June 29, 2009
Today's announcement by Gordon Brown of reforms to benefits for young people is old news and has already been tried by consecutive Conservative and Labour governments.
As Project Work under the Conservatives, and New Deal under Labour, the entire process has been - and always has been - a complete sham designed to shunt people off unemployment statistics.
The announcement claims that ...
Gordon Brown set to fix unexmployment figures
by Brian Turner
May 8, 2009
The current optimism in the financial markets is being further encouraged by the release of data on the stress-tests for US banks.
Unfortunately, we've become so used to seeing eye-watering high figures in news about banks that somehow the news that at least $75 billion more is required is somehow comforting. It's worth remembering that initial reports into the credit crunch ...
Bank stress tests point to false hope
by Brian Turner
April 21, 2009
Recession over? April Fool!
We're seeing the message this week that the worst of the recession could be over.
It seems a familiar April Fool's message - we saw the same last year when stock markets enjoyed a brief rally after claims the credit crunch was effectively over.
You might be easily led into thinking that the worst is indeed over after a ...
Welcome to the New Depression
by Brian Turner
January 21, 2009
Wall Street rallied today in a dazzling return of investor confidence only a day after US financials were slaughtered.
The Dow Jones gained 279.01 point (3.51%), the S&P 500 35.02 points (4.35%), and the Nasdaq was up 66.21 points. (4.60%).
Marketwatch makes and interesting point with Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist, LPL Financial, as saying:
But ...
The Mother of Bear Rallies: Obama effect to rally Stock Markets?
by Brian Turner
January 20, 2009
The announcement by RBS yesterday that it expected to write down £28 billion was extraordinary.
Fears that the bank may be fully nationalised drove the share price down 67%.
However, the announcement was extraordinary not simply because it would represent the biggest single loss in UK corporate history - but also because of the timing.
The Royal Bank of Scotland is not ...
Why RBS can’t be nationalised
by Brian Turner
November 24, 2008
Alistair Darling's Pre-Budget report was received among a flurry of interest and excitement, but anyone expecting tax cuts to help the UK's small businesses and entrepreneurs will be left sorely disappointed.
A cut in VAT from 17.5% to 15% was announced, ostensibly to help consumers - and yet consumers would be hit with rises on duty for fuel, drink and tobacco to ...
Pre-Budget report fails to support business
by Brian Turner
October 10, 2008
UK banks such as RBS, HBOS, Barclays and Lloyds have had it bad - share prices have plunged wiping billions from their company values, and commercial markets have frozen up leaving them in need of government help to remain afloat.
During the drama of the financial crisis, everyone seems to have forgotten about the ongoing case relating to unfair ...
UK Banks: the worst is yet to come
by Brian Turner
October 9, 2008
Hell - the DJI has already fallen through 9,000 tonight, only 4 days after crashing through 10,000 points - and the fall is continuing through the last half hour of normal trading.
Currently the DJI is just above 8,900 points, a loss of over 3.8% on the day.
That's a consecutive loss of 18% over just 1 week.
US financials have almost reached the bottom points ...
DJI under 9000 points
by Brian Turner
Do pray for us Mr Darling
by Gill Montia
October 7, 2008
We've seen Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley collapse, the Cheshire and Derbyshire Building Societies rescued, and even Halifax Bank of Scotland required a bail-out from Lloyds TSB.
Turmoil in the world's markets mean that credit around the globe has literally frozen up, and banks face the very real possibility of a systemic meltdown of the financial system.
Consumers are ...
Banking Crisis: Which are the Safest UK Banks?
by Brian Turner
October 6, 2008
A crisis might be a time for action rather than questions but with the scale of the problems facing the UK banking sector escalating, one particular question regularly bubbles to the surface.
Is Grupo Santander any more likely to emerge from the credit crisis in sound shape than some of its failing European rivals?
Santander became a household name in the UK when it ...
Santander: White Knight or What?
by Gill Montia
October 2, 2008
Stock markets face a further crash over October, as a combination of bad economic data, credit derivative write downs, and the threat of further bank failures, plague financial markets already freezing up.
The finance sector is bracing itself for further nasty shocks over the new few weeks, as a slew of worsening economic factors come together.
A particular concern is that October sees credit ...
Stock Markets face October crash
by Brian Turner
September 29, 2008
The nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley is the most blatant case of legalised bank robbery this country has ever seen, with almost a million shareholders likely to lose a fortune. The whole point of having shareholders in a democracy is that they own the company and can decide its fate between them, including sacking the board or deciding to sell to a new owner if they wish. Yet the Treasury has apparently ...
Bradford & Bingley shareholders ‘robbed’
by Jon KnightThe nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley is the most blatant case of legalised bank robbery this country has ever seen, with almost a million shareholders likely to lose a fortune. The whole point of having shareholders in a democracy is that they own the company and can decide its fate between them, including sacking the board or deciding to sell to a new owner if they wish. Yet the Treasury has apparently ...
September 26, 2008
Wachovia Corporation (WB)
When Harvard economist, Professor Kenneth Rogoff - formerly head of the IMF - predicted at the end of August that at least one major US bank would collapse along with hundreds of smaller banks, trader speculation fell on three names:
- Lehman Brothers
- Washington Mutual
- Wachovia Corporation
Since his warning on August 28th, we saw Lehman Brothers ...
Are Wachovia Bank and Ambac next to fail?
by Brian Turner
September 18, 2008
Shares in US financials have begun a powerful rally, which has seen shares in many US banks leap by double percentile figures.
The rally began just before 6pm GMT and 1pm New York time.
Companies previously hit hard by investor fears on their mortgage assets are seeing the strongest rebound, with mortgage insurers and US banks with significant mortgage assets showing incredible ...
Shares in US Financials rally after crisis
by Brian Turner
September 15, 2008
Within the past 24 hours, two of the world's biggest investment banks have been destroyed - Lehman Brothers filed bankruptcy, while Merrill Lynch was rescued by Bank of America.
The Fed extended emergency lines of credit; Wall St banks set up a $70 billion liqiudity fund.
And global insurance super giant AIG suddenly threatened to implode.
Today was an extraordinary day of trading on ...
Meltdown Monday for banks
by Brian Turner
August 28, 2008
I took out a self-certified mortgage with GMAC two years ago, because as a company director traditional lenders tend to get very confused when your income is not a straight salaried income-taxed income.
Like many company directors, I instead take an income in the form of dividends. On the low interest rates everyone enjoyed at the time a self-cert seemed ...
Morgan Stanley Advantage: what a bunch of muppets
by Brian Turner
The BBC fudges savings vs investments report
by Brian Turner
August 13, 2008
Final salary pension funds return to the red, with pension trustees looking for more money to shore up the losses.
What no one seems willing to talk about, though, is the mismanagement of final salary pension funds - and how the managers of these funds have been actively seeking to generate losses against their own assets.
In simple terms, at times ...
Pension funds want more money for mismanagement
by Brian Turner
August 8, 2008
If there's one thing US analysts seem to enjoy at the moment, it's downgrading US financials.
It's no surprise that the very companies most actively shorting financials should then release doom and gloom analyses, undermining these further.
And in an almost tit-for-tat battle, analysts at different banks have been downgrading each other continually over the summer.
A cheap target for ...
MBIA and Ambac: the underdogs you can’t keep down
by Brian Turner
