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The Prudential is warning people that the current state pension cannot be relied upon to provide a decent standard of living. A spokesman from the Prudential said that everyone should be putting more money aside for retirement from a much earlier age. Without this financial provision there are going to be many people finding life very hard as they reach retirement, something that no-one wants to see. According to Prudential figures well over a third of people actually lose sleep thinking about the financial pressures they will face in retirement. This situation can be resolved through forward planning and saving over a longer period of time. As long as the pension provision can be afforded by the individual and day to day living can still be enjoyed then early pension planning can transform the future.
According to a Lloyds TSB poll of UK consumers inflation is expected to rise yet again, this being the tenth month in succession where the people of the UK have felt that inflation would increase. The monthly survey carried out by Lloyds TSB has seen the expectation of people for inflation in 12 months time to be at 5 percent, up from the 4.8 percent they had forecast a month earlier. It is interesting that the recent price reductions on fuel at the forecourt did not stop people from anticipating this further increase. A different view comes from the Bank of England say Lloyds TSB, with their own forecast being that inflation will be lower than 2 percent within two years.
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.
