire in the next few years.
Several reports have just been published reviewing the current pensions environment — and each presents [...]