MOA Finance

Archive for the ‘Student Finance England’ Category

Personal finance is firmly on the school curriculum with over 10,000 pupils in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland looking forward to gaining finance qualifications, that they hope will enable them to pursue careers in the financial services industry.

The teenagers are studying optional GCSE, AS and A-level equivalent courses that have been designed as ‘stand-alone’ qualifications, and are delivered by the IFS School of Finance educational charity. Although approved by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) schools can choose whether or not to offer the additional subjects to students.

The GCSE equivalent courses were only launched a year ago and have already attracted 5,700 students. This follows on from the success of the AS and A-level equivalent courses that have attracted 4,500 pupils to enrol since 2005. Although the content of the GCSE course is designed to enable students to grasp basic financial concepts such as budgeting, opening and maintaining accounts and using different payment methods, the AS & A levels are far more in-depth providing a foundation for those wishing to work in the financial services sector.

Director of external affairs at IFS School of Finance, Anne Kiem said: “The fact that more than 10,000 14-19 year olds are now gaining the skills necessary to manage their own finances and make informed financial decisions is clearly great news.”

It is hoped that as well as basic financial skills the courses will encourage pupils to find out more about how the financial markets work in the UK, and offer a simple understanding of how complex financial products such as mortgages and life insurance work. Currently, schools must include citizenship in their curriculum but there is no requirement for personal finance to be taught at any level.

However, the government has announced plans to include personal finance modules within existing, related subjects such as personal social and health education (PSHE), following expert advice that the subject should be taught more widely in the UK.

Secretary of State Ed Balls has indicated that pupils will be taught “essential financial life skills” through the functional maths and revamped PHSE, which from September 2008 will include a new module covering economic wellbeing. But, he has stated that the “economic wellbeing” aspect will remain voluntary prompting the IFS School of Finance to lament a missed opportunity.

With the backing of the Building Societies Association and the British Bankers Association it believed that personal finance should be put on an equal footing with subjects such as history, geography and modern languages, meaning that although all students are not compelled to study personal finance, the schools will be forced to offer it as part of the curriculum.

The number of approvals for mortgage loans in April fell for the 12th consecutive month, according to new statistics from the Bank of England.

According to the month’s figures, there were 58,000 loans approved for the use of house purchase, while 52,000 loans were granted for other purposes. However, while both of these figures were down against March figures, the number of remortgaging deals increased over the April period. Although there was a net increase in total lending to individuals, the growth rate fell from 0.6 per cent in March to 0.5 per cent in April. In total, 7.3 billion pounds worth of loans were approved in April, with 6.4 billion pounds of the net total granted for secured loans deals.

The increase in net consumer credit (900 million pounds) was below the growth rate seen in March and the previous six month average. Consumer credit constitutes credit card lending and other forms of lending and advances such as student loans.

Overall, there were 5,000 fewer mortgage loan approvals than there were in March and 15,000 less than there were in January. Furthermore, while there were 98,000 successful remortgage applications March, in April that figure rose to 106,000.

Following the release of these statistics, independent financial advice service the Motley Fool has urged consumers to prepare for the 13th consecutive monthly fall in mortgage approvals. David Kuo, head of personal finance at the group, asserts that with fewer than 2,000 mortgages approved each day over the course of the month, this is the lowest approval rate seen in any month since the Bank began mapping the data in 1999.

“The drop is not unexpected given that lenders have been exploiting the Bank of England’s three interest rate cuts this year to beef up their own balance sheets. But it is, nevertheless, a wake-up call for homeowners hoping to put their properties on the market this year. In the space of a year, the housing market has turned from a strong seller’s market to a brawny buyer’s market. But with more tightening likely, the fall in monthly mortgage approvals could extend to 13 next month,” said Mr Kuo.

According to the group, property prices may drop by as much as 20 per cent over the course of the year. As such, it advises sellers to reevaluate the price of their property to avoid seeing a deal fall through at the eleventh hour.

“It means forgetting about how much your property was worth previously, but how much it may be worth tomorrow,” Mr Kuo concluded.

Meanwhile, for those who are finding it difficult to obtain a mortgage deal due to an unfavourable debt history, taking out a debt consolidation loan may prove to be of assistance in helping to get finances back on track and begin making regular repayments to improve credit ratings.

The Bank of England figures follow March statistics published earlier last month by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. According to the group, which represents 98 per cent of UK mortgage lenders, there were 46,500 home loan approvals over the course, down from 47,200 in February.

Boston is the most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is the capital. As New Englands largest, most important city, Boston is far older than the republic. And is also a contemporary centre of high finance and higher technology, not to mention home of the pub that inspired televisions long running Cheers.

Boston is often called the most European of U.S. cities owing to its walk able scale and human sized Victorian and Colonial buildings, its bookish mien, acres of public parks, and lively cafe restaurant culture.

The nicest times to visit Boston is summertime it is worth considering for the sidewalk cafes, outdoor concerts, baseball games, and harbour cruises, winter is nicest in the holiday season when decorations and maybe a fresh snowfall make the historic parts of town into picture postcards. In September, students flock back to the universities of Boston and Cambridge, creating something of a carnival atmosphere.

Ice cream has been central to Boston living for more than 150 years, and many restaurants here include a few uncommon flavours on the menu. You may be offered a lobster sausage or wood-roasted lobster with a vanilla sauce. Bostonians have caught the passion for artisanal breads, brewpubs with homemade ales, espresso shops with fine cakes.

In the 1930s Boston had no fewer than 50 performing arts theatres by the 1980s, the citys downtown Theatre District had all but vanished. Happily, in the late 1990s several historic theatres saw major restoration, opening to host pre Broadway shows. More recently, the long awaited renovation of The Opera House in 2004 has added new light to the district. For its size, Boston is the most musical city in America.

Downtown Crossing near Boston Common is home to one of the citys most famous attractions for stylish bargains Filenes Basement a no car area. Newbury Street, a renowned, eight-block stretch whose shops cater to every taste, from upper crust to cutting edge. Quincy Market is definitely a top tourist spot and filled with them but you cannot beat this area for the people watching, shops, and restaurants and street performers.

Boston nightclubs are divided into crowds. Armani clad international students head out late, after taking over one of the swanky restaurants on Newbury Street for pre clubbing martinis. Baseball cap sporting students fill up clubs and pubs along Lansdowne Street, and hipsters bar-hop from Cambridge clubs to Allston Rock City and Jamaica Plain to catch live bands. There is also a thriving lounge scene in downtowns coolest hybrid bar restaurant clubs.