The aim is to let patients seek second medical opinions from leading experts and treatment anywhere in the world

The ground-breaking product from medical second opinion service, Best Doctors, is now gearing up for a UK launch.

It’s already up and running in several European countries and the service is likely to be priced at a competitive £10 a month with no age restrictions.

For that, it will insure people who will be able to claim up to £1 million for their medical, travel and accommodation expenses and will even cover serious conditions such as cancer.

Second opinion

Dominic Howard, a director at Best Doctors, said the firm was still working on the finer details for the UK market and there were still questions over whether to offer the plan direct to individuals or via their employers.

He added: “This product is more successful as an employee benefit.”

The firm also acknowledges there may be issues in offering the product alongside guarantee premium plans which already have critical illness cover.

Under the new scheme, customers will be able to access a network of more than 50,000 specialists who are regarded as the best in their area of expertise to give a second opinion on a medical.

Best Doctors currently only offers this service thorough a series of tie-ups with other UK health insurance providers such as Westfield and Medicash, the cash plan providers, as well as protection providers April UK and Friends Life.

Cancer cover

Howard points out that the new service is not setting out to encourage people to head abroad for medical treatment, but recognises times when a second opinion will give patients the option of having their treatment at home or abroad.

He added that the new product from Best Doctors should not be considered the same as ‘medical tourism’ and was also different to the service offered by private medical funding provider Passport2Health.

That service launched last year and helps to fund medical treatment for people having to travel to Europe for treatment of their conditions.

Howard says the new service is particularly aimed at serious conditions and said other services, including Passport2Health, didn’t cover cancer until recently – with that scheme now offering lifetime benefit up to a maximum of £50,000 per person.

Some industry experts predict a potential issue for the Best Doctors product and points to the annual renewable premium as being a challenge for providers and customers alike.

More popularly known as capsules, the homes are already popular in China and Japan.

Now, the government in Singapore has already moved against developers trying to build too many of them on plots.

A capsule is usually below 500 sq ft in size – about 20 feet x 25 feet square – so they are unsuitable for more one person unless partners enjoy getting up close and personal.

The homes are relatively cheap to build, rent or buy, which makes them increasingly popular where property prices unaffordable for many.

Singapore ‘no’ to shoeboxes

In places like Singapore where the price of land is very high, some developers were building properties which consisted of up to 80% of capsules.

This led to the country’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to clamp down on how many could be built in a new project.

A spokesman for the URA said: “We moved because we wanted to avoid shoebox homes from making up a disproportionately large proportion of any new development.

“We recognise that they meet the needs of a part of the population, but we need larger homes to meet other requirements.

“The new guidelines will discourage new developments of ‘shoebox’ units and at the same time offer a flexible way for developers to build homes to suit a range of needs.”

The URA says that Singapore’s number of shoebox homes will increase four-fold by 2015.

No-frills living

Real estate firm Savilles Singapore says developers were pricing capsules at around £55,000 – or £110 per square foot – and pointed out that with less space, capsule were more eco-friendly because they didn’t have  the ‘frills’ that mainstream homes have.

A spokesman for the firm said: “Capsules may not take off in Singapore because the authorities have now imposed a minimum 753 sq ft size for developments in most areas.”

The new rules came into force last November in a bid to stop capsule developments though they can still be built in Singapore’s central area.

Capsules first came to prominence after Chinese authorities created them to accommodate workers on the outskirts of Beijing and set the rents at £20 a month.

They proved popular and took off in other Asia Pacific cities where land is scarce and property prices are high, including Tokyo.

But not all property developers in Singapore want capsule homes to be built.

Liew Mun Leon, who heads up Southeast Asia’s biggest developer CapitaLand Ltd, said in an interview last year that shoebox homes were ‘almost inhuman’ which ‘waste’ the country’s scarce land resources.

EIS applications to HM Revenue and Customs, which monitors the scheme, were up by almost a half last year.

A record 2,147 won approval to enter EIS – a 47% increase on the 1,457 schemes that were green lighted the year before.

HMRC agrees 91% of EIS applications in 2011/12, which means just 212 applications were rejected.

In 2010/11, 1,637 applications were logged by HMRC with an 89% approval rate and 180 cases turned down.

Impact with investors

EIS is at helping SMEs that present a risky rather than mainstream investment source cash by giving tax breaks to backers buying shares in the firm.

In return for their cash, investors can access income tax and capital gains tax reliefs that reduce their exposure if the company makes a loss.

Now, the research shows EIS is starting to make an impact with investors, says investment firm Rockpool, which compiled the statistics.

A rising number of EIS proposals shows how SMEs and investors both win by taking advantage of the scheme.

Changes in EIS qualification have widened the opportunities for investors and highlighted government support for businesses looking for alternative funding sources because they cannot go to the banks.

Gary Robins, a partner at Rockpool, said: “In 12 months since the government revamped EIS qualifying criteria, the investors have found the tax breaks increasingly attractive. Even larger firms can access EIS now and tax incentives have been tweaked in even more favour of investors.”

Private investment

Robins explained that businesses are struggling to find funding from traditional bank and building society lenders and now have to look further afield and compete with other businesses.

The country’s economic climate has made EIS and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) of increasing importance to start-ups and businesses wanting to expand.

“Private investment is a key factor in helping the development of dynamic and expanding small businesses, which is a crucial part of a healthy economy,” said Robins.

Chancellor George Osborne introduced SEIS in 2012 to help new start businesses by offering tax breaks to investors.

EIS is for larger, more established businesses and has been running for some years.

Russia supplies 25% of Europe’s gas and has held many countries to ransom over high prices with threats of switching off supplies.

European energy companies are fighting back with threats to buy elsewhere if prices are not cut, leading to some tough negotiations with Russian gas giant Gazprom, which has dominated the market in recent years.

Gazprom is spending £13 billion on a new gas pipeline from Russia to supply the Italian, Austrian and Balkan markets in a joint venture with some of Europe’s biggest energy firms.

The new South Stream Pipeline will come online in 2015, but energy experts say the natural gas market will have changed by then.

Monopoly broken

That’s because customers in Europe have sought alternative suppliers since the fall-out over prices with Gazprom.

Gas production is growing rapidly in the US and Australia, while Europe imports and stores huge reserves from the Middle East – particularly Qatar.

Gazprom’s grip on Europe is loosening, despite the company holding a monopoly of the Russian gas market, producing 80% of Russia’s gas. Last year, the firm posted profits of £3 billion.

To expand and drive up profits, Gazprom needs the European market, but energy companies are quick to take advantage of any weakness, especially since Gazprom links prices to those of expensive oil.

Energy companies are rapidly improving their storage and distribution facilities. European buyers can easily tip up supplies and can buy what they need rather than pay a higher price under Gazprom’s contract terms.

Credit ratings agency Fitch has predicted that Gazprom’s sales will fall this year because of economic conditions and low demand in Europe.

Prices to drop

The agency also highlighted that the European Union (EU) is dedicated to finding other suppliers and is backing construction of a new pipeline from Azerbaijan.

The EU is also investigating allegations of price fixing by Gazprom in some eastern and central European countries. Officials are also looking at claims of unfair competition by Gazprom. The company denies the allegations.

A spokesman for Fitch said: “Since the investigation into market abuse was launched we haven’t forecast a rating implication for the company.

“We also believe that the price and volume of gas in Europe will not fall in the short-term, but we believe that Gazprom will have to negotiate concessions with those European buyers who have an alternative supply of gas.

“This will lead to long-term financial impact for the company and probably lower prices especially now that wholesale prices are almost delinked from the oil price.”

In addition, financial experts are flagging up a mortgage time-bomb for people aged over 50 who haven’t cleared their home loans before retirement.

When it comes to pensions, female retirees this year can expect an average income of £11,750 while men will receive £18,250.

That’s a hefty 36% gap which has been calculated by pension firm Prudential for its class of 2013 report and is a five-year low for women.

Their study also reveals the gender gap is widening and has increased by 13% since last year, with women’s expected income dropping by an average £500 while men’s rose by £250.

The report reveals that the average expected retirement for both sexes retiring in 2013 is £15,300 which consists of income from state, company and private pensions.

Career breaks

Stan Russell, a retirement specialist at Prudential, said: “The pension gap between men and women is still too wide. Finances are tough for both men and women, but women have the rougher deal as their retirement income drops away.”

Mr Russell says there are practical things women should be doing to improve income in retirement which includes maintaining their pension contributions in career breaks and paying National Insurance contributions voluntarily after returning to work.

It’s also important for women to shop around to find the best annuity they can for their retirement and not to accept the one being offered by their insurance company.

Meanwhile, one equity release a lender has highlighted a potential issue with more than 1.3 million over-55s households still paying their mortgages.

More 2 Life says there is an incredible 289,000 households of over-65s owing money on their home loan.

Retirement debts

The firm says there is a growing risk of people retiring and having to carry substantial debts into their retirement.

The firm’s managing director Jon King said: “There is the prospect of a home loan time bomb as owners repay their mortgages once they have passed into retirement.”

He said that while it wasn’t issue for many, there are still many borrowers with interest-only loans who are fast approaching the date when they must settle their debt with the lender.

He said lenders are already concerned about this growing problem and many are contacting their customers highlighting the issue and offering advice.

Their findings have been underlined by credit ratings agency Moody’s which says 52,000 borrowers over 60 have interest-only mortgages and less than 20% equity in their property.

The call comes after the government slashed VAT by half in a bid to boost home sales in a market that has a glut of unsold properties.

The discount rate is currently 4% on new homes, but will jump to 10% next month.

However, property developer Taylor Wimpey says the increasing strength of the Pound against the euro, plus low interest rates, helps make the investment in Spanish property increasingly affordable.

The firm says that more than half of their sales last month were to British buyers.

Euro mortgages sweeten deals

Buying with a euro mortgage makes the deal even cheaper since base rates have slipped back all year, and is now below the low of 2010. Indeed, the Euribor has fallen for 13 consecutive months.

The Euribor interest rate fell to 0.588% in November, the lowest level on record.

It’s not just an opportunity to invest while the country continues to struggle with its economic turmoil, but good times may lie ahead for property owners.

According to one Spanish bank, property prices in the country will increase from 2017 after two more years of falls and then two years of stagnation.

Taylor Wimpey Espana says it has seen it sales in the Costa del Sol rocket by 74% this year as buyers flock to take advantage of the market.

But they aren’t just selling to Brits – there are more than 20 nationalities snapping up property led by the Germans and Russians but also to Australians and Saudi Arabians.

However, the largest increase in foreign buyers has come from Scandinavia, with the firm registering a 300% increase in the number of buyers from Northern Europe.

Visa offer from government

A spokesman for the firm said: “While the domestic market for property is Spain is suffering, the demand for second homes is increasing.

“Our sales have increased by 10% this year but to measure a 74% increase in the Costa del Sol is remarkable.”

Apart from the reduction in VAT, another vital factor fuelling interest in buying property is the opportunity to take-up Spanish residency.

Foreigners can apply for a residency permit if they buy a new property worth more than £130,000.

Buyers should be aware that demand for homes in Spain is generally stagnant, with most Spanish sellers seeing prices drop by 53% since the market peaked in 2007.

The French government is attracting criticism for its changes – many of which are politically inspired and not always designed to help resolve the massive budget deficit.

Last summer, the government announced that all foreign home owners – there are around 200,000 Brits with homes in France – would face a ‘social contribution’ charge of 15.5% on rental income which was added to the income tax that is already charged.

That move meant that Brits renting out their property in France would face a 34.5% tax rate on their earnings.

Only a few weeks ago that the government announced it was going to boost the housing market by lowering the rate of capital gains tax (CGT) on the sale of second homes and rental properties to 20%.

Sliding scale for CGT

Now, the government has announced it is going to impose a sliding scale of charges for large gains made on the sale of second homes.

However, the new rules do not affect the sales of a person’s principal home which will continue to be free of CGT.

The sale of prime building land is also unaffected, though this sector has a new and entirely separate set of rules to comply with.

From January 2013, the surtax will be imposed on any gains made over £41,000 – though the French have a sliding scale of CGT being charged which kicks in after the property has been owned for more than six years and up to a total exemption when it has been owned for 30 years of more.

The sliding scale of the surtax on any profits made is as follows: between £41-82,000 a 2% surtax is levied; between £82-123,000, 3%; between £123 – 164,000, 4%; between £164 – 206,000 , 5% and for gains greater than £206,000 the rate is 6%.

More tax on the way

These surcharges are in addition to the CGT rate of 19% and 15.5% in social charges and there is nothing to pay if the gain is less than £8,200.

To illustrate the charges for selling a second home in France, the owner who realised a profit of more than £206,000 would then be hit with a tax bill of 40.5%.

Property owners in France should also be aware that the government is mulling a plan to introduce another 5% tax on rental income and details are set to be released at the next budget.

Legendary investment guru Warren Buffett shook up the debate about how to reform America’s tax system in 2011 when he demanded that the rich pay more in tax.

Now, he says that Congress should move ‘immediately’ to impose minimum income tax rates of 30% on anyone earning between £621,000 and £6.2 million.

Anyone earning over £10 million should be paying 35% in income tax, he says.

Mr Buffett wrote a column for the New York Times, in which he said: “It’s a simple plan which would block the efforts of lobbyists and lawyers to prevent the ultra-rich paying rates well below people who earn a fraction of what we do.”

The Buffett Rule

Mr Buffett first hit the headlines on this subject of taxing the rich when he complained that the rich were being ‘coddled’ and said he paid a lower rate of tax than his secretary, even though her income was a fraction of his.

The call led to President Obama to introduce what he termed the ‘Buffett Rule’ which would create a 30% tax rate for millionaires.

But Obama’s opponents stifled the move saying the new rule would cut spending and job creation.

In his newspaper article, Buffet ridiculed this notion and urged Obama to implement the tax rates saying: “Forget about the rich and ultra-rich going on strike and stuffing their ample funds under their mattress if income tax rates are increased.”

Mr Buffett is ranked third on the Forbes magazine world rich list and he is the chief executive at Berkshire Hathaway Inc, a conglomerate employing at least 250,000 people around the world in industries from ice-cream to insurance.

At odds with the Whitehouse

He also said in his article that rich investors might halt pumping cash in to businesses while they waited for Congress to make a decision.

Mr Buffett also said that raising taxes on the rich wouldn’t dampen growth prospects for the American economy and would raise the ‘morale of the middle class’.

He also pointed out that such a move would help America resolve its current ‘fiscal cliff’ situation.

Indeed, Mr Buffett insists that the current tax system increases the gap between rich and poor and he supports Obama’s plan to end the tax cuts for wealthy people, which were imposed by President Bush.

He is at odds with a White House proposal that tax increases should begin at £155,000, preferring the higher sum of £310,000.

Over the past 10 years, coloured diamonds have provided a higher rate of return than most other investments.

Indeed, someone investing in a five-carat yellow diamond 10 years ago would have seen the value increase by 180%. By comparison, shares in Coca Cola grew by 42.5% in the same period.

Known in the trade as ‘fancy coloured diamonds’, they are among the rarest of gems and are mined in only a handful of mines around the world.

In some cases, even the most common coloured diamond is the equivalent of less than 0.1% of quality colourless diamond production.

Investing in rare gems

Some colours such as intense violet, vivid blue and fancy red are so rare that many diamond dealers may never see them in their working lives.

This rarity makes them prized among collectors and the investment market for fancy coloured diamonds operates in a similar way to other rare alternative investments.

Anyone contemplating buying a coloured diamond as an investment is urged to consult with a market expert because there are no fixed prices, need testing for authenticity and assessed for future potential value.

Investors have two options:

• Buy a single diamond with high rarity, mostly red, blue, green or pink. It needs to be larger than 0.5 carats in weight and have a strong intense colour.
• Collect a set of stones with varying tones and shades. Building a gem collection takes time, but their rarity as a set will add to their future value.

Jewellers would also highlight that setting a stone in a unique design would add value, but you will need to judge what colours would be best and to settle on a design that someone would want to buy.

Celebrities lead the market

The other issue for investors to consider is that fancy coloured diamonds are assessed differently to normal diamonds, so the slightest difference in a colour could affect the price dramatically.

Coloured diamonds come in 12 different shades and more than 90 secondary hues – add to that nine intensity levels, and a buyer has 234 potential colour combinations.

From this massive selection of possibilities, investors need to buy diamonds that will appreciate in value because demand for their size and colour will remain strong.

Celebrities lead the charge for investment in these stones, but ultimately these diamonds are forever a haven against other shakier and less predictable investments.

Fraudsters are sending the bogus job offers under the guise of a real firm – Kelly Services.

Now Immigration New Zealand, the country’s visa and immigration handler, has issued a worldwide warning about the fake jobs in a bid to kill the trade.

One target for the scam jobs are Indian students in Singapore who need a written offer from an employer to apply for a New Zealand visa under the essential skills category.

An Immigration New Zealand spokesman said: “It is important that anyone interested in moving here is getting their information from credible sources.

“We have now informed everyone necessary around the world about this particular scam and those people needing immigration advice should use the services of licensed advisers.”

Fraudsters interview applicants

New Zealand has experienced a boom in the number of expats keen to move to the country as international students and skilled migrants.

Fraudsters are exploiting demand by offering jobs in a range of sectors including food, health and technology.

The students are even interviewed for the roles by the con men before the job offer is made.

In one case, a business studies student was interviewed in Singapore for a restaurant job in Auckland with a salary of £15,300 a year. The contract, said the interviewer, would be renewed after two years.

The applicant then had to hand over the £2,100 fee for the paperwork.

One concerned employer, James Ellis, who is a director of the educational agency Edvantage International Consulting, said he believed scores of students had been ‘lured’ into studying in Singapore in the belief they would get work in New Zealand.

He said: “Promising these unsuspecting students that they will get work permits for New Zealand concerns me greatly.”

False documents

However, the agency concerned is less than pleased that their name is being used by fraudsters in this way.

A Kelly Services spokesman said that not only was the offer of work not genuine but that it hadn’t been made by the company.

The firm says the letter being used is obviously ‘false’ including the branding being used, the layout and the name is of someone who did not work for the firm.

Kelly Services also do not charge for finding employment and their letters were only issued for genuine offers of employment.

“We have taken up this issue with the relevant authorities and made our teams around the world aware that others are falsely using our brand,” said the spokesman.