Sainsburys Bank is advising those travelling abroad to get their currency arrangements sorted out in good time to avoid losing money on commission charges and lower exchange rates.
Travellers who sort their currency out at the airport, as well as those who arrange their currency abroad, will find themselves out of pocket compared with doing it all in the UK prior to trave believes Sainsburys Bank. Waiting to the last minute leaves travellers with no options but to take the poorer exchange rates on offer and ultimately receiving less in their pocket.
A Sainsburys Bank spokesman hoped that travellers would bear this advice in mind. He felt it would be a shame if, after trying to get the best deals all year round on their purchases, they let themselves down on something so important like foreign currency.
Barclays Bank recently announced they were considering a sale of shares to avoid a rights issue and this has led to interest from Temasek Holdings in Singapore and QIA, the Qatar Investment Authority.
The bank is looking to raise over GBP4 billion to fund the different areas of business, such as Barclays Insurance, as well as the high street banking operation. The QIA, which holds a stake of over 15 percent in the London Stock Exchange, expressed an interest in European banks as early as January this year, so they are seen to be a very interested party already.
Temasek Holdings also have a 2 percent stake in Barclays Bank already and will be very interested to see how the numbers add up for this latest opportunity. There has been talk of valuations needing to be reassessed although nothing firm has come from this to date. Perhaps as buyers get nearer to committing Barclays will need to ensure everything is in place to make the sales process a smooth one.
Looking at the small business environment in the UK Direct Line has found that nearly a quarter of people running small businesses will not enjoy a day off on bank Holiday Monday.
Compared with the minimum 20 days holiday entitlement given to employees, small business owners take an average of just over 13 days holiday per year. The 20 days does not include Bank Holidays either, of which there are 8 each year. Looking at new start up businesses the holiday situation is even worse. Direct Line found that over 65 percent of people in business for less than 6 months have not taken any time off at all.
A Direct Line spokeswoman, commenting on the findings, commended the dedication shown by small business owners, seeing them working so hard to make their business a success.
