July 16, 2008
"The Credit Crunch is Over" is a bold statement to make, and more experienced people foolishly made the same prediction much earlier in the year.
However, as we near the first anniversary of the Credit Crunch slamming into the financial markets, here are the observations and predictions from Finance Markets:
1. The Credit Crisis is over
That doesn't mean to say the effects of ...
The Credit Crunch is Over
by Brian Turner
July 14, 2008
With the collapse of Indymac, the FDIC was forced to allocate anywhere between $4-8 billion in assets to take over the company.
Who are the FDIC?
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent agency created by the Congress that maintains the stability and public confidence in the nation’s financial system by insuring deposits, examining and supervising financial ...
Can the FDIC cope with US banking failures?
by Brian Turner
June 13, 2008
The market in "sell and rent back" has boomed incredibly over the past couple of years.
Originally there were just a handful of established companies in this market - but the tail-end of the property boom has brought in a massive influx of property speculators who have entered this market as an alternative to buy-to-let.
The result is that now ...
Sell and Rent Back: What you need to know
by Brian Turner
June 12, 2008
The shock resignation of David Davis from the House of Commons is a brilliant political strategy.
By forcing a by-election where the Liberal Democrats have agreed not to stand, Labour faces a rout that will make Crewe and Nantwich look like a picnic.
And, of course, if re-elected - as expected - then David Davis can happily rejoin the Conservative party having caused ...
David Davis resignation undermines Brown in brilliant political strategy
by Brian Turner
March 3, 2008
The recommendation of a free national financial advice service by the Thoresen Review is deeply flawed, and no panacea for sloppy regulation.
The BBC reports on recommendations by the Thoresen Review of Generic Financial Advice, which includes a free national financial advice service, provided for using the internet and telephone services.
Commissioned by the government, the report suggests ...
The UK does not need a national financial advice service
by Brian Turner
March 2, 2008
US banks are parasitically feeding on the debt problems of America.
The Bush economic rescue plan is already doomed, partly because you cannot beat economic cycles, but also because US banks and lenders are in a feeding frenzy over debt charges.
We've already heard of the Credit Crunch - mass defaulting on US sub prime mortgages which had been parcelled as structured investments, ...
How US banks are destroying the American economy
by Brian Turner
February 1, 2008
The announcement this morning that Microsoft has placed a bid for Yahoo finally confirms chatter that has been doing the rounds for a while.
But before investors get too excited in the hype, it may be worth exploring a few important criticisms of the deal.
As someone who has been a specialist part of the search engine industry for the past 5 years, I ...
Microsoft to buy Yahoo? A last desperate attack on Google
by Brian Turner
January 28, 2008
This is a special guest post from Fion from Fair Home, on discussing how we can improve our impact on the environment. As the world economy begins a slowdown, stock markets threaten to crash, and the USA slowly slips into recession, it's too easy to look at the negative personal impacts of negative economic indicators. However, it's not all doom and gloom – recession could do wonders for the environment. Here are ...
10 Ways Recession Can Help the Environment
by Fion MacCloudThis is a special guest post from Fion from Fair Home, on discussing how we can improve our impact on the environment. As the world economy begins a slowdown, stock markets threaten to crash, and the USA slowly slips into recession, it's too easy to look at the negative personal impacts of negative economic indicators. However, it's not all doom and gloom – recession could do wonders for the environment. Here are ...
January 7, 2008
I've written before that HSBC Premier Banking is not the best service around, but unfortunately my experience with HSBC is getting worse.
To summarise from before, HSBC Premier accounts claim to offer lots of extra features.
But these are applied so selectively that about the only difference a HSBC Premier customer could see over a normal HSBC banking customer is ...
HSBC banking to continues to fail to deliver
by Brian Turner
December 23, 2007
The Credit Crunch has dominated financial news over the second-half of 2007.
As we prepare to start a new year, a number of adverse indicators continue to threaten the UK economy for 2008.
1. Property
The UK property market across all sectors has shown itself to be a core factor in the economic health of the nation - but by all accounts, every ...
Threats for the UK economy in 2008
by Brian Turner
December 7, 2007
The Citizens Advice Bureau is advising people to be extra careful with Christmas debt this year - not surprising considering the adverse economic conditions we currently find ourselves in.
Few people are looking to 2008 to be a great economic year, with problems in the financial markets threatening to undermine the entire banking sector.
Yet while news reports focus on the troubles ...
Britain’s obsession with debt
by Brian Turner
December 3, 2007
Morgan Stanley issued a stark warning at the beginning of June this year, predicting a market correction in the order of 14% in European equities - which could wipe out as much as 1000 points from the FTSE 100.
Bull traders continued on till August. Then the credit bubble finally burst, the credit crunch hit, and the FTSE 100 ...
Morgan Stanley predicts new stock market crash
by Brian Turner
November 19, 2007
Today it was announced that the FSA had fined two brokerages because of potential mis-selling.
The action by the FSA just doesn't go far enough.
The Loan Company (trading as Greenhill Finance) was fined £31,500 for failing to make proper affordability checks on the sub-prime mortgages it was selling.
Next Generation Mortgages was fined £10,500 for failing to make proper assessments and ...
FSA failing in financial mis-selling
by Brian Turner
November 12, 2007
It's scary the number of the people who keep asking me for tips on how to get into property investment.
Scary, because at the moment we're at the end of the property cycle - a downturn in property price growth.
Which means the unwary investor looking to invest in property now could be looking at significant loses in the short-term.
Let's looks at ...
Property Investment: what you need to know
by Brian Turner
September 20, 2007
There is a lot you can criticise the Bank of England for. Slow action over 2004-2005 that helped create an ugly housing boom, the instability of which already threatens us, is possibly their greatest failing.
But the current fiasco over Northern Rock, and The Bank of England - particularly the governor, Mervyn King - is nothing more than a hunt for ...
Mervyn King being martyred for Northern Rock
by Brian Turner
August 30, 2007
A stark commentary by BBC radio business presenter Greg Wood suggests the real impacts of the subprime mortgage market will hit the stock market in September. And it won't be pretty.
The claim centers on the profit reports from investment banks, starting with Goldman Sachs and the rest following close behind. According to Standard & Poor, the expectation is 50% wiped from ...
BBC: Stock market crash in Autumn
by Brian Turner
August 23, 2007
While politicians and inside analysts are attempting to put a brave face on the current turmoil on the financial markets, commentators are likening the current subprime mortgage crisis to a pyramid scheme.
In a recent CNN interview, Nouriel Roubini pointed out that current Federal Reserve estimates of the problem may be extraordinarily undervalued at $100 billion.
Instead, he points out that minority ...
Subprime Credit Bubble Yet to Burst
by Brian Turner
August 22, 2007
When I first set up in business a few years ago, I had no idea what my annual income would be.
Tax Credits were still relatively new, but they wouldn't take an estimate of my income.
And I couldn't give an exact income figure until my accounts were finished at the end of the tax year.
Which meant being able to provide an income figure that the ...
Tax credits overpayment
by Brian Turner
August 18, 2007
The HSBC offers a Premier Banking service, like a number of other high street banks.
Benefits offered include free travel insurance, preferential lending rates, and improved customer service.
Unfortunately, it's difficult to relate in what way the customer service is actually improved.
True, you may find yourself able to avoid queues in high street branches by being ushered to a more private area, where your banking ...
HSBC Premier Banking - not the best service around
by Brian Turner
August 10, 2007
Today we've seen the FTSE 100 and other major stock indices tumble as the shockwaves from the housing and subprime mortgage market collapse in the USA.
These shockwaves are likely to impact the ordinary UK consumer in a number of ways - there's a danger of pension funds being adversely affected at best, and a threat of recession at worse.
Either way, the effects ...
Bank charge cases a bigger threat to UK than stock falls
by Brian Turner