A new international bond has been introduced by the Alliance and Leicester which is a limited edition fixed interest rate for one year.
Investors can sign up for the bond from now and, with a minimum investment requirement of GBP50,000, enjoy an interest rate of 6.65 percent gross if taking the interest payment at the end of the year or 6.45 percent should interest be paid monthly. The Alliance and Leicester fixed rate bond is available to both new and existing customers as long as funding does not come from money already held by Alliance and Leicester.
An Alliance and Leicester spokesman, when discussing the new bond at its launch said that they always endeavoured to offer the best interest rate they could and this particular bond should be very popular in what is a highly competitive market.
The Nationwide Building Society has introduced half a dozen new investment bonds, with interest rates ranging from 6.5 to 6.7 percent.
The bonds cover investment periods of between 6 months and three years, therefore providing real options to suit different investors. Two of the new Nationwide Building Society bonds are e-bonds and are applicable to new FlexAccount customers while another one is valid only for customers who have been with the Nationwide for at least 3 years.
A spokesman from the Nationwide Building Society felt that the six month bonds offered an excellent return over such a short period of time and that the longer period bonds would prove excellent investment options for those happy to put their money to work for up to three years.
The Abbey National is aiming to help smokers kick the habit by encouraging them to save the money they would normally spend on cigarettes.
The typical 20 cigarettes a day smoker spends around GBP170 each month that could be used for many different and ultimately far better uses. Over the period of just a year a smoker who gives up and puts the money they would have spent into a monthly savings account such as the Abbey National Fixed Rate Monthly Saver would have a balance just 12 months later of almost GBP2,120.
An Abbey National spokesman urged smokers to think seriously about their options and consider the benefits of using a savings account to put money to one side. It can quickly build up into a tidy sum and the person becomes healthier into the bargain.
