Worldwide Financial Planning

In the UK, weaker retail sales and deteriorating Purchasing Managers’ Indices add to the gloomier picture for economic activity. However, there are some positive signs. Consumer confidence defied expectations of further weakness and consumers turned more positive after a noticeable downturn in the run up to the budget.

Nearly 500,000 people still have a mortgage after retirement and research shows they have a home worth £320,000 and a household income of £30,000. For some that income is enough, for others it’s not.

Trump is yet to announce his choices for the key economic jobs but many of his selections so far are from outside the political mainstream and show a more radical approach than in his first term.

Equity release, or lifetime mortgages are often badly misunderstood with the consequence of someone not taking action, and someone acting on half information or misinformation.

The FOMC meeting came off the back of a decent CPI print. May’s inflation data came in softer than consensus expectations with headline CPI decelerating slightly to 3.3% versus 3.4% in April.

In monthly terms, CPI was 0.3% (consensus: 0.1%), compared to 0.6% in March. Similarly, core CPI inflation (ex-energy, food, alcohol and tobacco) came in at 3.9% (consensus: 3.6%) vs 4.2% in March.