With all the talk of recession, international debt and governments bailing out banks it was nice to hear that one bank has actually decided to resort to banking methods to tide itself over! Barclays Bank have apparently decided to raise £7.3billion to shore up their balance sheet. However, unlike other banks, they have decided that [...]
October, 2008
What is interest
People or businesses in debt pay interest on borrowed money which is a fee Interest can be thought of as “rent on money”. For example there is a certain rate you have to pay if you want to borrow money from a bank, according to how much you want loaned to you. Other useful investments [...]
Third World Debt
Developing countries’ debt is external debt incurred by the governments of Third World countries generally in quantities beyond the political ability to repay. When the interest on the debt exceeds what the country’s politicians think they can collect from taxpayers it becomes ‚Äö√Ñ√∫unpayable debt” so the debt is prevented from being repaid. Increases in oil [...]
A Shot in the Foot
The Bank of England has released its latest Financial Stability Report and guess what? It says there may be a ‘need for a fundamental rethink of how to safeguard against systemic risk’! How much did they pay some genius to work that one out I wonder? Joking aside it does come up with some sobering [...]
Debt in football
Under plans being drawn up by UEFA three premier league teams could face exclusion from the Champions League – on the grounds that they hold excessive debt. The European game’s governing body has set up a working group to discuss how to extend its licensing system and restrict the levels of debt that clubs are [...]
Where’s the ‘D’ Notice?
I cannot help but wonder whether or not the present recession is the result of sub-prime lending, as we are led to believe, or whether it is the result of irresponsible media coverage. Let’s face it, the falls on the Stock Exchange are the result of a lack of confidence. We all thought something was [...]
Property rentals up 50 per cent
In the last year, property rentals in the UK have increased by almost 50 per cent according to the second largest lettings agent Your Move. Their figures show that the number of leases commencing in September rose 4.34% from the previous month, and rose 45% in the nine months previous compared with the same period [...]
Northern Rock
Following problems in the credit markets Northern Rock sought and received a liquidity support facility from the Bank of England during September 2007. This led to a run on the bank with many customers queuing outside branches to withdraw their savings. On 22 February 2008 the bank was taken into state ownership. The nationalisation was [...]
Wall Street Crash 1929 — Could it be now ?
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and longevity of its fallout causing major debt hangovers and severe cash shortages. To describe this collapse three phrases – Black Thursday, Black Monday, and Black Tuesday – are [...]
What is a debt management plan?
What is a debt management plan? A Debt Management Plan (DMP) enables individuals to pay personal unsecured debts which are not being managed as they are late and taking too large a portion of income or even exceeding it. Debt management involves recording all the debts, assessing monthly income and expenditure and re-negotiating interest rates [...]
IPODs
OK, so I may be a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to computers and the like and I have no love of acronyms, but I always thought an IPOD was some sort of a music player. Imagine my surprise then when I saw the term used to describe young adults with debt problems [...]
Young adults to be hit hardest by recession
Young adults aged between 18 and 34 will be the hardest hit as the UK slides into recession, according to a report by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and independent thinktank Reform. Based on their findings, they said that over-regulation and the outdated attitudes among financial services companies have rendered this group unable to handle [...]
Tracker-rate small print denies let up
Thousands of homeowners with tracker rate mortgages could miss out on the recent interest cuts, because of small print restrictions denying them from falling below a minimum threshold. With the recent half a per cent rate reduction and further cuts predicted, many borrowers will not feel the benefit of reduced monthly repayments, as the lenders [...]
Repossessions
Predictions by experts that the number of homes repossessed this year could increase to 45000 (from 26200 last year) has led to a warning from Yvette Cooper, Treasury Minister, that rules on repossession may have to be tightened to force lenders to be a little more understanding towards those experiencing debt problems and falling behind [...]