BEWARE! THE BANKS ARE OUT TO GET YOU!

[Stanley]

I have noticed multiple reports in the media of late from small businesses who are already being hit by uncertain delivery times and can see it getting worse. Some of them even mention the 'B' word......
The current wave of consequences from the quasi-budget is not going to help anyone!

[PanBiker]

My parcel is on it's way, tracking says I will have it tomorrow morning.

[Tizer]

Trouble ahead...
`Mortgage lenders halt some deals after pound falls' LINK
`Some mortgage deals have been withdrawn by banks and building societies after a fall in the pound fuelled forecasts of a sharp rise in interest rates. Virgin Money and Skipton Building Society halted mortgage offers for new customers, but said submitted applications would still be processed. Halifax said it would stop mortgages with product fees. The Bank of England said on Monday it would "not hesitate" to hike interest rates after the pound hit record lows.

[Big Kev]

I have 3 years left on a mortgage, I booked an appointment last week, for tomorrow, to fix it for those 3 years. Current 3 year fix is just over 4%, hopefully that is still available tomorrow. My current fix is just over 2% and runs out in April, if the 4% deal is still available it'll be worth my while paying the ERC and taking the new fix.

[Tizer]

Might be worth phoning them Kev and checking you'll be able to get it at tomorrow's appointment. If not you might be able to get in today and sort it? I hope you get it Kev.

There's going to be a lot of people getting a shock when they find out how much extra they'll end up paying on their mortgage. But also a big shock for those who had hoped to buy a house on mortgage and then find banks turning them away. It's going to be a bad time for buying a house or trying to get a larger one.

[Whyperion]

I have 3 years left on a mortgage, I booked an appointment last week, for tomorrow, to fix it for those 3 years. Current 3 year fix is just over 4%, hopefully that is still available tomorrow. My current fix is just over 2% and runs out in April, if the 4% deal is still available it'll be worth my while paying the ERC and taking the new fix.

Annoyed that I didnt go for a credit card 3 year cash top up earlier in 2022 at 2percent PA interest. A few K on that and even with just putting it in savings would have doubled the interest in my favour. Really was thinking of it to fund electrifying one of the cars and solarising the sons house.

[Big Kev]

Might be worth phoning them Kev and checking you'll be able to get it at tomorrow's appointment. If not you might be able to get in today and sort it? I hope you get it Kev.

I hope so too. With regard to bringing it forward to today, unfortunately not, they have a full diary. It's not been withdrawn from their website yet.
It's a very big building society so hopefully they'll hang on a bit.

[Stanley]

I am so lucky in that I don't have to deal with things like that Kev. I am so sorry to hear you are having that problem. Are we moving towards being a second class nation? Or have we already got there.....
These are the problems the government should be sorting, not building vanity projects like HS2 and aircraft carriers.....

[Big Kev]

There's not a lot left on the mortgage, I just like to know what I'm paying each month. A lump of it is what I loaned my offspring to buy my house from me, he pays me a regular amount each month and doesn't have much left to pay. The plan is to clear it all within the 3 years, I have no other debt so could potentially retire, on my private pensions, once the mortgage is cleared. Another couple of years after that and I would get my state pension too.

[Stanley]

[Stanley]

I've been listening to the midday news on the possible actions of the B0fE. You have all heard the details and I hope you understand the conflicting views better than I do!
The big elephant in the room is that the IMF is worried about a possible global catastrophe that will be triggered by 'an event' somewhere in the world..... They fear the UK and its shenanigans might be that trigger.....
Deep Joy....

[Tizer]

They fear the UK and its shenanigans might be that trigger.....

Putin's deadline on Friday for his declaration of those Ukraine regions being part of Russia and Biden's `catastrophic consequences' could be another option.

[Big Kev]

The plan is to clear it all within the 3 years

The mortgage rate had increased by 1% since yesterday but I'm sorted.

[Stanley]

Glad to hear you have got the mortgage sorted Kev. At least you must nave been able to talk to someone!
See THIS for the latest word on the financial turmoil.....
"Meanwhile, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Chris Philp, has confirmed he is asking government departments to find savings."
I don't think searching down the backs of the ministerial sofas is going to be a cure for this one. Have they gone completely potty?

[Big Kev]

Glad to hear you have got the mortgage sorted Kev. At least you must nave been able to talk to someone!

It's a gamble but I can't see it going any other way but up. I had a 90 minute video call booked but it was all sorted in 40, I knew what I wanted and the mortgage advisor agreed.
The best I could get was 5.09%, fixed for 3 years, and the mortgage will be cleared then. It's cheaper than renting

[Stanley]

[Stanley]

See THIS report on the slowest sales growth since shops reopened after COVID-19 lockdowns as consumers reined in spending amid a worsening cost-of-living crunch. It won't be long before the retailers are telling us how important Xmas sales are to them. Nobody can be sure of anything in this economic climate....

[Tizer]

Ernst & Young (or EY as they like to be called now) are being accused of money laundering and tax evasion, according to today's FT. Lack of controls and failure to keep adequate records. Why am I not surprised?

[Stanley]

All the big accounting companies have been sailing close to the wind and not regulated hard enough for years. I hope we might be seeing an improvement but I doubt it, I shall not be holding my breath!

[Whyperion]

All the big accounting companies have been sailing close to the wind and not regulated hard enough for years. I hope we might be seeing an improvement but I doubt it, I shall not be holding my breath!

If you dont do it you are fired, if you do do it you are fined. The trick is to do it and not be found out

[Stanley]

Today is the day the B0fE has said it stops supporting the bond market after the disaster of the mini-budget. We wait in stunned silence to see what our Leaders do about this..... I am not expecting any joined-up thinking or economic sense, such things are beyond Truss and Kwarteng....

[Tizer]

`Will Bank of England have to step in again to mop up market mess?' Guardian
Note this bit: The Bank has rightly put pressure on fund managers to get their act together, and try to cut down on complex hedging arrangements – known as liability driven investments (LDIs) – that were blamed for sparking the cash calls on pension schemes, and forcing them to dump assets including government bonds to raise money fast.
I've seen a lot of criticism about these LDIs and it seems to involve the BoE acting like a pawnbroker in the present situation. It's all gobbledegook to me!

[Stanley]

"It's all gobbledegook to me!"
I suspect that applies to some of the people using these instruments. They know what the do but not how they do it. Janet once told me that was the case with the large merchant banks she worked for. The higher management didn't understand the algorithms, only that some made profits. Guess which ones they favoured!

[plaques]

The higher management didn't understand the algorithms

Not many people do. These algorithms are written by top Mathematicians who look at probabilities as well as actual numbers. They also use some of the fastest computing power available. In effect betting on future trends and changes that may not happen. If a butterfly flaps it wings sort of thing.

[Tizer]

These algorithms are written by top Mathematicians who look at probabilities as well as actual numbers. They also use some of the fastest computing power available.

You're spot on there Plaques, it was bad enough when it went to algorithms but the big change came more recently with high-frequency trading (HFT), soaring computer power allowing trades in one 64 millionth of a second. The traders don't hold any stock at the end of a day, everything bought is sold off. They're just creaming off the profits. It's diabolical, it doesn't do anything to improve the lot of the average person but simply makes traders rich. I'd call it gambling with our pension money but it doesn't even expose the HFT trader to risk as gambling does. It ought to be banned and the traders made to do something that benefits the world's population. [Rant over!]

NB. Let's not forget `dark pool trading' which can exaggerate the impact of HFT .
Dark pools are private asset exchanges designed to provide additional liquidity and anonymity for trading large blocks of securities away from the public eye.
Dark pools provide pricing and cost advantages to buy-side institutions such as mutual funds, and pension funds, which claim that these benefits ultimately accrue to the retail investors who invest in these funds.
However, dark pools’ lack of transparency makes them susceptible to conflicts of interest by their owners and predatory trading practices by HFT firms. Investopedia