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Qrops – Things To Remember
Investment market volatility and currency exchange remains a challenge. Things are still very volatile and we are in unique global influencing territory. In conjunction with investment returns, currency exchange continues to concern many expats with UK Pensions, QROPS and now QNUPS. Sterling reversed early losses to jump more than a cent against the dollar and half a cent versus the euro yesterday after unexpected strong UK retail sales data, which has now raised hopes and fuelled sentiment that the British economy can maintain its momentum in the third quarter. "The retail sales data were way stronger than expected and genuinely good numbers. There weren't any 'funny' factors which boosted the reading," said a currency strategist. The Office for National Statistics said retail sales had risen by 1.1% on the month, the strongest growth since February and had by far exceeded analyst forecasts of a 0.4% rise. On the year, retail sales rose 1.3% in volume terms, again above forecasts of a 0.6% rise. These better than expected figures were also supported by a rise in factory orders to a two year high which now bodes well for the recovery after exceptionally strong second-quarter growth and alleviated concerns that the economy would eventually lose steam. Despite this uplifting data, the majority of economists still believe the UK economy will continue to deteriorate in 2011, and the Bank of England reported a further decline in business and mortgage lending as well as the weakest annual broad money growth in 27 years. Other data released yesterday in the UK by the Bank of England, showed money supply grew at the slowest pace since at least 1983 and bank lending contracted for a ninth month, suggesting a credit squeeze may be becoming more entrenched. M4, the broadest measure of money supply, expanded 2.3% in July from a year earlier. That’s the lowest rate since monthly date started. The number of mortgage loans granted by a six bank lending panel fell to 47,000 from 48,000 in June, a 14-month low. Loans to small and medium sized businesses contracted 2% on the year. Figures from the National Statistics showed Public Sector Net Borrowing also fell in July as corporation tax receipts bounced back sharply from last year. Public Sector Net Borrowing came in at £3.1bn in July, down from £5.5bn in the same month and below the expected figure of £4 billion. The data suggest public sector deficits have peaked and are slowly moving in a downward trend. Important figures in the US yesterday showed the number of Americans filing initial claims for jobless benefits increased by 12,000 last week, pushing the total number above the half million mark. It's the first time since November that initial claims have been above the 500,000 mark. It was also the fourth increase in five weeks and shocked analysts, who had anticipated a reasonable drop. Initial jobless claims have declined steadily for the past year from a peak of 651,000 in March 2009 as employers reduced the number of redundancies and began hiring. Economists were looking for the number to fall below 425,000 and stay there before assuming that the economy was actively creating new jobs. Gerard Associates Ltd advises expats and people considering living abroad on the technical and currency options available for Pensions, QROPS, QNUPS and investments in a clear format allowing all customers to make an informed choice. Our service encompasses Pensions, investments, currency exchange and guidance on taxation in most popular ‘sunnier’ climates. This with the re-assurance and security of UK authorised and regulated advice – essential tools for your security. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Russel Mori writes for Gerard Associates LTD, for more information on QROPS, QROPS Pensions, QROPS List, QROPS providers, QROPS Guernsey info available online at www.gerardassociates.co.uk |
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