For some this will be unwelcome news as this figure is often used to set wage rises and UK Government pension and benefits increases.

But for savers who have taken a battering as interest rates have been slashed it at least means that the return on their savings can be inflation busting as even with interest rates at 0.5% there are savings accounts available paying 4.40%.  The budget yesterday gave the over 50′s an increased ISA limit but with many of the banks and building societies paying less than 1% on ISAs it is not such a good deal as even after tax a 3 or 4% savings rate will earn more.  So if you have some money to save we have just updated the savings rates pages.

Best Savings Rates

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Here are some of them.

FurReal Biscuit,A toy dog that obeys commands and will sit up and beg or lie down if told to. It RRP’s for £149 although currently is available for £125 and Hasbro are already rationing it to retailers so if you want one for christmas might be worth buying it early or else you might find this toy costing you a lot more later on Ebay.

Elmo Furry doll is expected to be another best selling toy this Christmas along with The High School Musical Dance Mat, the Catcha Beast by Bandai and the Star Wars Clone Trooper Voive Changer.

The full list of anticipated best selling toys for christmas 2008 is here. Best Christmas Toys for 2008. Normally i think it is best to buy late as stores drop prices to clear stocks but with the bestselling toys probably best to buy early to guarantee availability and to prevent the possiblity of having to buy these toys at inflated prices on Ebay.

Personally i am sure the Wii console and Wii fit will continue to be up there as best sellers too.

Stumble it!

With RPI hitting 5% in September 2008 i thought it was time to see what accounts allow a real positive return and it is not good.

RPI at 5% means a basic rate tax payer needs a gross return of 6.25% and a 40% taxpayer needs 8.33%. If you are not getting these rates on your current savings accounts your savings are losing value in real terms. Even many ISA’s are paying less than 5% so also bad news.

The best of the bunch for ISA’s is the Post Office paying 6.25% on £1 minimum. If you don’t have that amount consider the HSBC ISA paying 6.25% on minimum £1.

The best of the fixed rate bonds are ICICI 7.2% requiring £1000+ and the AA paying 7.21% on minimum £500+ . These will give inflation beating returns for a standard tax payer but not if you pay 40%.

For fully regulated regular saver accounts the best are Darlington Building Society requiring a minimum of £50 per month paying 8% and the Chorley Building Society santa Saver paying 8.25%. Great for a basic tax payer but not so good if you are a higher rate tax payer.

The Government backed NS&I savings certificates pay 1% plus the RPI over 3 years or five years-or 6% this is equivalent to 10% for a higher rate tax payer so well worth considering if you can afford to lock your money up for that time.

Two others but with greater risk are the Halifax International regular saver paying 10% but as it is offshore if disaster strikes you are not fully protected and Zopa, Zopa again has greater risk although i use it and currently over the last couple of months an estimated return of 10% after anticipated bad debts and fees is feasible. (again you are locking some of your money up for 3 or 5 years) If zopa interests you i blogged about it previously.

One final thought is that the Bank of England forecasts RPI tumbling next year and with swap rates falling it is unlikely many of the higher rate fixed rate bonds will be around much longer so might be worth grabbing one while they are still available.

More information on all the latest savings rates is available at http://www.carpetbagging.co.uk

original text http://blog.carpetbagging.co.uk/

I am just wondering who will be next as less widely acknowledged is the fact that both Cheshire and Derbyshire Building Societies appear to have been bailed out by Nationwide Building Society. (Derbyshire Building Society having made a 17 million loss in first 6 months)

I am still digesting all the news after my holiday so still considering the implications the reduction of competition in the banking sector is going to have for both borrowers and savers in the years to come but in the meantime i would recommend everyone as a precaution to consider where possible, making sure they don’t have more than the 35,000 covered by the financial services compensation scheme in any one organisation. (35,000 each for joint accounts). Further details can be found here.FSCS

Money Quiz

CPI inflation is running at the highest level since the series began in January 1997, and based on older historical data, was last as fierce in April 1992. It has now been above the Government’s 2% target mark since October last year.

Inflation as measured by the Retail Prices Index (RPI) – which includes mortgage payments and is often used for pay negotiations – rose to 5% from 4.6%.

The latest CPI rise was driven by rampant food inflation, which hit 13.7% last month and contributed nearly half the 0.6% jump.

Meat products such as bacon and sausages and mince soared 16% in the past, while milk, cheese and eggs were nearly a fifth as dear. Higher petrol and utility bills, as well as airfares, were also significant factors.

Economists highlighted a sharp rise in core CPI inflation, which strips out energy and food impact and which rose 0.3% to 1.9% in July.

That provided evidence of wider inflationary pressure on top of energy prices, and was likely to put off rate cuts for hard-pressed homeowners as the Bank tries to dampen down price growth, they argued.

http://www.carpetbagging.co.uk