date: Tue, 25 May 2004 19:24:22 UT from: "The moneyextra Team" subject: Moneyextra Monthly to: k.briffa@uea.ac.uk [1]TD Waterhouse * Moneyextra Newsletter May 2004 welcome Moneyextra Monthly Dear Moneyextra user, You're receiving this Monthly Email because you've registered with our website. To change your subscription options, please follow the link at the bottom of this e-mail. in this edition ... 1. [2]Utility competition - are you a winner? * 2. [3]The return of the private investor * 3. [4]A life that suits you nicely, sir Sponsored by [5]Virgin Life Issurance * 4. [6]ISAs - never more popular ? * 5. [7]Moneyextras Comparison Services 1. Utility competition - are you a winner? * The domestic gas and electricity markets were deregulated years ago. Since domestic gas was thrown open to competition in May 1998, about eight million of British Gas's 20 million customers have switched to another supplier. Since May 1999, 11 million of the regional electricity companies' 26 million customers have signed up elsewhere. Have these utilities shoppers actually saved themselves money? Not always. One big idea was dual fuel. Energy providers puff dual fuel as the cheapest way to buy energy. Anybody signing up British Gas, for example, could save up to £40 instantly: £15 for joining, £15 for having dual fuel and a further £10 if you are willing to receive your bills online. That might sound attractive but over the longer term British Gas's steep prices cancel out the benefits. An estimated 15.8 million households in the UK have never switched energy suppliers. But just because you are loyal to your local supplier doesnt mean they are going to be loyal to you. For example, London Electricity is cheaper for people who live outside the capital and npower is cheaper outside its Midlands home market. Offering a different price structures to poach customers from other suppliers in this way is not uncommon. Since privatisation, gas bills have fallen by almost a third and electricity bills by a quarter. However, the years of falling prices are likely to be behind us, with increases introduced this year by both Scottish Power and Powergen of more than 6%. The full extent of price rises may be disguised by some suppliers applying different percentage rises to the initial payment - the first unit threshold - and the subsequent unit rate. Are you paying too much for your gas or electricity? [8]Find out how much you could save with a new supplier. * Advertising Promotion * * * * * Uswitch Moneyextra have partnered with uSwitch.com to help save you money on household bills. On average, people save £310 a year using uSwitch's free comparison calculators to help transfer gas, electricity and phone suppliers. The service is impartial and government accredited. [9]Click here. * * * * [10]Back to top 2. The return of the private investor * Private investor interest in the stock market soared in the first couple of months of 2004. The change in deal volumes, as tracked by Moneyextra Share Dealing, shows activity levels almost doubling by February against December 2003. A lot of the early head of steam at the start of the year has now gone out of the market but by April deal volumes were still 22% ahead on end-2003. Online deal size via Moneyextra Share Dealing averaged £3104 across the first quarter of the year and was £3189 in the month of April. So whats the outlook for the rest of the second quarter and the year as a whole? The issues worrying investors now are the housing bubble, potential terrorist attacks, the cost of the Iraq war, interest rates and the damage being done by the 50-year high in the sterling-dollar exchange rate. Put all those together and theres a huge potential question-mark hanging over the durability of the UK economys growth outlook. But the situation is not all doom and gloom. The relationship between equities and long-term gilts is below its long-term average, suggesting that shares may be good value. The excitement being generated in the new issues market by the impending flotation of Google on Nasdaq is, however, being seized on by both optimists and pessimists. The estimated $3 billion share sale is expected to attract a large number of private investors bidding for shares in an online auction. It is to be hoped that those investors who got their fingers burnt in the dot-com bust will not let their enthusiasm for Google get the better of their judgment this time. In fact, private investors do appear to be behaving differently this time (theres a dangerous comment), making greater use of basic derivatives such as contracts of difference (CFDs). CFDs are leveraged bets on stocks so are high risk. But their popularity has grown due to tax advantages over buying shares directly - no stamp duty due. Want to track your investments? Moneyextra's free [11]portfolio service has all the tools you need. Went the day well? To find out, go to Moneyextras [12]daily stock market report. [13]Back to top 3. A life that suits you nicely, sir * * Feature Sponsor * * * * * [14]Virgin Life Insurance * Virgin Life Insurance From £6 a month. Low-cost life cover or mortgage protection, with or without critical illness cover. Quick, cheap, easy to sort out. Fast quote and immediate cover online - 10 minutes from now you could be covered. [15]Click here. * * * * "A double cheeseburger, one pizza, large fries, double scoop ice cream, 2-litre cola, six-pack and another 20 cigarettes, please. Oh, and maybe I'll have some of that life insurance you're selling on 'special' this week. How much and where do I sign?" "Mr Smith, before I can begin to ascertain the correct amount of life insurance appropriate to you and your family's needs, I must undertake a full fact-find of your current financial and physical health and your intended future objectives." The only 'definite' in life is that you will die. As Jim Morrison sang in Five to One, "No one here gets out alive." When and how is down to a combination of foresight, genes, self-preservation and luck. Whilst any form of life insurance is better than none at all, anyone serious about living and life's future direction will want insurance cover cognisant of their particular circumstances; a bespoke fit, not 'off the peg' and certainly not 'a one size fits all' approach. Contrary to the tailoring analogy, it will almost certainly cost you less and prove a better deal in the long term. Buying life assurance as a 'commodity', whether off the advertising page, via direct mail or maybe even at your local supermarket, is a short tem fix. (Reminiscent of those 1950/60s movies where the anxious stressed-out executive, usually Rock Hudson, topped up on his life insurance cover at airline terminal booths or vending machines before embarking on his flight.) Read more: [16]Moneyextra Feature : A life that suits you nicely, sir Protection cover for you, your mortgage, your family [17]http://www.moneyextra.com/protection/ [18]Back to top 4. ISAs - never more popular? * New data from the IMA (Investment Management Association) has found that more investors than ever before are taking advantage of the ISA wrapper. The data - detailed in the IMA's "Attitudes to Investment Funds" survey - shows that 57% of respondents had already taken out an ISA for the 2003/04 tax year when questioned in November 2003, an increase of 5% from the previous year and the highest total since the introduction of ISAs in 1999. The survey also highlights that those taking advantage of ISAs were predominantly basic rate taxpayers (55%) compared to only 18% from the higher rate bracket. The most popular form of ISA investing continued to be through Mini ISAs (53%), and although cash was again the favoured Mini ISA component, accounting for 77% of responses, the popularity of the stocks and shares component returned to levels previously seen in 2001 (36%). Other results show that investors have stood firm during periods of stock market volatility, with 64% indicating they would hold onto their investments compared to only 5% who would sell. Also, during such periods of instability, investors continued to diversify their holdings, with respondents investing on average in 4.9 funds across 4.2 fund management companies. Financial news you can use and in-depth daily features on focus issues. [19]http://www.moneyextra.com/news/centre.html [20]Back to top 5. Moneyextras Comparison Services * Here at Moneyextra weve gathered together a huge range of lenders and providers to offer what we think is the best set of comparison services on the web. Did you know that on Moneyextra you can compare: [21]9,000 Mortgage Products from 150 Providers [22]Compare Now * [23]1352 Stocks & Shares ISAs from 76 Providers [24]Compare Now * [25]254 Cash ISAs from 105 Providers [26]Compare Now * [27]76 Personal Loans from 51 Providers [28]Compare Now * [29]146 Credit Cards from 63 Providers [30]Compare Now * [31]825 Deposit Accounts from 152 Providers [32]Compare Now * [33]57 Current Accounts from 32 Providers [34]Compare Now * You can also compare and buy from a wide range of life assurance and general insurance policies * [35]Level Term Assurance Comparison * [36]Decreasing Term Assurance Comparison * [37]Critical Illness Assurance Comparison * [38]Accident, Sickness & Unemployment Insurance * [39]Motor Insurance Comparison * [40]Home Insurance Comparison * [41]Travel Insurance Comparison Remember, once you have done your comparison you can apply online for the product of your choice. Check out all the [42]latest news, updated throughout the day, on Moneyextra That's it for now. Best wishes Robin Robin Amlôt Senior Editor, Moneyextra Nothing in this Newsletter constitutes investment advice or a recommendation by Moneyextra to invest in any product, or employ any service, mentioned or advertised. * * Advertisements * * * * * [43]Virgin Pensions * [44]Virgin Life Assurance * [45]easyloans.co.uk * [46]TD Waterhouse * * * * * Change subscription options [47]here . Please read our standard [48]Terms of use , [49]Disclaimer and [50]Privacy Policy. [51]Mortgages & Housebuying | [52]Savings & Investing | [53]Pensions & Retirement | [54]Life & Health Cover | [55]Loans | [56]Credit Cards [57]Home, Motor & Travel Cover | [58]Investors Centre Moneyextra is a trading name of Chase de Vere Financial Solutions plc, which is an independent financial adviser and is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). 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