Financial reform must go beyond FSA and BoE
Last week one of the biggest financial stories was George Osbourne’s effective dismantling of the FSA and returning full supervisory powers to the Bank of England.
The problem being, of course,as has been widely pointed out, no regulator across the world appears to have really seen the financial crisis coming, instead living in hope that while [...]
Why the property market is about to fall
The UK’s property market is beginning to see the signs of a downturn finally begin to show, setting the stage for a double dip in property values.
While the DCLG reports that property inflation over the past year has reached over 10%, this has been overwhelmingly driven by easy credit rather than a return to normal [...]
Eurozone: Spain the next crisis target
Concerns about the so-called PIGS - Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain - continue to dominate the financial news as the likelihood of a second wave to the financial crisis, this time a sovereign crisis, with countries likely to default on the huge debt they carry.
Today’s news is that spreads on Spanish bonds continue to rise, with [...]
How savers are unwittingly becoming investors
The way people save has undergone a fundamental shift, but not a lot of people have noticed the change.
Traditionally, people would put their savings away into a savings account, generally a higher interest account, with the highest rate accounts offering higher returns the less you touched your money (ie, notice accounts).
Those people with a lot [...]
Does the UK face economic collapse like Japan?
The more I read about the impact of the financial crisis in the UK, the more it feels that the UK is doomed economically, and that the best option now while you have cash in Great British Sterling is to cash out and move aborad to somewhere more financially sound - ie, not threatened with [...]
Adverse economic conditions continue to build up
This spring’s green shoots are being increasing shown to have misplaced optimism, with economic conditions continuing to worsen within the UK – GDP continues to fall, and expectations of a recovery for next year remain muted.
While it’s easy to just look at the UK in isolation, there are a couple of major economic pointers on [...]
Why the Bank of England rate cut is wrong
This week’s move by the Bank of England to cut the interest rate to an all time low of 1% is a bad move for all of us, especially those trying to save money.
It is an unfortunate double whammy, because while the tax payer is subsidising the banking system via RBS and Lloyds especially though [...]
OECD says worse to come for America
The BBC gives quite long and extensive coverage on a report from the OECD on the economic challenges facing the USA, and it is not pretty:
US faces deep problems, OECD says
The OECD paints a grim picture of the challenges facing the incoming Obama administration, which takes office on 20 January.
It says that “the US economy [...]
Should Woolworths have been saved?
It’s a sad day indeed when a towering high street brand such as Woolworths goes into administration.
The problem was not a declining business model as much as the inability of the company to service its debts.
When the government has done everything it can to infuse a huge amount of money into UK banks, it remains [...]