The analysis from the CEO of the deVere Group comes as investors piled into the Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies this week amid growing trade tensions between the US and China. 

The Chinese renminbi fell to under 7 to the US dollar on Monday – the lowest in more than a decade – igniting drops in stocks and emerging market currencies and driving a rally in government bonds.

Nigel Green, chief executive and founder of deVere Group, notes: “The world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, jumped 10% as global stocks were rocked by the devaluation of China’s yuan as the trade war with the US intensifies.

“This is not a coincidence. It reveals that consensus is growing that Bitcoin is becoming a flight-to-safety asset during times of market uncertainty. 

“Bitcoin is currently realising its reputation as a form of digital gold. Up to now, gold has been known as the ultimate safe-haven asset, but Bitcoin  - which shares its key characteristics of being a store of value and scarcity – could potentially dethrone gold in the future as the world becomes increasingly digitalised.”

He continues: “With the Trump administration now officially labelling China a currency manipulator, escalating the tensions between the world’s two largest currencies economies, investors are set to continue to pile in to decentralized, non-sovereign, secure currencies, such as Bitcoin to protect them from the turmoil taking place in traditional markets.

“The legitimate risks posed by the continuing trade dispute, China’s currency devaluation and other geopolitical issues, such as Brexit and its far-reaching associated challenges, will lead an increasing number of institutional and retail investors to diversify their portfolios and hedge against those risks by investing in crypto assets.

“This will drive the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies higher.  Under the current circumstances, I believe the Bitcoin price could hit $15,000 within weeks.”

The deVere CEO concludes: “Cryptocurrencies are now almost universally regarded as the future of money – but what has become clear this week is that they are increasingly regarded a safe haven in the present.”

Butterfield Mortgages Limited (BML) has commissioned an independent survey among more than 500 high net-worth (HNW) individuals to uncover the difficulties they face when applying for credit.

It found:

• A ninth (12%) of the HNWs surveyed have been turned down for a mortgage in the past decade (5% have been denied an overdraft and 4% have been refused a credit card)
• 79% of HNWs think too many banks apply “tick box” methods when assessing mortgage applications, failing to take into account personal circumstances
• 44% find it inherently difficult to secure a mortgage because their capital is tied up in existing real estate investments
  • 38% say they struggle because they do not receive a standard monthly paycheque
• 60% believe it has become increasingly difficult to secure mortgages for non-primary residential purchases
  • Two in three (67%) do not believe high street banks cater to the needs of property investors and buy-to-let landlords
• 73% believe brokers play an important role in finding specialist lenders that cater to their needs

HNW individuals are struggling to secure credit from high street banks, new research from BML has revealed.

The prime property mortgage provider surveyed more than 500 HNWs––all with a net worth over £1 million––about their experiences of securing finance from banks. It found that as many as 12% of the wealthy individuals quizzed have been rejected for mortgages in the past decade.

BML’s study revealed that 79% of HNWs find the process of applying for a mortgage with a bank too rigid, saying they apply “tick box” methods that fail to recognise unique personal circumstances.

Complicated financial profiles are one of the main challenges for HNWs when securing credit, with their wealth often invested into property or illiquid assets. Indeed, 44% said they have found it inherently difficult to access credit because their capital is tied up in existing real estate investments, while 38% struggle to get mortgages from banks because they do not have standard monthly paycheques.

Furthermore, 60% believe it is becoming increasingly difficult to secure a mortgage for a non-primary residential purchase. In response, two in three (67%) UK HNWs have lost confidence in high street banks, feeling they do not cater to the needs of property investors and buy-to-let landlords.

To overcome these challenges, the vast majority (73%) of wealthy individuals rely on brokers to help them find the lenders that cater to their needs.

Alpa Bhakta, CEO at BML, commented on the findings: “It may come as a surprise that of all the demographics, the UK’s wealthiest people often find themselves at an immediate disadvantage when it comes to applying for credit from banks; be it mortgages or credit cards. 

“In reality, the rigid “tick box” methods applied by many conventional lenders are not compatible with HNWs’ unique and often complicated financial profiles. To overcome these challenges HNWs need to seek out brokers or lenders who can commit the necessary time and expertise to understand their situation and, in turn, deliver mortgages that meet their specific needs.”

(Source: Butterfield Mortgages Limited)

Yet they have a relatively low-interest rate and many other saving options are now also tax-free.  So the question is – are Premium Bonds worth it?

What are Premium Bonds?

NSANDI Premium Bonds are a type of savings account that you can add money and take it out any time you want.  Interest is paid and there’s a monthly prize draw.  Bonds can be bought in £1s and everyone has the same chance of winning so the more you buy, the greater your chance is of seeing a prize.

There is a minimum of £25 for a one-off purchase and monthly standing orders and you can’t have more than £50,000.  You have to be aged 16 to buy them or they need to be held in the name of a parent or guardian until you are.

The monthly prizes are one of the big draws to Premium Bonds.  There are two monthly winners of £1 million, 5 of £100,000 and 11 of £50,000 as well as smaller prizes going down to £25.  You have a one in 24,500 chance of winning £25 so don’t get too excited about the idea of winning loads!

Tax-free savings

One of the big benefits of Premium Bonds used to be the fact that the interest paid on them is tax-free.  However, this shine has been taken off somewhat since the launch in 2016 of the personal savings allowance (PSA) which allows you to have all savings tax free up to £1000 interest a year for basic taxpayers and £500 a year for higher rate taxpayers.

This means that 95% of people can now have savings that have tax free interest so this advantage to Premium Bonds is no longer relevant.

The prize rate isn’t great

There’s definitely something attractive about the potential for winning a million pounds for your savings but in reality, the prize rate isn’t great.  If you ring NSANDI (and you can find the NSANDI phone numbers are listed here) they will tell you that the prize rate is 1.4%.

In reality, for every 25 people with £100 in bonds, 24 of them will not win a prize.  For people with £1000 in bonds, 3 out of 5 will not win a prize while if you have £15,000 in bonds, 1 in 1552 will not win a prize.

All savings are protected

NSANDI might sound like a bank or building society but they are actually a government department – the government owns the Premium Bond system.  Now that does mean they are 100% safe and there’s no chance the company goes broke and the owner runs off with the money.  However, it is worth mentioning that all savings are protected anyway under the savings safety rules so as long as you use a UK-regulated savings product, you are protected up to £85,000 per person – and the maximum for Premium Bonds is £50,000 anyway.

Prize rate versus savings rate

If you consider that prize rate of 1.4%, this is the figure to compare against other savings products to see what is the best option.  And while it compares well with some, there are definitely other savings products out there that provide a higher rate of interest on your savings.  Some general examples include:

• Top easy access normal savings accounts – 1.5%
• Top easy access cash ISA – 1.45%
• Top two year fixed savings – 2.31%
• Top two year fixed cash ISA – 1.9%
• Some current accounts – 3% on balances up to £3000

So if you have money that you don’t need to access for a couple of years, you can definitely get a higher rate of interest.  Premium Bonds compare with standard savings products so there it is more a personal choice matter.

You can resave your winnings

If you don’t already have £50,000 in Premium Bonds and you do win some money, you can also choose to resave this.  In other words, you can turn the winnings into more Premium Bonds and increase your odds a bit that you win more and bigger prizes.  This is a bit like leaving the interest from your savings in the account to continue to grow your pot.

Are they worth it?

There’s nothing wrong with Premium Bonds as a way of saving.  While the chance of winning a substantial prize is higher than the chance of winning big on the National Lottery, there is always a chance.  And smaller prizes can accumulate to build your pot and increase your odds.  So really, if you like the idea of potentially winning more money, then Premium Bonds can be a good option – just be aware of the odds and don’t expect that millionaire pay-out any time soon!

If you owned land with the potential to rake in almost 900 million dollars, you would snap up the opportunity to make that eye-watering amount of cash… wouldn’t you? Compare the Market have conducted their analysis of wasted spaces around the world to reveal the countries and locations that are sitting on unused land, and letting the profits slip through their fingers.

Top 5 Countries Wasting Millions of Dollars on Property Potential

Ever considered venturing into the world of property development? It can be risky, but when the profits are this mind-bogglingly high, it can also be worth it. The Wasted Spaces study reveals the Housing

top five locations around the world with the potential to make the most cash if the owner, or countries, were to build houses on the land to sell on.

By analysing the cost of housing per square metre in each country, Compare the Market reveal the true figures to be made by selling property on these wasted spaces:

How Many Homes Could Be Created?

• The largest abandoned sports space, the 1936 Olympic Village, was built 82 years ago and remains disused. In that time, 1,600 homes could have been built on the land to house generations of families and 5,322 individuals at any given time
• Kolmanskop, a ghost town in Namibia is 989,384 square metres with enough space for 5,000 houses - meaning over 15,000 people could be housed
• Japan’s Nara Dreamland was left abandoned in 2006, and its eerie remains were demolished ten years later. The remaining space could have been used to build around 650 homes - housing around 1,257 people
• Malmo Stadion in Sweden is 60,288 square metres equating to around 8 football pitches. The now vacant space could house 807 people in 250 homes
• The Houston Astrodome, also the world’s first multi-purpose domed stadium, is now partially demolished but has the potential for 165 homes, housing 774 people

Country’s Debt

Germany tops the list as the country with the most amount of abandoned locations on the Wasted Spaces list. But, as the country with the fourth largest external debt - if they sold all of the land of wasted buildings they own in this study, they would have $994.3 million.

The US has the second highest amount of abandoned places on the list including Houston Astrodome, Pontiac Silverdome, Michigan Central Station, and Sterick Building. The total combined price of the land these derelict buildings are sitting on is $51.5 million -  out of their total external debt figure of $21 trillion.

With the ninth largest economy in the world, Brazil is renowned for their growing economy, they also have an excessive amount of debt. The country has one property on the wasted spaces list; the Olympic Aquatic Centre that is 13,269 square metres and an estimated land housing value of $14.8 million.

(Source: Compare the Market)

Back in July Finance Monthly reported on how much your personal data was worth on the dark web.

Price comparison experts Money Guru conducted research on several dark web marketplaces and uncovered that criminals can buy your details on the dark web for less than a coffee. In fact, email logins could be bought for as little as £2.10, and Facebook logins for £3.

Sadly, data breaches are becoming a common occurrence. In the past few months alone British Airways, Reddit, HMRC and Ticketmaster have all been hit.

New research from Money Guru shows that the cost of personal data on the dark web has reduced significantly following Facebook’s recent data breach.

How Much Is Your Data Worth Now?

Your data, which can include everything from banking details to social media logins, is worth less than you might think to hackers and scammers.

Following the Facebook data breach hacked Facebook account details are now being sold on the dark web for as little as £0.77 ($1). This is £2.23 ($2.90) down from Money Guru’s previous findings earlier in June 2018.

They also found that hacked Instagram credentials are available on the dark web for as little as £1.91 ($2.50), down £2.89 ($3.80) and that hacked Twitter accounts are being sold for as little as £0.61 ($0.80), a reduction £1.89 ($2.50).

However, that wasn’t all that the price comparison expert discovered during their research.

Money Guru discovered tools and guides to help people hack into Facebook accounts available on the dark web for as little as £1.29 ($1.70), and similar tools for Instagram for £0.87 ($1.15) and Twitter for £0.87 ($1.15).

The personal finance experts discovered tools to help hack Gmail, commit phishing attacks and bypass phone verification available on the dark web for as little as £0.87 ($1.15). They are also found a plaintext database of Twitter account details with millions of emails and passwords available for £31.86 ($41.60).

Staying Safe Online

Deborah Vickers, channel director at moneyguru.com said: “Our social media accounts put our lives under a microscope and these details are frequently stolen and sold to unscrupulous companies so they can target you with advertising. By using your data against you, criminals can lock you out and take control of your accounts, which could cause serious reputational and financial worry.

“Rather concerningly all three dark web markets that we researched (Wall Street Market, Dream Market and Burlusconi Market) are currently offering ‘164m LinkedIn user records’ including separate pieces of information such as email addresses, names, passwords for only £7.65 ($9.99).

“However, it seems that as more data breaches occur, the more aware the general public are becoming of the issue which could be causing the significant price drops of personal data on the dark web. Our research into personal data and how much it's actually worth on the black market is shocking to say the least. It just goes to show how vital it is to protect your data where possible to avoid facing costly consequences.”

So What Data Can Criminals Buy on the Dark Web?

The marketplaces Money Guru searched were ‘Dream Market’, ‘Burlusconi Market’ and ‘Wall St Market’ (three of the most popular current markets since the fall of the Silk Road) all of which provide goods including:

• Personal Data
• Fraud Kits & Instructions
• Counterfeiting Supplies & Services
• Illicit Drugs
• Weaponry

Business Insider spoke with Dharshini David, economist, broadcaster, and author of "The Almighty Dollar." David talked about why the Euro hasn't challenged the Dollar as an international currency, despite being used by more people than the American currency. She also talked about how the Yuan could become the world's dominant currency.

President Trump claims to have well over $10 Billion dollars but his finances are still kept very secret. So how much money does Donald Trump really have? Watch this video and find out.