Ways To Money

At the wrong end of the table, the big banks still dominate. While new entrants to the report Vanquis and Bank of Scotland were voted bottom for overall satisfaction, they are closely followed by Barclaycard, HSBC, Halifax, Lloyds TSB and Santander. None of the high street banks top any category – only RBS manages second place for its balance transfer service. And although overall satisfaction across the board has slipped, things are worse for the banks. Last year the best high street bank was 15% off the top performer. This year the gap has widened to 19%.

Barnaby Jenkins, Head of Credit Card, M&S Money, said: “Ensuring our customers are happy with the service they receive is our number one priority, so it’s fantastic to hear that the M&S Credit Card has come top for overall customer satisfaction.”

“Customer feedback is incredibly valuable to us and we’ll continue to work closely with our customers to make sure we’re delivering the best service possible.”

Best Overall Marks and Spencer regained the top spot for overall satisfaction this year, satisfying 92% of its customers. American Express slipped to third place behind the Co-operative, but with just one percentage point between the top three, it’s all to play for.

Biggest Improver  Virgin has pulled itself up seven places in overall satisfaction going from 15th to 8th, with 74% of its customers now satisfied, up from 66% last year. 

Worst Provider Vanquis finds itself at the wrong end of the table for overall customer satisfaction in its first year in the report. But the general t

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Global Finance sat down with Martin Fridson, high-yield market specialist and global credit strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management, in early December to get his take on US and global debt markets during one of the most volatile years in his memory.

High-yield debt in the US will continue to have a low default rate through the next 12 months, according to Martin Fridson, global credit strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management. It now stands at around 2%, about half of its historic rate.

In addition, Fridson says, there is a dearth of high-yield issuance thanks to the cash-rich position of many sub-investment-grade corporate issuers. Companies built their war chests and pushed out maturities in the very low interest rate environment in the wake of the 2008–2009 financial crisis.

With so much cash now on balance sheet, there will be little pressure on companies to refinance in the coming year. At the same time, leveraged buyout activity—typically a huge source of issuance in the high-yield markets—has slowed dramatically.

As a result, there is relatively strong demand for issues that do come to market. Although pric

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In the midst of Christmas shopping last month, my wife and I wondered into Best Buy. Why I went there after my last experience is beyond me, but I did find myself at the local BB.

In the course of talking to one of the sales associates, she mentioned a “great deal” for us. If we made a purchase that night and applied for the Best Buy credit card, we would get a $20 savings on our purchase.

I wanted to say, “Wow, a whole $20? Thats be best deal Ive ever seen!!! Can I get 10 of them?”

Can you feel the sarcasm?

The truth is, if I wanted to get a credit card to save a bundle on a purchase, Id look at my list of the best credit card bonuses and get one of those. The hurdle to even get on that list is $250 in bonuses — 12.5 times what Best Buy was offering. And most of the cards listed there have at least twice that level of cash/gift cards/other incentives available, offering $500 or more in bonuses.

But I didnt say anything. The young lady who offered it to us was very nice and likely clueless anyway — she probably thought it was a great deal. But whether she thought it was a great deal for us or for her, Im not sure.

New York – President Obama’ reelection prospects hang in large part on how the economy is doing by Election Day, and perhaps the most obvious yardstick - and the one Americans care most about - is the unemployment rate.

This is hardly lost on Mr. Obama. “The most important thing we need to do is get more Americans back to work,” he said in his Saturday radio address, in which he also previewed a White House forum on Jan. 11 that will feature business leaders who have opted to bring outsourced jobs back to the US.

Though the unemployment rate dipped in December – from 8.7 percent to 8.5 percent – it remains uncomfortably high for an incumbent president seeking reelection. When Obama took office in January 2009 unemployment stood at 7.8 percent, and Republicans will have a heavy cudgel with which to pound him if the jobless rate is worse almost four years later than it was then.

Commenting Friday on the latest unemployment figures, Republican House Speaker John Boehner laid down a marker of sorts: “Today marks the 35th consecutive month of unemployment above 8 percent, and too many Americans continue to struggle to find their next job.”

So, could the unemployment rate sink below 8 percent by Election Day?

It’s possible but not likely, say some leading economists

It all depends on whether the economy can create jobs at the rate of about 268,000 a month between now and November, says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, in an interview. T

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The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) will soon permit futures trading in housing through a derivative based on the Radar Logic Composite Price.  According to information released by Radar Logic, a New York City real estate data and analytics company, this derivative will allow institutions both to hedge against downturns in housing prices and to allocate portions of their investment portfolios to housing assets without the search, transaction, and maintenance costs association with purchasing physical properties.  Or, as the background information the company released today says, “RPX futures will allow you to invest in residential real estate without having to mow the lawn.”

It is not our purpose to assist Radar Logic in its promotional campaign nor is this intended as a discussion of the appropriateness of encouraging further speculation in the housing market although that discussion could be a worthy one.  However, the “RPX Housing Market Review” released by the company last week does explain the methodology underlying calculation of the Radar Logic Composite Price and provides a context for anyone who is interested in following this new market.

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