Boeing Share Discussion Threads

[westcoastrich] 08/1/2009 07:59

HIGH STREET RETAILERS IN ADMINISTRATION TO 7 JANUARY 2009.

[ignoble] 07/1/2009 21:34

What worries me is the Buy-to-Let brigade who have bought leasehold flats.
In some ways, they have bought a depreciating asset as every year that passes, the lease becomes shorter thus reducing the value of the asset.
At some point , hopefully before it approaches the magic 80 years , the lease has to be renegotiated at additional cost to the owner.
I wonder how many Landlords have factored that into the "buy-to-let" equation ?

[gsands] 07/1/2009 20:47

1.5% tomorrow?

I reckon that will be approaching a figure which is too low. But as always, these dimwits will over react.

Next thing we'll come out of this slump with soaring inflation.

Stability is what we need.

Let's get lending going again and force the banks to offer mortgages at long term rates i.e. 10-20 years fixed.

[westcoastrich] 06/1/2009 18:14

rates to fall to 0.5% soon i hope

[whiterussians] 06/1/2009 16:31

As the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) begins its first two day monthly meeting of 2009 the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) calls for a full 1 percentage point reduction in Bank rate from 2% to 1% to help limit the scale of private sector job cuts in the coming year.


Dr John Philpott, the CIPD's Chief Economist, said:


"The toll of private sector jobs losses is rising by the day. The labour market needs a further substantial cut in Bank rate allied to efforts to increase the flow of credit to hard pressed businesses. This is as important in the fight against rising unemployment as the government's welcome initiative to create 100,000 extra jobs."

[westcoastrich] 05/1/2009 08:00

Next decision:
12:00 8th Jan 2009

[westcoastrich] 03/1/2009 14:50

Interest rate cut forecast as banks fail to deliver
Jan 3 2009 by Tomos Livingstone, Western Mail

A FRESH cut in interest rates next week may not lead to better mortgage deals or increase lending to businesses, the Bank of England conceded yesterday.

The Bank has already cut rates to 2% – their lowest level since the 1950s – and is expected to go further when its latest move is announced on Thursday




Bring it on Baby!!

[westcoastrich] 03/1/2009 11:04

Stark numbers add up to worst year for employment in Britain for 20 years
The BCC is pressing for a halt to the annual rises in the national minimum wage to help businesses to cope with the downturn, but job cuts are still widely expected

Christine Buckley, Industrial Editor
The recession will claim 600,000 jobs next year, making 2009 the worst year for job losses in two decades. Overall, job losses from the recession are expected to top one million, taking the total out of work to three million in 2010, employers' groups say today.

Fears for mounting job losses from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) come as the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is calling for a freeze in the level of the minimum wage because it says that business cannot afford any more costs. A survey by the CIPD also found that pay expectations among employees had slumped, with many fearing pay freezes and a minority expecting pay cuts.

John Philpott, the chief economist of the CIPD, said: "This time last year, in the face of some scepticism, the CIPD warned that 2008 would be the UK's worst year for jobs in a decade. It was. But, in retrospect, it will be seen as merely the slow-motion prelude to what will be the worst year for jobs in almost two decades."

He added that human resources in many businesses would feel more like " ER or Casualty" as HR departments tried to deal with the impact of job losses. On the expected contraction in pay awards, the CIPD said that employers would have to find other ways to motivate employees, including nonfinancial rewards.

Related Links
UK growth shrinks to worst level since 1990
The bright side of redundancy
The year the bubble burst
Several big-name companies have asked workers to take pay cuts, and they have achieved mixed results. JCB, the maker of earth-moving equipment, cut pay to some workers in return for limiting redundancies; however, unions have rejected proposals for pay cuts from Corus and Vauxhall. The BCC is pressing for a halt to the annual rises in the national minimum wage to help businesses to cope with the downturn. The minimum wage is recommended by the Low Pay Commission in March and implemented by the Government in October. David Frost, the director-general of the BCC, said that although the organisation did not oppose a rise when the economy was strong, "when jobs are being lost daily and a recession is in full swing, it makes no sense to increase the national minimum wage".

He said: "Most businesses are prioritising survival at the moment. A rise in the minimum wage would not help firms to hold on to staff and would simply add to unemployment."

Richard Lambert, the Director-General of the CBI, said that concern over the state of the economy next year highlighted the need for politicians to set out industrial priorities. He said: "Politicians of every strip are beginning to sketch out big and challenging ideas about a more activist approach to industrial policy in the years ahead. It's going to be very important for business to join in this debate and to set out its own ideas of the best way forward."

Meanwhile, one of the biggest unions highlighted regional pay disparities after analysing precredit crunch data. The GMB found that employees in London earned the most in the country, with an average of £46,000. The average in the City of London was £82,000, compared with £31,300 nationwide. Workers in the North East earned the lowest average pay, £25,551. Parts of South Wales also ranked low, as did areas in the North West, such as Blackpool and Rochdale.

[westcoastrich] 02/1/2009 19:36

Britain's biggest lenders are tightening their criteria on buy-to-let mortgages, depriving would-be investors of the chance to take advantage of plummeting prices and record-low interest rates.

Nationwide-owned The Mortgage Works, the market-leading buy-to-lender, said this month it will refuse applications from "property developers" - cutting off thousands of landlords from remortgage deals next year.

It said it would not accept applications from someone who owns 25% or more of a property- development business.

Abbey also said landlords who want it to take account of buy-to-let income on residential-mortgage applications will have to prove rent covers 125% of repayments with the interest rate pegged at 7% - rather than the rate actually paid.


Melanie Bien, of Savills Private Finance, the broker, said: "Abbey is sending out a clear message that landlords are no longer welcome. By refusing to offer any new or remortgage buy-to-let deals, and implementing draconian rental covenants for those taking out a residential mortgage who have buy-to-lets in the background, it is making itself very unattractive to anyone with buy-to-let property."

HBOS-owned BM Solutions, the biggest buy-to-lender after Bradford & Bingley (B&B) retreated from the market before collapsing in October, demands a deposit of 40% on its best deals.

In 2007, HBOS was offering deals to landlords with deposits of just 15% - while B&B-owned Mortgage Express was offering deals at 90% of the value of the property.

Just 27 out of 94 lenders offer buy-to-let mortgages, according to a survey by Chase de Vere Mortgage Management.

The best rates for landlords are about 1.5% higher than residential mortgages and landlords should expect fees of around 2.5%.

The best buy-to-let two-year fix from The Mortgage Works at 4.99% with a fee of 2.5% is only available to borrowers with a 30% deposit.

[gsands] 02/1/2009 09:23

I have written to my local MP. It's not enough to complain on public bulletin boards. Please make your thoughts known to your local MP and use the democratic process to bring about change.

Here is my letter. Please feel free to cut and paste it/ edit it and send it to your MP.



Dear Bridget Prentice,

RE. Our financial system

Will the Government of this country take steps to ensure that our financial system starts to operate in favour of the everyday man on the street, rather than the spivs, speculators and bankers in the City?

Back in the summer of 2008, speculators were jumping into crude oil positions, driving the price up to an absurd $147 a barrel on the back on a weakening US dollar. This was a ridiculous situation given the rapidly deteriorating state of the global economy - how could the price of oil be rising just as the world was heading towards a slump?
However, it was taken seriously enough by various rate setters around the world (including our own MPC) with the result that interest rates were left on hold (actually increased by 0.25% in Europe) precisely at a time when policy makers should have been LOWERING rates to offset the failing economy. Rate setters were watching the wrong ball - inflation, not recession. This is just one example of the dangers of rampant unregulated/unsupervised speculation. The everyday man on the street is paying the price (by losing jobs) of the greedy speculation of a handful of oil traders (and other commodity traders) who managed to dupe the Bank of England into keeping rates unnecessarily high.

How much longer are we to tolerate the lies and mistruths peddled by the directors of our PLC companies - companies which we the everyday man in the street are expected to invest in via the stock market - either directly or via our pensions? As a private investor myself I can testify to the fact that almost all company directors seem to believe that it is acceptable to lie or mislead shareholders, either with blatant lies or lack of clarity (when asked) as to the true financial position/outlook of the company they are paid to run. In the past when I have tried to get straight answers to my questions about how the company I hold shares in is performing, I find it virtually impossible. My queries are either blanked altogether or I am declined answers because directors feel they are unable/not required to talk how the company is being run outside of formal updates. Frankly many of them seem to behave as if they own the company themselves.

Now that the Government have seen what a mess has made of things, I hope it will cease sucking up to the City and provide a proper counter balance to the power that the City wields. I presume that in due course we can expect the arrest and prosecution of those directors who have participated in the worst cases of misleading share holders. This is an important process in cleaning up the City and making it a place where the every day man in the street feels safe to invest his money. The Government must surely realise the importance bringing justice and supervision to the City. The function of the market is not to the line the pockets of liars, insiders and speculators - it is to give business enterprise an alternative to banks for raising capital. Let us please close down this casino and return to proper long term investing.

Finally, I trust the Government will use its position as a large shareholder in the big banks of this country to ensure that suitable long term mortgage products are made available to the every day man in the street, instead of the ridiculous system we currently have today where it is difficult to arrange a mortgage for much longer than a handful of years, with the result that borrowers are unable to set their financial 'goal posts' and instead have to the run the gauntlet of guessing what interest rates might be in the future and repeatedly move their mortgage business around at the end of every fixed period.

The purchasing of a home is a serious lifetime investment and it is only logical that people should be able to fix rates for the term of the mortgage so that they be can sure of their ongoing financial commitment each month.

If nothing else, the unprecedented events of 2008 should serve to illustrate how our financial system is failing to serve the everyday man on the street, and instead favouring the speculators and gamblers who have turned the markets into the casino that we currently see. This is a once in a century opportunity for the Government to bring about some real change and I sincerely hope that this present Government will cease it.



To find your local MP and email them, go to this website:

[westcoastrich] 01/1/2009 12:26

The worst since 1946: How this recession will 'cost 1 in 10 their jobs'
By James Chapman
01st January 2009


Add to My Stories One in ten workers will be out of a job by the end of the worst recession in Britain since the end of the Second World War, business leaders warn today.

A devastating forecast from the British Chambers of Commerce says unemployment will rise to a peak of 3.1million over the next two years, some 10 per cent of the workforce.

A second report, from retail consultancy Experian, predicts that up to 1,400 retailers will fail this year.
The British Chambers of Commerce report said that economic situation is deteriorating so rapidly that national income will contract by 2.9 per cent in the 15 months to the end of September.
It predicts that in the 2009-2010 financial year, Government borrowing will hit an unprecedented £130billion - 9 per cent of national income.
A separate report, from the Centre for Economics and Business Research, predicts a 2.9 per cent fall in economic activity in 2009 - the steepest single-year drop since 1946.

The forecast from the BCC, which represents more than 100,000 firms, says Britain's budgetary position will remain 'extremely serious' for the next few years.

More...

[westcoastrich] 01/1/2009 10:30

The National Debtline charity has launched its biggest recruitment drive in anticipation of record demand for its counselling services.

It is bringing in 50 new debt advisers to join its 91-strong team, thanks to £6m of extra Government funding, which highlights fears over the recession and the knock-on effect for consumers.

[zoo123] 31/12/2008 16:50

Lol...........

[westcoastrich] 31/12/2008 10:28

Cameron's riposte to Brown's 'Blitz spirit' call: You are bombing us to bankruptcy By Michael Lea

Last updated at 12:29 AM on 31st December 2008



David Cameron ridiculed Gordon Brown's call for Britain to adopt the Blitz spirit yesterday by accusing him of 'bombing' the country to the brink of bankruptcy.

[gsands] 30/12/2008 23:53

Yes - and come up with better ways to use taxpayers money than VAT cuts.

I've got an idea:

Issue every household in Britain with a voucher worth £2000 redeemable against a thermal solar installation (typical cost £4k).

Result:

1. Money spent.
2. Money saved.
3. Jobs created.

[westcoastrich] 30/12/2008 19:04

It's gloomy out there. The economy is shrinking, property values are falling and stock markets are in the doldrums.

Many people borrowed heavily during the boom, and now are tempted to pay off debt or save more for a rainy day - something which until now has not characterised the behaviour of UK consumers.

But if this happens, will the government's plan to boost the economy through greater spending work?

Paradox of thrift

Because thrift may be a virtue for the individual, but could damage the economy as a whole, according to the economist John Maynard Keynes, writing in the midst of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

He called it the paradox of thrift. The more people saved, the more they reduced effective demand, thus further slowing the economy.

This was one reason, he pointed out, that a recession can become self-reinforcing.

Keynes also argued that, faced with slowing demand, businesses would not necessarily use the extra savings available in the economy to invest.

In the Keynesian theory, as the slump in demand cascaded through the economy, the resulting slowdown would mean that everyone had less income - ultimately reducing the absolute amount of savings, even if people increase the proportion of their income they put aside.

As unemployment grew, investment would fall, whatever the level of savings.




Interest rates of 0% will stop saving. But hurry!!

[westcoastrich] 30/12/2008 12:57

Middle-class fear they won't be able to pay the mortgage
Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent
30.12.08 Related Articles
TWO out of five middle-class professionals fear they will struggle to pay their mortgage next year, a poll reveals today.

The poll also showed that high earners are the most worried that they will default on their mortgage payments.

The findings highlight how the economic downturn has hit the City, retailers and manufacturing but is now predicted increasingly to affect other professions such as law and accountancy, marketing and advertising agencies and public relations companies.

The YouGov survey for a report by the Conservatives on the housing market found that 42 per cent of middle-class professionals were concerned about not being able to pay their mortgage next year, compared with 46 per cent of blue collar workers. Of the higher earners, 15 per cent said they were "very worried" about not being able to meet their repayments, compared with 12 per cent for other social groups.



Next decision:
12:00 8th Jan 2009

[gsands] 29/12/2008 17:04

This bunch of idiots have already left it too late - duped back in the summer by spivs and speculators into thinking that inflation was the problem they were fighting with.

Once we reach the pit of this crisis, let's hope the Government - who are largely in control of the banks now - have the foresight to insist on long term mortgage deals being made available.

No more fixed rates for 2 years. Let's have some proper long term deals like 10, 20 and 25 year fixed rates so at least people can set the goal posts in terms of their expenditure.

[westcoastrich] 29/12/2008 00:24

Next decision:
12:00 8th Jan 2009

[westcoastrich] 29/12/2008 00:23

Repossessions hit 125 families a day
December 17, 2008
As repossession proceedings against homeowners in the UK continue to rise, a recent report has shown that in the third quarter of this year the level of repossession in the UK rocketed by 12 percent to 11,300, which equated to around 125 homeowners each day losing their homes after falling behind on repayments.



and

2500 joining the dole each day


britain is bust


get rates to 0% QUICK!!!

[westcoastrich] 23/12/2008 18:53

The remarks yesterday from Sir John Gieve, Bank of England deputy governor, and Tim Besley, an external member of the MPC who was as recently as this summer voting for a rise in benchmark borrowing costs, heightened financial markets' belief that UK base rates were set to fall all the way to zero.