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	<title>Family Finance Weblog</title>
	<link>http://www.life-assurance-bureau.co.uk/family-finance</link>
	<description>Brokers Online presents a collection of family finance based articles</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:08:49 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA): What it is and what it will do</title>
		<description><![CDATA[	The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is one of the successor agencies to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and is currently expected to be established by end-2012.
	The FCA’s focus will be to regulate both wholesale and retail financial firms providing services to consumers and to maintain the integrity of the U.K.’s financial markets.
	The authority will have [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.life-assurance-bureau.co.uk/family-finance/2012/01/14/the-financial-conduct-authority-fca-what-it-is-and-what-it-will-do/</link>
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		<title>Virgin Money launches first savings accounts</title>
		<description><![CDATA[	Virgin money has announced their first two savings accounts since Virgin Money officially acquired Northern Rock plc on 1 January 2012.
	The two new accounts, Virgin Easy Access Saver and Virgin Easy Access Cash ISA offer a competitive annual interest rate of 2.85% that remains the same regardless of how the account is opened. This means [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.life-assurance-bureau.co.uk/family-finance/2012/01/08/virgin-money-launches-first-savings-accounts/</link>
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		<title>Property market forecasts for 2012</title>
		<description><![CDATA[	Despite the adverse economic climate, positive factors such as the low interest rates offered in the market as well as the promise of safer mortgage lending rules from FSA contributed to house prices rising by a modest 1% in 2011, according to Nationwide, with London prices surpassing the 5% mark. 
	In reality, the 1% increase [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.life-assurance-bureau.co.uk/family-finance/2012/01/02/property-market-forecasts-for-2012/</link>
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		<title>FSA proposes new, safer mortgage lending rules</title>
		<description><![CDATA[	Earlier today, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) announced plans for a new set of mortgage lending rules to prevent “a return of the risky mortgage lending seen in boom times”.
	The new set of rules should prevent homeowners from borrowing more than they can afford and are likely to come in full effect by 2013.
	FSA’s latest [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.life-assurance-bureau.co.uk/family-finance/2011/12/19/fsa-proposes-new-safer-mortgage-lending-rules/</link>
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		<title>Millions of Britons take on Christmas Debt</title>
		<description><![CDATA[	This year’s Christmas period will see almost one in three Britons slip into some form of debt to fund their holiday spending, according to an online survey on Christmas spending by YouGov. (pdf, 815 KB)
	The online survey was conducted on behalf of Halifax and yielded some very interesting, if not alarming, results. According to the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.life-assurance-bureau.co.uk/family-finance/2011/12/13/millions-of-britons-take-on-christmas-debt/</link>
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		<title>Payday loans: a quick solution or a troubling trend?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[	Payday loans are small, unsecured loans with sky-high interest rates, aimed at people who struggle to make ends meet each month until their payday.
	Payday loans usually range from £300 to £1000 and since they are supposed to be short-term their interest rates can soar up to 30% or more for some providers. This translates into [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.life-assurance-bureau.co.uk/family-finance/2011/12/07/payday-loans-a-quick-solution-or-a-troubling-trend/</link>
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		<title>All-time record in mortgate repayments underlines concerns for the economy</title>
		<description><![CDATA[	According to house equity withdrawal (HEW) data released by the bank of England on Wednesday, households are paying back a record amount on their mortgage.
	During the second quarter of 2011 alone, consumers paid back £9.1bn on their mortgages, amounting to 3.5% (-3.5% of HEW) of their post-tax income. This is the largest figure ever paid [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.life-assurance-bureau.co.uk/family-finance/2011/12/01/all-time-record-in-mortgate-repayments-underlines-concerns-for-the-economy/</link>
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		<title>The new Halifax 15-month interest-free credit card explained</title>
		<description><![CDATA[	In an effort to attract new buyers and motivate current customers during holidays, Halifax announced the extension of the 0% introductory rate deal on its all-in-one credit card to 15 months (up from 13 months) for both purchases and balance transfers.
	This is the longest combined balance transfer and purchase card deal currently in the market [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.life-assurance-bureau.co.uk/family-finance/2011/11/25/the-new-halifax-15-month-interest-free-credit-card-explained/</link>
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		<title>Northern Rock plc sold to Virgin Money</title>
		<description><![CDATA[	Forbes analysts explain that the mortgage crisis of 2007 had forced Northern Rock to turn to the Bank of England for liquidity support to meet short term debt obligations and unable to an acceptable offer from the private sector, Northern Rock was eventually nationalized on February 17, 2008.
	Now, the British Government is selling Northern Rock [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.life-assurance-bureau.co.uk/family-finance/2011/11/19/northern-rock-plc-sold-to-virgin-money/</link>
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		<title>New steering group for “Simple” financial products formed by HM Treasury</title>
		<description><![CDATA[	According to FSA (the Financial Services Authority), 52% of people find it too complicated to compare financial products and another 46% are unsure whether they are getting a good deal on a financial product or not.
	In an effort to help consumers choose between financial products Her Majesty’s Treasury has created a new steering group focused [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.life-assurance-bureau.co.uk/family-finance/2011/11/13/new-steering-group-for-%e2%80%9csimple%e2%80%9d-financial-products-formed-by-hm-treasury/</link>
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