Credence Independent Advisors Britain’s top spending tourists are Middle East Visitors
According to ‘Visit Britain’, the national tourism agency of Britain; tourists from the Middle East are Britain’s top spending international shoppers.
The survey shows that tourists from the Middle East are twice as likely as typical visitors to buy clothes and shoes. Kuwaiti visitors rank number one in terms of spending on shopping in the UK, followed by Nigerians in second place and Saudi Arabians in third place. A visitor from Kuwait on average delivers £4,000 to the UK economy, whereas a visitor from France delivers an average of £343 to the UK economy.
According to Global Blue, which tracks spending by overseas visitors, the lead-up to Ramadan is traditionally a key holiday period for luxury retailers and hotels as tourists from the Middle East come to the UK for their annual spending spree, escaping soaring temperatures at home. As a result of which London witnessed an increase in visitors from the Middle East, just before Ramadan this year.
According to Global Blue, wealthy Middle Eastern shoppers favour luxury brands, with more than half claiming shopping to be their favourite activity when visiting the UK. This is evident from the fact that the average transaction value of Middle Eastern shoppers in 2013 was £795.
The high spending of Middle Eastern shoppers has influenced the UK luxury retailers also, with some luxury retailers, including Smythson and Temperley, offering special experiences and bespoke products designed for Middle Eastern shoppers this year.
The pre-Ramadan influx of Middle Eastern visitors has also changed the way that luxury stores do business. With Ramadan starting earlier, luxury stores now tend to start their summer discounting earlier, and opt for short, sharp, sales periods, so that new season styles are in stores when visitors from the Middle East arrive.
Even though Middle Eastern visitors spend the most when it comes to cutting edge fashion, Visit Britain found out that they don’t spend much on British food and drink.
When it comes to spending on British food and drinks; 34% of Belgians, 32% of French and 32% of Japanese visitors are most likely to buy British food and drink to take home.
In 2012 alone, international visitors spent £4.5bn in British shops, which was a quarter of total expenditure by foreign tourists that year.
Credence Independent Advisors was born from compelling opportunity in the financial services world. In the ever changing dynamic world of financial services it is important for us to tailor advice and solutions to individual needs. We are always on the lookout for top quality professionals that want a long term career in financial services. Whether from Investment banking, Wealth Management or financial planning background if you would like to be with a firm with a compelling client and advisor proposition.
Credence Independent Advisors: A Look at FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act)
The United States global tax law; Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), came into effect on 1st July 2014.
The FATCA is at last here after a period of 4 years, initially developed in 2010 as an approach to make America’s corporations and private individuals stop evading America’s taxes by depositing their money into their accounts in foreign countries.
The act requires foreign banks and foreign financial institutions to inform about every American who owns an account and even to hold back money from those particular clients who are suspected of tax evasion to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States.
The IRS and Treasury have important FATCA projects to complete. The IRS still has to bring up to date its withholding agreements for Withholding Foreign Trusts and Withholding Foreign Partnerships to depict FATCA, which it has guaranteed for July. In addition, there are numerous areas where the IRS and Treasury still have to make alterations as promised to the FATCA policies.
For over a year, America has been busy negotiating; information sharing policy with countries around the globe, and up till now, 77,000 financial institutions and 86 countries has registered for FACTA. The countries which have already reached official or opening agreements with America also include China and Russia.
In spite of the alteration period rules, United States and Foreign Financial Institutions withholding agents have yet to put up efforts to put the FATCA rules as of July 1, 2014 into practice. The efforts consist of training sessions with employees, instruction manuals and modifications to policy manuals that would make the workforce aware of the requirement to file customers’ FATCA status on opening accounts. Furthermore, the withholding agents of Foreign Financial Institutions and United States will be made to keep an account of the efforts made in a file for trouble-free access. As the IRS agents may ask for evidence of a party’s efforts in good faith to operate in accordance with FATCA.
Lastly, provided that a withholding agent selects not to be indulgent regarding FATCA documentation, parties should in general consider to be required to give the documentation to the mediator.
Collecting tax is one of the most common ways of increasing revenue for a nation. FATCA grew out of a contentious rule; that the citizens of America, even if they are permanent residents abroad are taxed on their all-inclusive, global income despite of where they live. It also helps a country to keep check on spending and saving capabilities of their citizens.
Hence, it could be highly important for the economic survival of a nation and for the better living standards of their citizens. If not financially sound, a country risks its citizens living in an unsecure environment. Therefore, it is important for governments to properly manage their tax processes in order to avoid any lack of management.
Credence Independent Advisors was born from a compelling opportunity in the financial services world. In the ever changing dynamic world of financial services, it is important for us to tailor advice and solutions to individual needs. Clients need solutions that make them money and preserve their capital and advisors need happy clients with increasing wealth under management. By harnessing the skills of top quality experienced professionals and cutting edge technology, we are able to bring what was previously only available for multi-million dollar clients to a wider reaching client range and we have done this independently. You can like us at our Facebook Page, join us at Linkedin Page, follow us at Pinterest and gather more info at Etsy Page
Credence Independent Advisors: 209,000 jobs added by US economy in July
July witnessed an addition of 209,000 jobs by US, showing that the US is on its course of economic recovery
The manufacturing and professional business services sector witnessed the biggest job gains.
There has also been a slight increase in the US labour market, which will encourage workers who have given up job hunt to enter the job market once again.
According to the Commerce Department, during the period April to June, the US economy grew by a better than expected 4 percent.
However, the latest data from the Bureau of Labour Statistic has shown that the unemployment rate has slightly increased to 6.2 percent.
The job data for May and June was also revised upwards to show that the US economy added 15,000 more jobs for May and June.
Variations along the way:
Even though some economists had been expecting higher figures, the US stock markets were below the less than expected gains.
Following steep losses the day before, the Dow Jones 100 Index fell down by almost 80 points.
Most analysts were of the view that there was nothing negative about the report. Jefferies, the US investment bank, in a note to clients stated; "The downward trend [in the unemployment rate] remains intact, but there will be bumps along the way to normalcy."
One of the possible reasons for the increase in the unemployment rate could be the fact that July is often one of the weaker months in terms of job growth. Nonetheless, the job figures for July are indeed encouraging, because the US economy just needs to add at least 150,000 jobs each month in order to keep up with the population growth. Furthermore, July is the sixth month in a row when the US economy has added more than 200,000 jobs.
This shows that the US is indeed on its course of economic recovery.
The need to still push on:
Janet Yellen, the US Federal Reserve chair, recently expressed that even though employment data is better than the one witnessed after the 2008-2009 recession. However, there are still some issues and challenges remaining. For instance, the wage growth still remains flat. Similarly, the number of long-term unemployed (people who are out of work for longer than six months) is also the same at 3.2 million (one-third of those looking for work).
In a recent interview with the New Yorker magazine, Janet said “Imagine I've got my hands on your shoulders and I'm pushing you."
"In the aftermath of the financial crisis, I was pushing you so hard; you couldn't get to where you wanted to go. Now that the economy is recovering I'm pushing you a little less hard, so you're able to make some forward movement. But I'm still pushing you."
A recent job fair in Boston, Massachusetts witnessed this sort of tension, where only a handful of employers had to deal with an overwhelmingly huge number of resumes.
According to an unemployed job seeker, Dwayne Burgess; "It is very tough out there - employers now have a ton of people to search through and they're looking for that perfect person and you really have to be competitive with that next person in front of you.”
Credence Independent Advisors was born from a compelling opportunity in the financial services world. In the ever changing dynamic world of financial services, it is important for us to tailor advice and solutions to individual needs. Clients need solutions that make them money and preserve their capital and advisors need happy clients with increasing wealth under management. By harnessing the skills of top quality experienced professionals and cutting edge technology, we are able to bring what was previously only available for multi-million dollar clients to a wider reaching client range and we have done this independently. Like us to our Facebook Page and more about us at our twitter @Credencewealth.
Credence Independent Advisors: Financial Planning
Most of our clients are expatriates living in favourable tax jurisdictions, but this will not be the case for all of them forever. Our advisors will always ensure that our clients are in the most favourable tax positions possible when returning to their homeland or their next overseas destination. We have a thorough understanding of how trust structures may benefit you and have access to estate planning tools to ensure that your money remains where you want it. We are experts in expatriate clients and will know or find the right solutions to ensure your financial planning puts you in the driving seat with your money.
Join us to our Linkedin Group and give your tip at our Foursquare
Credence Independent Advisors June witnessed a rise in UK mortgage approvals for the first time in four months
The UK mortgage approvals did see an increase in June, after four months, but were still 12 percent lower than January highs.
The UK mortgage approvals saw a rise in June, after declining from February to May; amid new stricter lending rules imposed by banks.
According to the Bank of England, after a four month decline and witnessing an 11-month low of 62,007 in May, the mortgage approvals rose to a four month high of 67,196 in June.
The implementation of tighter lending policy at the start of the year by high street banks and building societies was responsible for the changes witnessed in the mortgage approvals over the first two quarters of the year. The introduction of the Mortgage Market Review in April, which was designed to curb the excessive lending seen in the run up to the last housing market crash, further compounded the situation.
Mark Carney’s view of the hot housing market being the biggest threat to the UK’s economic recovery has further frightened buyers and lenders. Even though there has been an increase in the mortgage approvals for June, the approvals are still well below the 74-month high of 76,214 seen in January. This points out that the demand has declined because of record prices and the fact that under the new rules fewer people are managing to secure a mortgage.
The housing market has also witnessed some changes, with Right move reporting the first asking price falls of the year at the start of July and Home track announcing that it is now taking twice as long to sell your house in London as it did in March.
Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight says “Nevertheless, the appreciable rise in mortgage approvals reported by the Bank of England in June fuels uncertainty as to whether the recent loss of momentum in housing market activity is likely to be lasting or just a temporary development related to changing mortgage regulations, and whether there will be a significant easing back in house price growth."
Archer further adds on that "We take the view that while house prices will highly likely keep on rising over the coming months, it is probable that the gains will be more restrained compared to the recent peak levels."
Follow us at @Credencewealth and at our Pinterest
Credence Independent Advisors Wealth Management
Acquisition of wealth is one process; management of that wealth is a different story. It is very important to look at all future milestones, prioritize the importance of each event and ensure they are planned for carefully. Different financial milestones will be planned for with a different attitude towards risk and return. We can help you assess your own attitude towards risk and ensure your investment decisions are aligned with this. Our expert advisors will guide you to the right solutions for all of your wealth management requirements.
Credence Independent Advisors Global Equity markets at their best in August, after five months
The trading for the month of August ended on Friday the 29th, witnessing a rise in the global equity markets, reaching their peak in five months, since February.
The rise was attributed to the strong U.S. data and German bond yields rising up from their record lows, amid expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) would ease monetary policy next week, fading away.
The S&P 500 index; which is the U.S. benchmark, ended on Friday above the 2,000 milestone for the third time, setting a new closing high. The rise in the S&P for August is the best since February.
The euro-zone inflation fell down to its five-year low, which initially caused European shares to decline. However, the improvement of the U.S. economy caused the European shares to bounce back again. According to analysts, the decline in the euro-zone inflation was unlikely to lead ECB in to taking any action any time soon.
The U.S consumer spending also rose to a seven-year high in August, after witnessing a decline in July for the first time in six months; suggesting that the decline was most likely temporary. There was also a rapid rise in the factory activity in the Midwest, emphasizing the U.S. economy’s relatively strong fundamentals.
According to Andre Bakhos, the managing director of Janlyn Capital LLC "Economic numbers have been positive for the most part, people are drawing comfort from these numbers, using them as a justification for optimism."
Wall Street and European stocks closed higher, with .MIWD00000PUS (MSCI's gauge of worldwide stock performance) rising 1.9 percent in August, its best monthly performance since February. However, Wall Street outperformed European stocks by closing higher in August. For instance, the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rose by 4.8 percent, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 3.8 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI climbed 3.2 percent.
The index of top European shares; the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index closed up 0.33 percent at 1,373.82 points. The Euro STOXX 50 .STOXX50E rose 1.8 percent in August, its biggest monthly gain since February.
The start of the week witnessed a sharp decline in the European bond yields across the euro zone after Mario Draghi (President of ECB) highlighted a significant drop in inflation expectations. His comments also raised expectations that the ECB would deploy quantitative easing (QE), which is large-scale purchase of assets. These expectations helped in boosting enthusiasm for stocks, both in the euro zone and the U.S. and also weakened the Euro.
However, according to Wouter Sturkenboom, investment strategist at Russell Investments "What people realize is that for the ECB to engage in public-sector QE ... the ECB has to see the whites of the eyes of deflation."
After the report on euro zone inflation, the Euro rose to $1.3195. However it later retreated and fell down to $1.3139.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes US10YT=RR seesawed, falling 2/32 in price to push its yield up 2.3431 percent.
The benchmark for euro zone borrowing costs; the German 10-year Bund yields DE10YT=TWEB, rose half a basis point to 0.891 percent, having hit a record low of 0.86 percent on Thursday.
With the Midwest manufacturing data pointing to a stronger demand, the U.S. crude oil rose for a fourth straight day.
