Personal Finance and Investing

DEBATE: On Tuesday 12 July, the BCCs David Frost and TUCs Brendan Barber will be joining colleagues for a public debate on the future of work. We invited the two main speakers to give their thoughts in advance of next weeks clash.

David Frost

Director General, British Chambers of Commerce

Last year, Brendan and I debated the effect of regulation on the labour market and on the economy in general. I argued that costly, constantly changing employment regulation was a barrier to growth and job creation that UK PLC could no longer afford. This Government introduced the one-in-one-out rule. Read more…

Hey Twitter friends! Are you ready for another AMAZING Twitter giveaway?

So, it’s been hot in Michigan. Blazing, dead of summer, scorching hot. We’re supposed to hit 100 degrees this week! We’ve got heat advisories and everything. So we want your best ideas to cool off! Would you install A/C or buy some pool noodles? Fill your boat up with gas or hit the waves with a new board? Buy your entire office a cold one? Let us know!

All you have to do is follow us on Quicken Loans Twitter and tell us why you deserve $500 for your idea by Monday, July 25 at noon (ET). In or Read more…

I’ll be honest. When I started my first job, I had to look up what a 401(k) was online. I’d like to think that as a college graduate, I had a good idea of how a 401(k) worked; in reality, I had no idea what the mechanics are behind a retirement savings plan.

Rest assured Credit Karma members! I did the research on 401(k)s and came up with a simple guide, which will hopefully save you from making the same aimless exploration around the World Wide Web.

401(k) Basics

Named for the section number (401) and paragraph (k) of the Internal Revenue Code, a 401(k) is a retirement savings plan offered through an employer.

A traditional 401(k) allows you to regularly defer part of your pre-tax income into an account. In Read more…

Our previous analysis in May examined unemployment data from March 2005 to March 2011 and found strong evidence of persistent poor local job prospects, with London being one of the worst hit areas of the country. Four London Boroughs including Hackney, Haringey, and Lewisham have been in the top ten employment blackspots in Britain for five of the last seven years.

The analysis found that West Dunbartonshire and East Ayrshire had overtaken London boroughs to become the worst employment blackspots in the country however there were still five London boroughs in the top ten.

The unemployment data released today shows that while West Dunbartonshire and East Ayrshire still rank highly in the top 10 employment blackspots, Haringey is now the hardest place in Britain to find a job, where there are almost forty dole claimants chasing every vacancy. Read more…