BEWARE! THE BANKS ARE OUT TO GET YOU!

[Tripps]

For banks read builders.

Robert Halfon MP has just said (with no doubt the benefit of Parliamentary Privilege)

"In the eyes of my constituents - Persimmon are crooks cowboys and con artists".

[Whyperion]

The papers tend to concentrate on Sterling Costs and its affect on Holidaymakers. Far greater are the capital , investment and trading flows , it is going to make UK buying overseas machinery in particular more expensive, but makes land, buildings and UK companies cheaper to invest in for overseas buyers. It also slightly increases the GBP price of overseas shares in part as remittances back when translated into sterling have a higher GBP yield than they would otherwise have. If Britain made stuff or was a net oil producer it would be useful. I suspect in part though the Dollar rise has more to do with a mild economic recovery in the US, its import tariffs increase and some thought that US interest rates might rise a point or two.

[Stanley]

See THIS account of the expected advice from the OBR that a no deal Brexit will cause a recession.
The same message is coming in from the European Commission. Are we really going to shoot ourselves in the foot?

[Stanley]

See THIS report on the prospects for the Pound as we move on towards Brexit. News about the market currency movements is thin on the ground, it appears to be the proverbial elephant in the room. I begin to suspect that in private many investors and commentators are getting uneasy about the state of the market and on the whole they are keeping quiet because nobody wants to trigger the end of the bull market that has been such a feature and has to end at some point. Trump's sanctions against China are causing mire damage in the US than in China and one sign of increasing unease in the US is Trump's latest diatribe against China allowing their exchange rate to fall when in truth it is a perfectly natural reaction. Trump sees it as a hostile action and one suspects that he is looking at the election and considering what effect a market fall would have on his prospects.
In terms of the UK this unease in the markets is one more pressure in addition to the strains we are feeling related to Brexit.
See THIS also for a report on the July High Street trading results. There is nothing comforting about this continuing slide in sales. It looks as though Joe Public has stopped spending.....
Events Dear Boy?

[Tizer]

All that has been going on in the background as the Government has been treating us like fools and assuming we'll all believe their claims that `Britain is doing well in the world'. Trump's latest tariffs on Chinese goods has rattled even the Republicans and some of them are reminding Americans that no-one wins in a trade war. I hope they'll remember too that trump doesn't always win in negotiations - he's lost money big time on business deals in the past. He got by because he inherited a lot of money and property and could afford to lose. Ordinary Americans can't afford him to lose now.

[Stanley]

I have always been very suspicious of the main tactic Trump uses which is to disrupt. I am convinced that many of his most outrageous statements are simply to foster that tactic. If you read your history you'll find many examples of short term success using this principle but in the end all the initiatives failed. At the moment the people who are profiting from Trump policies are the Lords of the Universe and their Hedge Funds. Using cunning wheezes like shorting a position they are making money hand over fist. That's one of the factors that sustains the markets but this will end shortly and there will be a reckoning. It will be too late then and as usual the burden will fall on Joe Public, they are already suffering but you ain't seen nothing yet! Cracks are already appearing in the US and UK.
Many years ago I was constructing an application for EU funding and had to give my financial figures in Euros about which I knew nothing. This was before Google so I rang my bank and asked what the Pound/Euro exchange rate was. They didn't know but eventually got back to me and quoted the Euro at 87p. That level held for many years but I note that it is currently standing at 92p. Go figure!

[Stanley]

The further the country is dragged into Johnson's fantasy island vision, the more active the scammers are and one field in particular is giving them huge rewards, pension fraud triggered by Osborne's relaxation of the rules on pensions and annuities. Worth reading THIS advice from a psychologist who seems to know what she is talking about. It's a hard cruel world out there and we are under constant attack from these crooks who are very sophisticated.
I may have made a smart move in arranging my funeral early! Reports are coming in of a sharp rise in cremation costs in some parts of the UK.

[Tizer]

Cremation costs were already rising fast back in 2013/14 and I think the concern now is more about explaining the wide variation of charges across the country.

[Stanley]

Quite right Tiz, I was remiss, that was the gist of the report.
Listening to the various reactions to the new economic figures yesterday reminded me of two things. The first is that forecasting is not an exact science and the second is that there is an element of sugaring the pill as the last thing that is needed is any panic in the markets when they are in such a volatile condition. The one thing that every pundit and reporter knows for certain is that the longest lasting bull market in history has to end somewhere. The thing that really intrigues me is the fact that returns on bonds is so bad that if you want to make your money safe for ten or twenty years by investing in a safe security like German Bonds you have to pay them for the privilege! The quoted return is negative. How can that be a positive sign?
Javez says the UK economy is vigorous and out performing many European ones. Is a statement like that aimed at the bankers? I doubt it, more likely to be a reassurance for the great unwashed..... What effect does this have on the funds that pay my monthly annuity?

[Stanley]

Thomas Cook shares dropped to 7.5p yesterday as it seems to be in the last stages of independence, it could be taken over by Fosum, a Chinese investor. It looks like the end of the oldest travel firm in the business.
Tui (the strange rebirth of Thompson) is also having difficulties but for a different reason. None of their Boeing 737 Max planes can fly and no date in prospect for the ban to be raised. This must be costing billions world wide. How can Boeing stand it?

[Tripps]

We are heading for strange times. . . .

Beware the Banks are out to GIVE you. Negative rate mortgages

[Stanley]

Dead in line with the EU Central Bank David. If you buy their bonds you have to pay them for the privilege and their are plenty of takers.
Later.... I have just heard a BBC report on THIS HMRC policy on taxing payments made under a cunning wheeze that meant that income was paid in loans that never needed repayment. The rate is retrospective and punitive and can reach 40% on all payments, for some this is a six figure sum. If ever there was a case of danger in cunning wheezes this is it. A shocking position for ordinary people to find themselves in and through no fault of their own.

[Stanley]

The global economy is giving every indication of being very shaky today. Watch this space.

[Tizer]

Be careful, Stanley. If the global economy crashes they might blame it on you. What Terry Pratchett called the power of narrative - things happen because people believe they will happen. (After all, that's why the sun comes up each morning!)

[Stanley]

Yes, and I think that that is why we see so little mention of things like negative interest on bonds and mortgages. Nobody wants to be identified as the person who pointed out that the emperor has no clothes. I suspect that some of the giants of the investment world are quietly selling stocks because as soon as they are seen to be retreating to cash everyone else follows like lemmings.
The longer the Bear Market continues and the more trepidation there is. It can't go on for ever.

[Tizer]

I suspect that some of the giants of the investment world are quietly selling stocks because as soon as they are seen to be retreating to cash everyone else follows like lemmings.

Yes, and see my post in the Quote of The Day topic.
------------------------------------

This must be appropriate for this topic...
`Student loan overpayments of £28m going unclaimed' LINK
`...Payments should stop when the debt has been cleared - but the research shows that for more than 510,000 students since 2009-10, there were extra deductions. Freedom of Information requests showed almost £308m in over-payments, averaging about £600 per person. Most of this was paid back - but £28.5m remains unclaimed and has stayed in the government's coffers...'.

We need to keep in mind that the Student Loans Company has been, and still is, selling off the loans to banks and other bodies: LINK
And note the comment about one sale: `The debt sale was completed with the loans being sold to Income Contingent Student Loans 1 (2002-2006) Plc; a group of silent investors.'

[Tripps]

I don't think 'debt' should be transferred, or bought by , or sold to, any third party.

Discuss.

[Stanley]

I couldn't agree more David and have always thought so. The people who buy debts, because of their business model, have to be far more aggressive than the originator. We have all seen examples of the distress this can cause particularly by the fact that the debtor knows nothing about it until the attack to reclaim starts.
Tiz, I agree, it looks like a total cock-up, the extra payments should never have been collected in the first place. However, I have a tiny bit of sympathy for the explanation, that addresses haven't been kept current as this is a very common circumstance. However, surely if they have an account they can debit why can't they just credit by the same method? Or is that solution too simple....

[Tizer]

SLC loans...I think students have had difficulty communicating with the companies to get updates on their loans. This could be because they've been sold by SLC to other companies.

I agree that debts should not be sold on and would hope that the same could be true for pensions. One of my occupational pensions was from my work for RHM but has been through at least 3 other companies since and now keeps having new administrators.

[plaques]

Good news from our credit card company, they are simplifying the charges on their balance accounts to a single value. BUT on they way they have increased the interest rate from 17.4684% up to 19.0158%. 1.547% extra or a 8.86% increase on the old percentages. . I'm really looking forward to that. I wish wages and pensions would increase at the same rate.

[Stanley]

Unfortunately we are forced to accept what the sneaky buggers do P. I'm lucky I am such a skinflint and pay the card off every month. I can't remember when I last paid interest.

[plaques]

I'm lucky I am such a skinflint and pay the card off every month

Its not luck its common sense. I forgot to add that if you let the loan carry on for more than a year then the interest rate would be compounded. ie; interest on interest.
At a time when there is talk of the bank rate being reduced it looks like these credit agencies are expecting an increase in default payments where the borrower goes bankrupt. I wonder if the possible down turn from Brexit has anything to do with it?

[Stanley]

Any cunning wheeze you can think of is a definite possibility. Their only goal is profit and the more debt people have the better their return. Depressing isn't it....

[Tizer]

19% interest!!! It's obscene, there should be a maximum limit on all interest rates. We've never paid interest on our credit cards. We're determined not to let the banks have the money if we can avoid it.

[Tripps]

We've never paid interest on our credit cards

So - that's you, Stanley, and me too. I'd lay a shade of odds that P doesn't either.

Is it not the case that if no one at all paid interest on credit cards, the banks would make no profit, and stop doing them? Once again the richer and more intelligent, gain an advantage over the poor, and less able. This widens the inequality gap which Mr Corbyn fights so tirelessly.

Pay your share - make credit sustainable - and reduce inequality. . . .