Life expectancy slows

Life expectancy continues to rise in the UK

A paper published in August by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) casts new light on old age and life expectancy in the UK. Life expectancy has been increasing in the UK for a long time, as our graph shows. In 1980, the average life expectancy at birth was 70.6 years for a man and…

The record S&P 500 bull run

The US stock market set a new record for the longest-ever bull market in August. Wednesday 22 August 2019 saw the S&P 500 drop – by less than 0.1% – after 3,453 days, making it the longest-ever bull run (a period of rising share prices) for the index, which is used by professional investors’…

Life expectancy – slowing down our old age

A paper published in August by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) casts new light on old age and life expectancy in the UK. Life expectancy has been increasing in the UK for a long time, as our graph shows. In 1980, the average life expectancy at birth was 70.6 years for a man and…

Interest rates creeping up after nine years

Interest rates on the way says The Bank of England

The Bank of England increased the base interest rate in August to 0.75% – the second increase in 12 months. The Bank’s decision to raise the rate to its highest level in nearly nine and a half years was no great surprise to the investment community. Of more interest to the experts were the comments…

Record inheritance tax revenues ahead of simplification review

2017/18 produced record inheritance tax (IHT) receipts according to HMRC data published in July. The latest release of the annual statistics revealed IHT produced £5.228 billion for the Exchequer in 2017/18, an increase of two thirds over just five years. As the graph shows, IHT revenue has been rising rapidly since Treasury receipts hit a…

Student loan interest rates increase

The rates charged on student loans rose at the start of September. The revised terms for interest on, and repayment of, student loans were published in August, along with the A level results for the year. From 1 September, the main interest rates for Plan 2 loans, taken out by students and recent graduates in…