View Full Version : The "Credit Crunch" and you?
Del Lardo
29-08-2008, 18:20
I was told today not to expect a payrise this year due to the "credit crunch" despite my company making big profits (billions of $) and my group hitting 112% of our target. This is the first time the "credit crunch" has had a direct effect on me and I'm really wondering how much of it is real and how much of it is media hype?
Certainly mortgages are harder to get but IMO the banks have just gone back to sensible lending criteria like they had 8 years ago before the housing boom took off but there seem to still be plenty of jobs out there and people (that I know) aren't getting made redundant left, right and centre.
So have you been effected by the "credit crunch" or do you perceive it as media scaremongering that helps sell papers?
Wellington
29-08-2008, 18:39
I've noticed it, mainly on the food and bills etc etc but I changed job so in a way yes it's affected me, no it hasn't hurt yet! Not getting a pay rise due to credit crunch sounds abit **** to be honest, in a way I'd be expecting a pay rise to help me keep paying those mounting bills.... or looking elsewhere but that's me...
Yep. Can't get a new mortgage deal as the house price has gone down. Going to have to sit on standard variable rate for a bit :(
Our gas/electric supplier also just announced a 20% increase in bills too.
Oh and our food bills have gone up noticably because the supermarkets are putting prices up.
Yay!
Food bill for me, and the local taxis have all just gone up 50p. I'm glad of my free bus pass, and fixed rate energy and mortgage (both for at least another 2 years). I got the mortgage deal sometime in 2006 IIRC so I can't credit the credit crunch with that decision.
LeperousDust
29-08-2008, 19:18
Personally i've not really noticed food yet, obviously noticed petrol prices and utility bils seem to be rising a fair amount too... All part of the game i guess...
I really need to sit my flatmates down and sort out energy bills properly because the guy in "charge" doesn't seem to care that if we shop around a bit we could probably save hundreds... Starting to annoy me now!
Due to our family circumstances it's tricky to tell really as our electricity bill was lower this past quarter than it has been in years (but that's b/c there's one less person in the house :() and we've been eating differently so it's hard to compare accurately.
As my Mum's on a private pension because of her neck injury, and I'm not currently working, our income is very far from brilliant but that's nothing to do with the credit crunch.
We've recently changed energy providers to a fixed rate deal which will hopefully help a lot in coming months and I think we timed it very well.
Food, petrol, clothes, bills, all nicely topped off with a Northern Rock mortgage going up £500 p/m from September means basically, I'm screwed :D
Northern Rock suck, huh? I feel your pain sista
Chuckles
29-08-2008, 19:47
Food, petrol, clothes, bills, all nicely topped off with a Northern Rock mortgage going up £500 p/m from September means basically, I'm screwed :D
Going up TO £500 p/m or actually going up £500? :shocked:
I haven't noticed that much. I'm on SVR at the moment but it seems to be a good rate as it's only £100 more p/m than what it was on the discount. Luckily I've had a few pay rises since I took it out so my disposable income is still more.
I'm gonna ride it out and hope the rates go down a bit before jumping back in on a discount or tracker.
Flibster
29-08-2008, 19:50
Food and petrol certainly.
No workers here have had a pay rise in three years *but unsurprisingly, management have.... but the people who work haven't*
Other half on the other hand has had several pay rises and has just got a permenant job for a stupidly large amount of money. :D
The vending machine at work has had random price increases imposed upon it. Hula-Hoops are up 5p to 40p, McCoys are now 55p when once they were 50p. But the biggest shock is the Turkish Delight. Up 10p to 60p. Gone are the days of two for a quid. :(
It's true, despite my facetiousness.
Chuckles
29-08-2008, 20:04
Actually Petrol has gone up noticably thinking about it. I managed to get £45 in the other day, it only took £35 a year or 2 ago.
Our vending machines went up as well :(
Hoola Hoops are 40p as well, yet it says 35p on the machine :mad:
Most of our vending machine stuff is 50p anyway. I think there was once some 40p stuff, but no longer.
Going up TO £500 p/m or actually going up £500? :shocked:
Its gone up TO the best part of £1600, so yes, up £500. All well and good when you're happily shacked up with Mr Moneybags, as I used to be. Not so now he's shacked up in Kiwi OompaLoompas loveshack and my mortgage is £100 more than my take home wage!!
Bitter? Moi?? :angry:
Hehe, Im not really, not any more. And there's bugger all point in giving myself an early heart attack about it, it'll sort itself out one way or another :D
Gutted you lose a bit of money to the vending machines. I lost my job because of it :(
Over-reaction, much? I think we all realise there are far more important things to life than 10p in the vending machine. I can understand your frustration though.
Sorry you've lost your job. :(
How am I over reacting Mark? Im trying to make light of the situation.
Lynnie_pitch nee Leigh
30-08-2008, 00:55
Its gone up TO the best part of £1600, so yes, up £500. All well and good when you're happily shacked up with Mr Moneybags, as I used to be. Not so now he's shacked up in Kiwi OompaLoompas loveshack and my mortgage is £100 more than my take home wage!!
Bitter? Moi?? :angry:
Hehe, Im not really, not any more. And there's bugger all point in giving myself an early heart attack about it, it'll sort itself out one way or another :D
OMG Pebs that's terrible! can you change mortgage company? :(
Yeah, Im in the process of it all. Fingers crossed :)
standing orders/direct debits plus food and petrol = £2500 a month
going to have to send the missus out for a real job sooner or later :p
though as anyone "Betty ?" will testify "real jobs" are non existent around here
Chuckles
30-08-2008, 01:46
Check moneysavingexpert.com if you don't already Pebs.
I can also recommend an awesome mortgage advisor. Know him since school and he doesn't take commission form customers and is always on MSN/phone if you need to discuss.
LeperousDust
30-08-2008, 03:42
Gutted you lose a bit of money to the vending machines. I lost my job because of it :(
What did i miss here, what were you working as dude? How's it releated? Sucks though :(
What did i miss here, what were you working as dude? How's it releated? Sucks though :(
I was working for a company that handles very protected data. Can't really say too much about it suffice to say that I wasn't the only one :(
Basically the group as a whole were doing badly, but the service part of it particularly so. As a cost cutting measure, I was axed along with another two.
Hopefully someone will want me:'( I might retrain as a chef lol.
So far so good.. credit crunch hasn't hit me, nor has it hit my company. About all we've seen is an increase in the length of time the sales process is taking. That may be hitting some of the sale's teams pockets as they're on commission, but they've had it for so good for so long if they haven't got some cash saved up then they're daft.
I think too many companies are seeing Credit Crunch as a fantastic excuse to duck out of payrises, particularly when you consider the number that are reporting record profits. The stupid thing is that by taking the excuse they're just making the actual credit crunch worse.
There is an interesting difference between how, say, Germany approaches stuff like this and the UK. In Germany when recession hits the government pours money into public infrastructure. 1) it's cheaper and cost effective for them, 2) it helps rebuild the economy, and 3) When the economy recovers they've got even better infrastructure than before to support it and the public.
Really the only place it's hit me and Lom is in the cost of Petrol and shopping. Shopping around we can probably save a bit off the shopping but we'd probably waste the savings on petrol!
We've no mortgage and live in a Housing Association house. Rent's gone up a bit.
Reliance STM has secured the contract with TVP for another 6 years and we got a small payrise in April (and the one next April is pretty much guaranteed).
Knipples
30-08-2008, 08:22
Yup, im screwed. Paying out more than I earn on things I have no say in, like bills and loans and utilities.
Im stuffed, and can honestly say I dont know what to do. The day the bank reduce my overdraft, im fooked.
Obviously I've noticed prices going up but it hasn't affected me much as yet other than my petrol bill being pretty nasty.
It hasn't affected the company much even though we were passively down on PBT last year (which was due to the PE company being swines) but expectations are to reach about €250m this year.
Stan_Lite
30-08-2008, 08:48
Its gone up TO the best part of £1600, so yes, up £500. All well and good when you're happily shacked up with Mr Moneybags, as I used to be. Not so now he's shacked up in Kiwi OompaLoompas loveshack and my mortgage is £100 more than my take home wage!!
Bitter? Moi?? :angry:
Hehe, Im not really, not any more. And there's bugger all point in giving myself an early heart attack about it, it'll sort itself out one way or another :D
That sucks hunny. Hope you get it sorted out soon, before it causes you serious problems.
I lost my job because of it :(
Sorry to hear that dude - hope you find something soon :)
standing orders/direct debits plus food and petrol = £2500 a month
**ck me dude, I thought I was bad - that's nearly as much as my take home for the month :shocked:
Yup, im screwed. Paying out more than I earn on things I have no say in, like bills and loans and utilities.
Im stuffed, and can honestly say I dont know what to do. The day the bank reduce my overdraft, im fooked.
I would recommend you get yourself along to a financial advisor ASAP before you start having real problems. Try the Citizens Advice Bureau, they have financial advisors who specialise in this sort of problem :)
Edit: Forgot to say how it's affecting me.
Can't really say I've noticed much difference really. I've only recently bought the car so the price of fuel was already high (really clever time to buy a sports car :p). The oil and gas industry should be one of the few industries which benefit from the rise in oil and gas prices - the higher it gets, the more profit the oil companies make and subsequently invest in looking for more. Hopefully, I should be ok.
Costs me £75 to fill my car right up from running on vapour (which I frequently have to).
Justsomebloke
30-08-2008, 11:49
This is the good thing about not having a pot to piss in, Whether on the up or down like now not a lot changes in my World.
In fact I'd go as far as saying it is Better for me during a recession as people turn to me to sort things out for them that they wouldn't normally do. :lipsrsealed:
You may have noticed my absence recently & this is Directly related to what I am talking about.
Things I have noticed are prices in shops, One thing I like is Decent bread & the other day a Farmhouse loaf cost me £1.65p :shocked: The cheapest loaf available was £1.25p :(
The biggest difference I have noticed though is in straight/working people & what they are saying & asking for.
It costs me about £65 to fill my car up which I'm ok with but it only gets me about 275 miles.
It costs me about £65 to fill my car up which I'm ok with but it only gets me about 275 miles.
I've got no idea how many miles that £75 takes me, but it lasts me almost 2 weeks of to and from work and pootling about round Banbury to the shops and back.
£65 to fill mine up, 330ish miles. Which is about a week. I can't complain though. I chose a daft car and I consider it my luxury.
Lynnie_pitch nee Leigh
30-08-2008, 21:44
Pebs are you in a union?
If you are contact them as you should be entitled to a free financial advisor :)
Worth looking into. They do all the running round and they have deals that others don't :)
Northern Rock have supplied someone although they're being pretty slow. I've taken a mortgage holiday this month and apparently I can reduce the payments for 3 months, by which time I WILL have something sorted.
Pumpkinstew
30-08-2008, 22:28
As I understood it the 'Credit Crunch' is a result of financial institutions being unable to recover credit on high risk loans which in turn led to a reduction in lending and then a stalling (now shrinking) housing market.
The rise in price of energy and food is caused by increasing global demand for commodities, in particular in China and India, and sheer greed in OPEC nations. This is driving inflation up to over the double the government target of 2%, although the booming property market in the UK also had a big effect. This trend was apparent before the collapse of the sub-prime market in the States and the onset of the credit crunch, hence interest rate rises.
Although both are detrimental to the economy one is not a cause of the other and so should be considered as separate issues.
The big headache is that one can be alleviated by raising interest rates (encourage saving, brakes on inflation) and the other by lowering interest rates (encourage borrowing, stimualtes housing market).
I'm not an economist so please set me straight if this is guff.
In answer to the OP I haven't noticed any effect since I'm on a fixed rate mortgage and not looking to move house.
Obviously petrol, food and utilities increases are eating into my disposable income but I don't see that as being related to the credit crunch.
Sorry to hear that dude - hope you find something soon :)
Cheers Stan, its a kicker, but I have a few things lined up.:)
Stan_Lite
30-08-2008, 22:56
Costs me £75 to fill my car right up from running on vapour (which I frequently have to).
It costs me about £65 to fill my car up which I'm ok with but it only gets me about 275 miles.
£65 to fill mine upr, 330ish miles. Which is about a week. I can't complain though. I chose a daft car and I consider it my luxury.
I'm about £55 to fill mine with vpower (tiny fuel tank) which gets me about 320 miles motorway driving or about 280 miles mixed.
Cheers Stan, its a kicker, but I have a few things lined up.:)
:thumbup:
Good luck dude :)
Not really affected me too much other than I just quit my job for a career change and in hindsight I probably didn't pick my timing all that well. I live well within my means though, even on my meagre income I piled away enough to keep me going for about 10 months if I need it. Was going to use it for my house deposit but if I need it to live on then so be it.
Mej sorry to hear about your job bub, crap news.
I can't complain though. I chose a daft car and I consider it my luxury.
Ditto. I didn't buy something with a thumping great V6 and expect 50mpg :)
Unfortunately for me, I have just got back on my feet as the 'credit crunch' started. So a few months ago I had more money that I'd had in a long time.
However now I can't really judge due to having no wage at the mo. Fuel has obviously gone up but that was never going to go down, and house prices have done the same.
Workwise, we still have income, so people are ovbiously still paying their gym memberships, showing that not all luxuries have yet been sacrificed.
I don't believe there was any problem until the media started throwing scare tactics around.
I can't find a new job as no one is spending money in the City :(
My fixed rate runs out in Dec and I will need a new job to cover the increase :/
The thing is... even if I get a new job now, I don't wanna be in it 3months down the line and they are like 'actually love, credit crunch, can't afford ya now hop off'.
Risky job market out there... I should know working in bloody recruitment and all :p
Apparently in the board meeting James Caan was shouting at all my Directors - why are profits down?! Err because there are no jobs as no one is spending monies..
Meh! Gutted to hear about everyone's positions :(
BB x
Ooh I've seen James Caan on Dragons Den!! :p
Job wise, this time I am looking for a much higher paid job than ever before so it's proving more difficult, but I can't tell if that is due to the 'crunch' or not.
Job wise I'm ok as long as this merge goes well and I keep the business running well... a lot of pressure on me at the moment and for the next year probably. However, we're still making a huge profit and our shares are still high and not looking like they're dropping so the company is doing well.
Food bills have gone up, I spend around £50 a week for food. Petrol well I'm driving a bit more saint-like now, and since my commute has decreased a full tank lasts me just over a week which is perfect.
Bills are high, but we're mainly in credit so I could claw some back. Tax/insurance stings me a little at the moment, but I'm coping. My 5k payrise should help make things a bit more comfy, but I just need to learn to cut back and stop willy nilly spending and just be a bit more frugal. I've over stretched myself a little this year, but I'm starting to reel myself back in.
Overall things haven't hit me too hard obviously, but I am spending more than I used to, so it's a question of being a bit more careful.
Not really affected me too much other than I just quit my job for a career change and in hindsight I probably didn't pick my timing all that well. I live well within my means though, even on my meagre income I piled away enough to keep me going for about 10 months if I need it. Was going to use it for my house deposit but if I need it to live on then so be it.
Mej sorry to hear about your job bub, crap news.
Cheers Jonny. Its nice to know someone cares :)
Bills are much poopier than before with us. We had a hell of a time rearranging our mortgage as well (some people may have heard me curse once or a million times whilst that was going on).
For me... industry wise... it's going to be more of a struggle. Businesses are going to be much more reluctant on buying into a new product and brand - too much of a risk factor monies wise with the market. Especially greeting cards wise.
Not to worry. Look on the bright side of life... when things get better it's gonna feel GREAT :D
It's been affecting us for quite a while at work. Being a small business and with our main market being printing for the takeaways, when people have less disposable income, they spend less on eating out. And we've had a downturn in business for a long time. So whilst the media may well ham it up for their own gains, the "credit crunch" is a real genuine problem. Those of you working for large compaines may not feel it for a long time and hopefully not at all. But smaller companies do feel it much sooner and harder than most.
More redundancies are expected at work before Christmas, so I do feel your pain Desmo.
Now this is where I feel for people working at larger places. You feel nothing, everything seems fine, you keep getting your pay rises and then bang, your job is gone. At least whilst I'm affected early, I can try and do something about it and it's no big shock.
I've started looking for a new job and everyone is offering less money than I am on now, that might be due to me getting some healthy rises over the last two years though :)
The only other thing is my landlord increasing rent more significantly than ever before, I think I can afford £320 a month though!
I think too many companies are seeing Credit Crunch as a fantastic excuse to duck out of payrises, particularly when you consider the number that are reporting record profits. The stupid thing is that by taking the excuse they're just making the actual credit crunch worse. Absolutely, if I got refused a payrise by someone quoting 'credit crunch' when exceeding targets etc, I'd tell them to FO :p If it's down to increasing utility/commodity prices - fair enough but if a manager is calling that the "credit crunch" they're just mindlessly (and incorrectly!) hopping onto a convenient bandwagon, probably so they can justify their own payrise by pointing out 'efficiency savings' by way of limiting staff salaries :p
Yesterday was teh first time I noticed it. White bread £1.76, brown bread £2.
can't wait to move house, will be baking my own. I take it flour is still like 60p a bag..
I seldom eat bread anymore (more for health/diet/gym regimen rather than any other reason) but I can't believe how expensive it has become!
Admiral Huddy
01-09-2008, 12:54
I hate this term Credit Crunch. All it means is that the banks aren't giving out loans so freely to fund peoples excessive spending habits, which isn't a bad thing. Although this has a bearing on the housing market, part of the economy is based on consumer confidence which is a bit low at the moment. We've been banging on about house prices crashing for so long that in fear we've actually made it happen. Interest rates are still low and people still have money in their pocket. For the time being that is. It makes it sound like we are in desperate times.
More redundancies are expected at work before Christmas, so I do feel your pain Desmo. We've already lost 3% of the workforce through redundancies this year, which doesn't seem much, but you don't half notice it when it's gone.
We're losing about 50% of out workforce atm as they've stopped making "consumer goods" at our plant and focusing on "food service" items instead.
(consumer goods=ice cream tubs/coleslaw tubs etc basically anything that you put food into. food service=cup lids basically :) )
Not sure how long the plant will keep going like that but most people reckon a couple of years. Unless oil prices drop we'll still have problems as plastic raw material costs are directly linked to price of oil. :(
It makes it sound like we are in desperate times.
For some people, we are. I know of a printer who at 70 years old has just lost everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. His business, his car, his house, the lot. Work has dried up and he's been caught out and pretty much through no fault of his own.
... It makes it sound like we are in desperate times.
OK, I can afford bills right now, but my Energy bills will go up the next bill we get, we can't get a new mortgage deal because our house price has fallen 10% and will fall a further 12% next year apparently. I'm also facing possible redundancy at the end of the year. Feels pretty desperate to me. I'm ****ting myself :(
I'm sitting here steadily watching my savings plummet in value against the dollar. So far this month they've dropped to the tune of about $5000. That sucks, esp. with wedding costs and the like going to be on the horizon.
The big question is, as ever, do I convert it all ASAP, or do I hold on and wait for a recovery? What times scales would a recover of the pound be on? How much will I actually need?
I'm inclined to just hold on to my cash in sterling as long as possible and only convert it at need. Maybe I'm being foolishly optimistic but I expect the pound to gain again eventually.
Huddy: It's more significant than that. Banks are holding back on giving loans to all sorts of stuff, businesses at all levels are suddenly finding they're unable to undertake major projects they have on track because they can't get the capital raised to enable it. Private people are finding it hard to get business starter loans, and so on and so forth. The knock on impact on other businesses that tie into that is dramatically affected to.
Combine this with the utter stupidity of the inefficient biofuels stupidity which is forcing global food prices up as farmers are ditching staple produce to grow biofuel materials, and its all combining into a big mess.
What's worse is the major predicted famine is still yet to strike, but is only just over the horizon. With India and China's demand for fuel and energy increasing it's only a matter of time until the existing energy sources can't supply all involved parties.
OK, I can afford bills right now, but my Energy bills will go up the next bill we get, we can't get a new mortgage deal because our house price has fallen 10% and will fall a further 12% next year apparently. I'm also facing possible redundancy at the end of the year. Feels pretty desperate to me. I'm ****ting myself :(
Aww Kate, I really hope it doesn't happen to you. Its horrible.
I've started looking for a new job and everyone is offering less money than I am on now
This is kind of where I am too... I get paid reasonably for the role I have, but if I want to find a job I actually enjoy (and I do!) odds are the pay will decrease. Probably exponentially with how much I enjoy it.:confused:
The bad news is that housing is so expensive here! And it's only getting worse, unless you were to buy, which we aren't ready for.
The credit crunch seems to have a different effect in Aberdeen - nothing has really changed except there are a few more fixed price houses up for sale.
I went for a mortgage and they offered me one, I went for a house and it was only 5% over the asking price.
Hopefully due a 10% payrise next month. Got to love working in the oil industry!
Its not really a credit crunch, its the financial genre settling back to what it was before it hyper-inflated.
Oh, those of you not affected by the credit crunch, cna you please go out and buy loads of takeaway meals? Preferably from the places that we print their menus :D
Oh, those of you not affected by the credit crunch, cna you please go out and buy loads of takeaway meals? Preferably from the places that we print their menus :D
We've bought more takeaways in the past 5 months although it's had sod all to do with the credit crunch. But I don't think you print those menus :p
Admiral Huddy
03-09-2008, 11:56
OK, I can afford bills right now, but my Energy bills will go up the next bill we get, we can't get a new mortgage deal because our house price has fallen 10% and will fall a further 12% next year apparently. I'm also facing possible redundancy at the end of the year. Feels pretty desperate to me. I'm ****ting myself :(
:(
Unfortunatly, this can happen to anyone at anytime, regardless of the economy. I've been made redundant 4 times in the past and I'm staring redundancy in the face for the last two years. If I do, I won't ever get another job doing what I do and/or with the money it pays and with teresa not earning that much, it is quite frightening. This is why I'm setting up the PC repair stuff, as it's something to fall back on. However, I'm not going to worry about it until something actually happens.
My point was that we all have to start re-thinking the way we prioritise our money and that luxuries sometimes have to come last over things that are more important.
That said said Kate, I do feel for all younger people with massive mortgages.. and I'm worried for my kids when they come to want a house of their own.
I hope all work out but I know it will because you're not that sort of person that would just sit and let it happen.
Oh, those of you not affected by the credit crunch, cna you please go out and buy loads of takeaway meals? Preferably from the places that we print their menus :D
I'll go back to the chinese we used to use then :p
I wish you printed the menu of our pizza place, I'm concerned about the 'Southern Fried Chichen' they offer. This isn't just one error, every single time they use the word Chicken, it's Chichen. Unless they have discovered a new kind of meat.
I'll go back to the chinese we used to use then :p
I wish you printed the menu of our pizza place, I'm concerned about the 'Southern Fried Chichen' they offer. This isn't just one error, every single time they use the word Chicken, it's Chichen. Unless they have discovered a new kind of meat.
Whenever that happens it drives me crazy!!! If it would me I would be round there with my red pen crossing each one out!!!
Bloody job... having to do it everyday messes u up!
BB x
Our local takeaway used to do a "Seafood Pizza" with ham and pineapple on it :D Stayed like that for about a year before it was changed, lol
Our local takeaway used to do a "Seafood Pizza" with ham and pineapple on it :D Stayed like that for about a year before it was changed, lol
You should have checked if Desmo printed the menu :p
Knipples
03-09-2008, 17:10
I just spent half an hour on the phone to the Credit Consumer council and I have an hours phone call appointment with one of their experts on the 18th of this month.
They are sending me paperwork to fill out about exactly what im spending where, and using this during my hour call with them, they are going to advise me as to what to do to get me out of the hole im in.
Lets hope something comes of this.
Hope it helps you Knip :)
Hope it helps Knip. Phil had to help me with my problems when the bank rang to inform me I was £1500 overdrawn 2 days after payday and with turnover from eBay sales that month :( Fortunately he not only offered good advice but financial help too ;)
Year and a half later and I'm just being able to stay out of the overdraft all month.
If I can help in any way with advice just yell.
I stumbledupon this, for when things get bad...
http://www.weirdasianews.com/2008/09/03/rat-meat-rises-in-popularity-as-inflation-hits-locals/
Admiral Huddy
04-09-2008, 08:54
Personally, I see the Credit Crunch as a good thing. The banks know that in the past, they have been lending out far too much and therefore, are right to pull the reigns in a bit to balance the books and protect their own liability. .
We've been saying for years that house prices are far too high which has forced many people to borrow beyond their means and this needs to stop. As a result, this will bring the prices to a more affordable level and thus will give everyone a chance to buy within their means.
Where the system fails is that the building trade is affected and this has a knock on effect on everyone down the chain and price drops will leave people in negative equity. But let's not forget... last time this all happened, not only did we have high inflation, but we also had incredibly high interest rates too. The combination of the two pushed us not only into recession but we were also on the brink of a depression, forcing us to devalue the pound when rates went out of control. .
Today however, and since the BoE control the rates, we are still enjoying low rates and when property prices fall to an acceptable level, then more people will be able to buy, the bank will start to loan again and recovery can start.. until the next time.
This of course doesn’t take into consideration of global food prices and rising fuel costs, which is totally different to the credit crunch.
Here's a thought.. the private bank I work for is over 50% down on loans... yet our profits are 21% up on last year already.
There deffo needed to be some kind of correction, but it seems to be happening too abruptly. And the media are playing it up too much which means that people are being more cautious than they need to be which means things really do start to get worse than they need to be.
Admiral Huddy
04-09-2008, 11:56
There deffo needed to be some kind of correction, but it seems to be happening too abruptly. And the media are playing it up too much which means that people are being more cautious than they need to be which means things really do start to get worse than they need to be.
Exactly my point.. It's lack of understanding that has brought down consumer confidence.. as said in a previous post.
What makes me laugh is that some companies (Tesco) are using it to promote their products .. "Credit Crunching price beaters". Sorry, but if you are doing food shopping on a credit card, there is something seriously wrong.
I hate the way it has been used as an excuse for everything too. Was watching a program on abandoned animals and loads of excuses were 'the credit crunch'. I had to give up my dogs a few years ago because I couldn't afford to look after them, it happens all the time, but now it's because of the 'credit crunch'. Does my head in.
Admiral Huddy
04-09-2008, 12:09
.. It's just another bloody Buzzword Vix, we seem to obsessed by them.
Pumpkinstew
04-09-2008, 19:16
Yeah, I've had Pre-millenial tension, Post millenial tension, a world cup hangover and even a nasty dose of zeitgeist.
Knipples
04-09-2008, 22:22
Did that for about 5 years - had no choice unfortunately
Same with me and my overdraft, its that or I dont eat.
:confused:
Admiral Huddy
05-09-2008, 09:52
Some drunk woman on the train last night complaining about the CC. Saying that she should receive more more benefit to help look after her 5 kids as none of the fathers help.. and what a tough life she gets.. Had to bit my lip.. Sorry, sweetheart but if you can afford fags & booze then you ain't that hard up.. and why should I ****** be out of the house for 12 hours a day, missing out on my kids to help feed your dirty ****ing habbit of not keeping your legs crossed.
She actually stood up and shouted at the carriage.. You f** w** can afford it..
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
That's awful!
I'm currently unable to work through no fault of my own (except I'm an idiot) and receiving a lot less than people on benefits do, so it really winds me up when you see people like that.
Touch wood my work doesn't seem to have been affected so far. But most of what we do is for councils, schools, insurance companies etc. so their budgets haven't been affected so far. And there are still a lot of major construction projects going on that we work with.
What will probably happen is my work will "catch up" eventually though, so just as everyone else is pulling through, mine dries up :confused:
Again touch wood, as long as in 4 years time when I need to remortgage, products are back on offer and interest rates close to the current BOE rate I should be ok.
What I am worried about is my inability to put any money aside. I seem to always spend my monthly earnings each month, so if I do hit trouble, I'm in deep deep do do.
JimmyEatWorms
07-09-2008, 21:48
Thankfully the high oil price has meant that the industry i'm in is really booming and my company is expanding really quickly (and buying up smaller competitors into the bargain). It's still shocking to see how high prices on essentials are becoming but at least I can rely on pretty rock solid job security.
I'm emmigrating to Aus next month but I think they are having pretty much the same problems as the UK.
Blighter
07-09-2008, 21:54
In my eyes it's all media hype.
Yes, prices have risen, but that's what they've been doing for ages, and it appears to be rising steadily... it hasn't just boomed up over the last year or so.
Example:
~2000: McD's Vale Meal: £3.29
~2004: McD's Value Meal: £3.49
~Now: McD's Value Meal: £3.69
I didn't really care about prices before then as I would have only been 10 years old so can't really comment pre-2000 :)
I'm emmigrating to Aus next month.
Can I join you? :D
JimmyEatWorms
07-09-2008, 21:56
I don't think you can judge the countrys economy on the price of a happy meal :p
ChemicalKicks
07-09-2008, 22:01
The credit crunch doesn't affect me as I don't pay back any money that I owe.
Blighter
07-09-2008, 22:06
I don't think you can judge the countrys economy on the price of a happy meal :p
We used to have this women come into work every 3-6 months looking at the same products, and what price they were, and pop them into a little pocket pc... is that what she was doing?
JimmyEatWorms
07-09-2008, 22:08
No...I think she was just casing the joint.
I don't think you can judge the countrys economy on the price of a happy meal :p
qft
the credit crunch has killed the building trade and sites have been shut all over the midlands
immigration has also compounded the problems in the building trade with migrant workers stealing our jobs as they are prepared to work more more hours for less money
all very good but its ruining our quality of life and the knock on effects are massive
Blackstar
07-09-2008, 23:21
qft
the credit crunch has killed the building trade and sites have been shut all over the midlands
This is where my problem comes in. When i graduate if i take the practical path which i have been considering more and more, if there is no building then there is no commercial archaeology jobs.
At least everyone needs an accountant. Even if they can't afford one :)
Blighter
07-09-2008, 23:24
I still think my McD's argument was valid :D
ChemicalKicks
07-09-2008, 23:37
I still think my McD's argument was valid :D
I had a McD's today was lush, just what the doctor ordered.
Admiral Huddy
08-09-2008, 11:23
The credit crunch doesn't affect me as I don't pay back any money that I owe.
haha that reminds me of my Mrs.. She always says that if she dies in debt, then she has made a profit.. Although it's funny in theory, the reality of it it quite serious..
Metalface Mark
08-09-2008, 13:25
haha that reminds me of my Mrs.. She always says that if she dies in debt, then she has made a profit.. Although it's funny in theory, the reality of it it quite serious..
Especially if you dont die first. :D
My workers are expecting a pay rise next month, and im at a loss on what to give them.
The moaning workers have already said they want 5% because of inflation, but im thinking more of the lines of 2.5%, due to us being pretty quiet over the summer and not knowing how things will turn out.
Well I work for an investment company, so it has had it's effects here.
What I do know is that smart money is starting to return ever so slowly to the credit markets, so things may be on the mend. On the other hand a raft of defaults is all we need to break things properly (see Fannie and Freddy).
Lots of jobs have gone and are going in this line of work.
Head down, keep job!
Head down, keep job!
It's all a big ploy to push wages down, mark my words! ;)
And if the housing market adjusts itself to reasonable levels and builders are no longer on several K a week, then that's just fine with me :)
Pumpkinstew
09-09-2008, 13:39
I don't think you can judge the countrys economy on the price of a happy meal :p
You're right. They use Bigmac's not happy meals. :burger:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mac_Index
Really the only place it's hit me and Lom is in the cost of Petrol and shopping. Shopping around we can probably save a bit off the shopping but we'd probably waste the savings on petrol!
I think you should just walk to work :p
Drink less beer and stop buying filthy mags and we'd be well off then :p :D
McD's breakfasts have gone up a lot in the last 8 years :'( From 99p to £1.59.
We are feeling the cost of inflation at home with ever rising fuel and food costs. As for the credit crunch, we don't have that much on credit and nothing on HP. Luckily(tongue very firmly in cheek) i wasn't very good with money a few years ago and my credit rating isn't that good at all. As such we don't have an overdraught or a lot of credit on credit cards. So we really live within our means
I think you should just walk to work :p
Drink less beer and stop buying filthy mags for me and we'd be well off then :p :D
Fixed.
the credit crunch isnt affecting me much, I adjust my budget to suit rising prices,etc no biggie
If things do get tight I have a large suplly of dodgy headphones to sell to some mugs
aint that right Fayshun? ;D
the credit crunch isnt affecting me much, I adjust my budget to suit rising prices,etc no biggie
If things do get tight I have a large suplly of dodgy headphones to sell to some mugs
aint that right Fayshun? ;D
It's a sellers market in the world of faulty headphones.;D
McD's breakfasts have gone up a lot in the last 8 years :'( From 99p to £1.59.
In an ideal world that's actually not far off the actual amount it should have gone up in that time. If inflation is a steady 5% across 10 years then the price will go up by a factor of 1.6 over 10 years.
Knipples
18-09-2008, 17:49
Have just got off the phone from the CCCS and I feel so much better.
Theyve worked out a budget for me, which means I can afford to pay for everything and not go overdrawn every month.
I am also getting a small amount from my Grandad dying earlier in the year which will mean I can pay off my credit card and my overdraft, so I will be starting from scratch and not going more and more overdrawn every month.
Anyone else struggling, I can thoroughly recommend them.
:)
Excellent news Knipples.
I can highly recommend these guys: http://www.capuk.org/home/index.php
They do free courses for helping people learn to manage their money and also will also give you advise in bad situations. Their work is getting more and more recognition around the country, and they're already well respected by various financial organisations.
cleanbluesky
18-09-2008, 18:29
Excellent news Knipples.
I can highly recommend these guys: http://www.capuk.org/home/index.php
They do free courses for helping people learn to manage their money and also will also give you advise in bad situations. Their work is getting more and more recognition around the country, and they're already well respected by various financial organisations.
Hmmm, Christians reaching out the desperate - I remain cynical
Hmmm, Christians reaching out the desperate - I remain cynical
That's kinda tragic, given how much outreach work the church is involved in. But, hey, it rarely gets reported in the news. It's not "newsworthy" at least not in comparison to the latest things that celebrity airheads have been up to. No that's obviously far more important than letting people know there are lots of good honest people out there working their arses off to help people.
Ever heard of Mercy Ships (http://www.mercyships.org.uk/), for example?
cleanbluesky
18-09-2008, 18:43
That's kinda tragic, given how much outreach work the church is involved in. But, hey, it rarely gets reported in the news. It's not "newsworthy" at least not in comparison to the latest things that celebrity airheads have been up to. No that's obviously far more important than letting people know there are lots of good honest people out there working their arses off to help people.
Ever heard of Mercy Ships (http://www.mercyships.org.uk/), for example?
Yeah, I know the work they do and why they do it. Some do it because they like to do good and think they're doing good. They also like to promote Christianity.
All in all, I'd rather go to an organisation that just offered financial advice without prayer.
Blighter
18-09-2008, 18:46
You're right. They use Bigmac's not happy meals. :burger:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mac_Index
See, I'm not just a daft c***
;)
I don't live in credit much, if at all, so I'm yet to be really stung by it. I will though, we all will in one way or another. The banks have felt it with no money to lend any more, which rolls down each tier upon tier until the effects hit many many industries. It's usually the jobs we have that affect us, rather than our living costs. Higher bills and interest rates mean we have to tighten our belts, cut back and sacrafice some luxuries until we can properly afford them. However, when your job is on the line because the company you work for is getting no jobs come in, then the situation goes up several gears. :(
Well, you guys who bought HBOS at the nadir could be trebling your money today! Congrats.
Love from Capitalism
xxx
The number of stores closed/closing/in trouble on the local high street is starting to get a bit scary. We've got the triple threat of credit crunch (Rosebys, Motor World, B&B, a few local independants, and I'm sure there are others), stores closed because they're about to be demolished in the name of progress (Argos, Ryman), and stores at both ends of the high street suffering loss of footfall thanks to the previous two causes.
At this rate, one end of town (the end that's about to become a massive building site for the next two years) is going to be a ghost town. :/
http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/Credit+Crunch/
;D
Worry is how these companies "MFI, Rosebys," have been running as a business, I mean have they be running at a loss for years, the whole point of making a profit is to put it away not spend it then say "we need more money"
Aye - I know about MFI. I'm surprised they didn't fail a long time ago. Rosebys I didn't know about, though I do at least know our local one is profitable (mainly because the competition is so poor around here).
Knipples
28-09-2008, 08:18
Someone I know used to work for MFI, he got out 4 years ago because he said it was going to go tits up sooner rather than later. He's amazed they lasted this long because he said while everything seemed fine on the surface, and they'd be perfectly happy to sell you a bed or a kitchen, those that worked for them knew what was happening.
Stuff is crap anyway, time you have added all the deals they offer its better to get something well built which will last 3 times longer and looks better.
I thought MFI had bumped up their quality in recent years?
Still won't get me in there though. I'd rather spend money on second hand high quality furniture.
They have - or at least they scrapped all the Pronto rubbish and concentrated on the higher-end.
They've been saved (again). I'll bet that £1 buyout deal by Merchant Equity Partners that saved them in 2006 looks pretty damn ugly now. They've effectively paid the current management to take their problem child off their hands. If current management couldn't save it with regular cash injections, they're not going to have much hope now the benefactor has washed their hands of the problem. :/
Well that answers that little pondering. Mike has something on his credit record from years ago that I knew nothing about. No mortgage. 3 months vague breathing space and then I'm fubared.
Poop. :(
Not sure what to suggest besides contacting the same people Knip spoke to (or those suggested by Garp).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7677502.stm
This could result in a huge and possibly inaccurate catch-up bill down the line once the customer's meter is read, because the supplier will not know which units of energy were used before the price rise.
I'll admit I don't always check but if I get an estimated bill now I definitely will be
I always stick our proper readings in when I need to. Hate the estimated readings.
I can't say I've noticed much of a downturn myself though a couple of contracts my company has bid for have been terminated early and I do know of other companies who are having a very hard time though they're all in the building trade so it's understandable I guess. Business is actually better than ever though - I'm booked solid for the next few weeks. Somewhat ironically, I'm working at an investment bank in the city! So no credit crunch here yet then - just hope it stays away and doesn't hit us too much :(
I thought MFI had bumped up their quality in recent years?
Still won't get me in there though. I'd rather spend money on second hand high quality furniture.
I bought a kitchen from them and fitted it a couple of years ago. It was actually pretty good quality - their Schreiber stuff seems much better than the Hygena brand for some reason. The problems I did experience were down to simple logistics such as not everything arriving, or the wrong parts being delivered, etc.
Knipples
18-10-2008, 19:01
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7677502.stm
I'll admit I don't always check but if I get an estimated bill now I definitely will be
My Grandads entire estate following his death cannot be sorted out at the moment due to the gas company taking 6 days to read the meter.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7677502.stm
I'll admit I don't always check but if I get an estimated bill now I definitely will be
You can turn this one to your advantage if you're subtle. If charges have just gone up and you're pretty sure the meter reader isn't likely to be in the neighbourhood, inflate your readings a little. As long as it isn't blatant you can blag some extra units at the old rate. Don't tell them I told you. :lipsrsealed:
Well I have just been made redundant, about 300 have been gone with 100 being transferred.
The redundancy is nothing to do with the "credit crunch" but its come at the worst time for a lot of people, luckly I dont have a mortgage and only in debt to the tune of £1500
leowyatt
20-10-2008, 20:47
bummer cheets :( hope something turns up soon.
Well I have just been made redundant, about 300 have been gone with 100 being transferred.
The redundancy is nothing to do with the "credit crunch" but its come at the worst time for a lot of people, luckly I dont have a mortgage and only in debt to the tune of £1500
:(
So it finally happened? Sorry to hear that :(
Was there any option of being transferred to another place?
The only thing I can say is that I hope something else is just around the corner. Hopefully, it will turn out for the good as is often the case for people when they're made redundant.
Sorry to hear that cheets :( In a similar position myself. They've announced 100 people need to go, but they haven't said who or when yet. Really annoying and hugely demotivating.
Admiral Huddy
21-10-2008, 08:51
Well I have just been made redundant, about 300 have been gone with 100 being transferred.
The redundancy is nothing to do with the "credit crunch" but its come at the worst time for a lot of people, luckly I dont have a mortgage and only in debt to the tune of £1500
What happened to the compant for it to make so many cutbacks?
Found out yesterday that our Bank is in the process of a merger with another Baverian Bank. The Intranet also stated that they had a firm offer on the table from an Austrian bank, in which the German bank refused any merger from outside the state, especially one from Austria.. Are you thinking what I'm thinking here ;)
An announcement will be made over the forthcoming weeks - I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a lay off.
Metalface Mark
21-10-2008, 15:59
If our work dosent pick up in the next two weeks im going to have to lay off 3 or 4 staff.
NokkonWud
21-10-2008, 16:18
What company do you run Mark?
Tysonator
21-10-2008, 19:38
My home bills have gone up in line with every one else. So I purchased some energy saving stand by plugs. With the supplied remote you turn these plugs on & off which have standby Hi Fi & AV units plug into them. So the 3 items of equipment I have now get turn off completely. Got the power plugs from Argos.
We cook our dinners from raw ingredients more often which cost less in the long run.
We all should be doing this any way regardless off credit crunch or not.
I just wish that solar power was cheaper to buy than the ridicules price just a couple of panels on the roof of the house !
rant over !
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7683661.stm
Bank of England cuts interest rates today on a unanimous vote of 9-0. That means a whopping saving of £0.00 at Chez Loki. Unfortunately we have a mortgage with Northern Rock. So no doubt with this and previous interest rate cuts we get nothing passed onto us.
In essence let the banks over value assets and property, lend against the over inflated value, screw it all up then come cap in hand via the government expecting us to bail them out. Oh and when there is a rate cut, screw you Jack were not going to pass it on. Yet another superficial exercise.
I have seen market stalls and corners shops run with more dilligence than the current banking and credit system
Well, seems our local MFI has gone (or is about to go). Rosebys and Motor World gone too. JJB next? At this rate we'll not need the 49 new shops currently being built.
Got my wage slip today Redundancy £1373 + Retention Accumulator £601 - tax £90
Well, seems our local MFI has gone (or is about to go). Rosebys and Motor World gone too. JJB next? At this rate we'll not need the 49 new shops currently being built.
MFI in Wigan has shut, there is a Rosebys and Motor World
JJBs is based in Wigan, if that goes this town will be on its knees.
Scuse the potentially impolite questions, but what did you do, and what's a 'Retention Accumulator'? :dunno: :)
Tysonator
22-10-2008, 19:52
The Housing sector was fuelled by greed. Not only was it now an opportunity for any one who could get a mortgage to go out and buy up lots of 2 bed apartments / houses for buy to let enterprise. Everyone wanted to make a killing in a particular market. The mortgage market linked to the building market, linked to financial markets linked to more funds being handed over to consumers in the form credit cards & loans. Every one went on big spending spree. Who cared about pay back, lets spend now. Get that LCD TV, get that sofa etc in that now expensive property they have just purchased.
Some newer companies have never know a recession / down turn in orders , in fact a lot of new 1st time buys had to jump in to property market when ever they could afford it. With mortgages being given away a 5 to 6 times salary !
It was only a matter of time when some of these 1st buyers were never going to afford payments in the future.
I agree with posts in here if banks had tighter control and lending and amounts lent out the housing market spiral could not have kept going up as there just would be no to buy.
Simple supply & demand.
Everyone got greedy, banks, building companies, estate agents, credit card companies etc.
I say some of these financial companies need to sack the stupid funds / traders managers and take the losses on the high risk funds they brought into. At the end of the day, high risk high return that’s the gamble. Flip side equals high loss. These scenario they had no provision for in there accounts. Investment purchased at an inflated cost and never going to yield the return should have had a doubtful provision.
Its there own fault, so suffer like we have to in the recession.
Any one can check my profile, I am an Accountant. I used my spare money to make extra payments against my mortgage. Used credit card companies 0% balance transfer deals to finance my purchases. Did not buy a brand new car, purchased a newly new car etc. not many people had forward sense of the future !
Now look were we are. If consumers stop spending then this economy is really in the sh*te !
Tysonator
22-10-2008, 19:55
'Retention Accumulator'
I suspect this is some sort of pay out based on lenght of service with in his company
Scuse the potentially impolite questions, but what did you do, and what's a 'Retention Accumulator'? :dunno: :)
Long story, worked there for 7 years 5 part time and 2 full, but only got paid for 7 years part time weekly wage, was at a Asda warehouse, its shut because they have finally got one of the newly built automated warehouse down south working.
Not sure how the Retention Accumulator was worked out but it was at £12 for every day you worked in a week so my was 12 x 2 by the years served and some of the yearly bonus was added and some other crap.
Now look were we are. If consumers stop spending then this economy is really in the sh*te !
Snip, I knew there was a crash coming, glad I held off from getting a dead end job and getting a house, my mate who works at the same place bought a terraced house 2 years ago for £82.5k one in the street has sold for £75k this week so he is in major negative equity and has no job from Friday :( checking on the internet he house sold for £22k in 2003, in 5 years it jumped to £82.5k the only thing the owners did was build a 6 foot x 4 foot extension, hardly £60k improvement.
The amount house prices have been push up over 8 years is shocking, nothing but greed, I agree with the spending, luckily I was brought up with savvy parents and they would save before spending or at least only buy some thing on credit if it was a necessity, broken fridge/washing machine. People have just spent, get a loan, spend, get a credit card, spend, remortgage, oh ***.
People have even get debt written off, if debt is written off, how pays the company for the goods? I could of gone out and got my self into some serious debt a few years ago but I just had the common sense and up bringing in buy now pay now.
Tysonator
22-10-2008, 20:46
Cheets,
I am hoping to buy another property in the new year. I too sensed a crash, in fact I was hoping for a crash !
When the housing market bottoms out I will try and buy an new property and let it out, but not for stupid silly amounts of rent. I am not trying to make a killing just ptrotect my finacial exposer from my employer, if I am made jobless !
The credit crunch? whats that?
My quarterly bonus hasnt been affected, my annual payrise hasnt been affected and the price of fuel doesnt really bother me. From my point of view its just a load of hype in the papers that doesnt in any way affect/bother me. :)
^^^ Similar. My employer seems (so far) to have been able to weather things. We're still hiring at any rate. It has had two effects - my SAYE share options and my two pension policies. That's pretty much a given with the stock market crash of course.
As for Woolies, it looks a bit scary. I know they sold some stores (to Tesco), and I know SAS bought a 4% stake in them (which may now have gone bad thanks to the Icelandic banking situation), but they're currently playing boardroom musical chairs. I don't think I'd want to be anywhere near there for a while.
Matblack
22-10-2008, 23:17
My industry is fine Aitch's is a lot less predictable as its asset managment but unless all the funds are withdrawn then they will need someone to manage the accounts which makes her relatively safe. I'm not complacent though and I'm bloody glad we have a lot of savings and a lot of the mortgage paid off! If petrol had continued to go up I would have had to have had a big think about the car but I'm not inclined to sell it as it will have lost a lot of money as all cars have.
MB
Psymonkee
22-10-2008, 23:49
Amusing is how I see this. Everyday at work I get someone ranting at me how I have put the prices up....
Still I don't think my job is in much danger right now....
(Tills at Morrisons for those that don't know)
Amusing is how I see this. Everyday at work I get someone ranting at me how I have put the prices up....
Still I don't think my job is in much danger right now....
(Tills at Morrisons for those that don't know)
I'd actually say Morrisons have had some great offers lately! Do all our shopping there and usually a fair amount of good prices for things.
I've turned into a Morrisons fanboy :shocked:
Psymonkee
23-10-2008, 12:45
Don't do that - they'll think there doing the right thing :(
Tysonator
23-10-2008, 22:05
I just hope the R word does not stop people from spending, if so the economy will take a down turn !
It already has. September figures are down, though I'm not sure what the seasonal pattern is. I think that's probably a given to continue.
Of course, it won't stop the vultures circling when closing down sales happen. I think I spent about £150 in Rosebys (admittely a sizeable chunk of that was stuff I needed but was planning to get next year - circumstances obviously changed).
Officially a Recession something to the grand children anyway.
Matblack
24-10-2008, 14:03
Officially a Recession something to the grand children anyway.
Not yet, you need 2 consecutive periods of reduced economy for that and we've just hit one, it will happen but by the defination it hasn't happened yet wait for December then it will be an official one :(
MB
Wasn't the last qurter near as dammit though?
LeperousDust
24-10-2008, 14:59
It wasn't growth nor was it decline. It's semantics really...
Not yet, you need 2 consecutive periods of reduced economy for that and we've just hit one, it will happen but by the defination it hasn't happened yet wait for December then it will be an official one :(
A mere technicality. Everyone from the PM downwards calls it a recession, so a recession it is.
My share options got mullered. Again. I'm now officially making a loss on the latest set. And I was looking forward to that money too (in about twelve months). :'(
Sterling to Dollar exchange rate is now down to 1.52. I have about £30,000 of savings I'm hoping to transfer to Dollars at some point whenever Kari and I are married, it'll need to tide me over for a bit whilst jobless too. So from July's 2.1 ($63,000) through to late October's 1.52 ($45,600) my savings are worth a whopping $17,400 less. All without me having done anything. I could get a pretty reasonable new car for that much.
Sucks, to be honest. Sterling is also at an all time low against the €. Something needs to happen to try and get some strength into our ailing currency.
According to Mr Preston at the BBC it's because Hedge funds and other institutional investors are liquidating any assets they perceive as even mildly risky, especially in eastern Europe, Russia and South America, which usually results in a massive purchase of $ and ¥, boosting their strength. That along with a lack of confidence in the Sterling, leaves me, and our businesses all across the UK, in a crap position.
Ouch. That certainly puts my £2,500 into perspective. :(
Tysonator
26-10-2008, 19:56
The $ to the £ sterling has put me off from travelling to the USA next year. Also £ sterling to the Euro is no better !
You have the same thoughts as me Tyson. I was considering whether to head for another holiday over in the US, but I won't be doing it at the moment!
Garp, that's damn harsh. Personally I would only transfer what I need and leave the rest in £. That's your decision though
I didn't think £/€ had changed that much. I'm sure it's been around the 1.25 mark for ages. £/$ sucks though - no doubting that.
I'm hoping to go out and see a Shuttle launch sometime in 09/10. My choice of timing is obviously somewhat limited there. :)
Thing is, prices out there are pretty much 1:1 $:£, so going from everything ''half-price' to only 1.5 times more for your money isn't really a major concern :p
Tysonator
27-10-2008, 20:20
I would hold off on hoildays to USA. A exchange rate is pants, and the fuel / price of oil per barrel is coming down. I do not think the Airlines have passed that saving on. As they must be trying to collect more cash in the price difference. Simple because they were hammered in the early part of the year on fuel prices !
Some airlines have made a token gesture in the hope of deflecting criticism. Seems to have worked so far. :/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7697082.stm
More hedge funds committing suicide by trying to short on shares, and getting it disastrously wrong.
Thing is, prices out there are pretty much 1:1 $:£, so going from everything ''half-price' to only 1.5 times more for your money isn't really a major concern :p
For luxuries and stuff, sure, but the basic living stuff is about comparable. Ignoring that though, the amount my savings has devalued still hurts. I mean, seriously, devalued to equivalent cost of a brand new car in 3 months? For most of us that's a serious loss :)
Well, you're a little less worse off tonight. 1.63 ($49,000), but whether that'll last into next week (BofE rate cut expected) is another matter.
http://wonkette.com/403920/jesus-people-pray-that-false-idol-will-save-gods-economy
Oh yeah.. I know, it's all going to hell in a handbasket, so the Christians get together to start praying about it. Smart. But they go and do it by praying to the Wall Street bull? Odd, seem to recall reading about that in the book of Exodus, chapter 32, and how wrong it was and what God threatened. Genius. Utter, utter, genius.
Of course that's without going in to how Christians aren't supposed to be worshiping money either.
Sadly US Christianity at least seems to have as much an obsession with the 'almighty' dollar as the politicians do.
Here we go again. The US bail-out grows by another $800bn, and our chancellor is threatening to intervene to 'force' banks to lend.
On the retail front, the MFI 'rescue' that happened only eight weeks ago is supposedly on the rocks already, and there are reports Woolies may go into administration tomorrow because it is having trouble covering the wages bill. If it manages that, it's likely to go into administration anyway within at most a few weeks, swifly followed by at least 200 store closures.
Del Lardo
26-11-2008, 01:42
http://wonkette.com/403920/jesus-people-pray-that-false-idol-will-save-gods-economy
Oh yeah.. I know, it's all going to hell in a handbasket, so the Christians get together to start praying about it. Smart. But they go and do it by praying to the Wall Street bull? Odd, seem to recall reading about that in the book of Exodus, chapter 32, and how wrong it was and what God threatened. Genius. Utter, utter, genius.
Of course that's without going in to how Christians aren't supposed to be worshiping money either.
Garp, what you are completely failing to take into account (or maybe you are but in a sarcastic manner, always hard to tell on t'internet) is that what a lot of American "Christians" actually know about Christianity could be written on the back of a postage stamp and just take the basic premises to justify whatever behavior they want in the belief that they are going Gods work.
Without wanting to take this thread completely OT it's always refreshing to hear you talk about your religion as there is always a degree of common sense and decency about the post.
Admiral Huddy
26-11-2008, 10:31
We've had quite a few redunencies here at Bayern and all major projects have been cancelled.
I've certainly noticed a slow down in Admiral Computers too.
That said, despite the doom and gloom, I still have a fairly safe job, as safe as a job can ever be. Interest rates are down so the capital payments will have a long term bebefit on my mortgage. So really, I've never been so better off therefore I've not changed my spending habits. The only thing that I have put on hold is our conservatory because I want the savings just in case.
My employer is well-placed to weather this - we're heavily promoting the idea of using our software to help cut IT costs, which is obviously going to get some attention in the market. However, even I recognise that that only works if you have customers willing to pay, and a scary number of those seem to be experiencing difficulty (obviously, I can't name names, but you'll have heard of them), so I'm not counting my chickens.
I'm now prioritising an attempt to clear all unsecured debts within 6-9 months. I'm ashamed to say I failed miserably to do that last month, but that was at least in part due to putting stuff like food shopping on plastic so that I'd make absolutely sure I had cash in hand to pay off interest free credit before the deals expire (paying interest on the card balances is at least 20x cheaper than what would happen if I let the deals expire). To that end, money to more than cover the first one is currently sitting in a savings account, and I'm hoping to have have most of the money to cover the second in a few weeks.
In the UK we are also technically well placed to ride this out. Our business is 65% government work in the UK. There are moves afoot to milk every penny out of government contracts that come up with the spending spree. That won't stop them cutting jobs though.
Del Lardo
26-11-2008, 18:20
BBC are reporting that MFI have going into administration.
BBC are reporting that MFI have going into administration.
Thought this happened ages ago :confused: my local store has been shut for a while.
Damn me buying my wardrobe from there! :(
BB x
MFI went into partial administration - management bought 110 stores and the rest were closed. Now all the stores are going into administration.
Not surprised about Woolies. They were legally obliged to do that due to problems paying salaries. The fact that government ministers decided to get involved shows how bad it got.
I don't see how either company can have a long-term future now. :(
I actually walked down Moulsham Street and Baddow Road (for the locals) today to order my fireplace. A lot of places are shut now, Cantelec (electrical goods.. not far off net prices), Slipped Disc or Push Records for the oldies (excellent independant cd shop).
The Chinese we all went to, the Imperial is still there, however the other good Chinese over the road has gone :(
Woolworths was always going to go down, amazed that it didn't happen anyway before all this. It used to do good homewares but thats gone now and its full of tat and sweets. For some odd reason I always used to buy my sweet presents in there.... no idea why really.
Am going to miss both of them :(
Bugger... there was a table and seat set we wanted in MFI.
I wonder what happens with all the stock? Did they have closing down sales?!
BB x
Edit: Sorry for the totally insensitive question :(
Cantelec has gone? Last I saw (about a month ago) they had signs up saying they were closing for a refurb.
Woolies you're right - it effectively ended up being an expenive pound shop, and those two terms do not a good match make. It's been squeezed out both by the proper pound shops and the supermarkets.
Bugger... there was a table and seat set we wanted in MFI.
I wonder what happens with all the stock? Did they have closing down sales?!
Some stores are closing immediately. The rest will trade and run down whatever stock is left up to and including the time when they either close completely or yet another buyer is found.
Ironically I've spent the last week working on a product issue reported by a Woolworths. I don't know which Woolworths it is though (and I couldn't say even if I did) - there are several companies worldwide that share the name.
Oh, not sure I went past and the windows were all whitened out and everything had been ripped out. Not exactly the time I would be taking to rip the shop out for a refurb if that's what has happened.
Can you remember the name of it BB? I'll take a run down to my local tomorrow morning.
I might have it somewhere... will have to find the catalogue... its not on the website.. maybe they DID have a sale without telling me!
Thanks Z!
BB x
I actually walked down Moulsham Street and Baddow Road (for the locals) today to order my fireplace. A lot of places are shut now, Cantelec (electrical goods.. not far off net prices), Slipped Disc or Push Records for the oldies (excellent independant cd shop).
The Chinese we all went to, the Imperial is still there, however the other good Chinese over the road has gone :(
Woolworths was always going to go down, amazed that it didn't happen anyway before all this. It used to do good homewares but thats gone now and its full of tat and sweets. For some odd reason I always used to buy my sweet presents in there.... no idea why really.
Yeah, cantelec is shut for a refurb. Assuming that is they decide to go with it...
Slipped Discs has been shut for a couple of years I think? And the Garden Chinese was minging unless you mean't another one? :p
We got a stack of memos in our payslips today. The major one was stating that the company is on a reasonable financial footing, and there is little to no drop off in work (hard to tell at the mo as it always goes a bit quiet coming up to christmas), but that they had suspended payrises for the forseeable future :( but the good news is no planned redundancies or other cut backs :cool:
Yup - in current conditions a pay freeze is infinitely preferable to redundancies. I'd imagine that if you can ride out the current conditions you'd be pretty well placed to benefit from the clean-up work required when hundreds of shops get refurbished as a result of this.
Piggymon
26-11-2008, 20:46
I'm quite lucky, we're still pretty much hitting budget every month which is surprising given our market.
I feel fortunate that my job seems secure.... although there's no telling what the future holds :/
So far Desmo and I and doing ok :)
My Dad (builder) is really starting to feel it. 2 more jobs left on but nothing else in the pipeline. Should take him through to the end of Dec then him and his mates are on their own unless Barrett find them something. Anything. :(
His pension is also suffering, and even with my Mum moving into full time work to help, they may need to run off their savings in 2009. The savings they've kept in reserve for decades to enjoy when they retire. It's depressing and unfair, my Dad has worked his fingers to the bone all his life, and is approaching retirement in the next 5-10 years and it's not looking good, the government are pledging to help where they can but it all seems too little too late and thousands of honest workers like my Dad who have put blood sweat and tears into their job, the subsquently the economy, and are now being "punished" for other's greed and mistakes.
You know, I thought this was pretty much passing me by but I've noticed a couple of things that have affected me. Because I work at a university my job is as safe as houses - people still want education, and a lot of money comes from international students. In fact, work even honoured a 5% pay increase this October because our projections have continued as planned compared to most sectors.
However, I normally pay the full allowance into my ISA each year, and this year so far I've paid nothing, and it's not looking like I'll be able to afford to even with this pay increase AND my promotion in September. Where's the money gone? I haven't bought anything outrageously expensive this year that I hadn't already planned for, and I'm currently surfing the line between red and black.
:( to iCraig... it does seem to suck the most with people who just genuinely don't deserve it at all. I'm not saying anyone deserves to be hung dry but it's not fair :/
.... Where's the money gone?....
*cough* cheese *cough*
;)
I know what you mean though - Picky is in a pretty darn safe job as a teacher (*touches wood*) and the wages there aren't too bad at all... but even so we just seem to have little if nothing going into savings! It's so baffling... I get confuddled by it everytime I look at our accounts.
As soon as my darn business breaks even things will be muchos better but even then it's a struggle negotiating prices in my line of work. It's always been a tight market... but those extra few pence off a card for me amounts to a heck of a lot.
Hope you don't get knocked back by it Pheebs. I've read that Clintons aren't doing so well right now - don't know about the rest.
My Dad (builder) is really starting to feel it. 2 more jobs left on but nothing else in the pipeline. Should take him through to the end of Dec then him and his mates are on their own unless Barrett find them something. Anything. :(
His pension is also suffering, and even with my Mum moving into full time work to help, they may need to run off their savings in 2009. The savings they've kept in reserve for decades to enjoy when they retire. It's depressing and unfair, my Dad has worked his fingers to the bone all his life, and is approaching retirement in the next 5-10 years and it's not looking good, the government are pledging to help where they can but it all seems too little too late and thousands of honest workers like my Dad who have put blood sweat and tears into their job, the subsquently the economy, and are now being "punished" for other's greed and mistakes.
It's crazy that builders are feeling the pinch so badly. I think (and that's all it is of course - conjecture!) that builders are always going to be in demand, not necessarily for building new houses, but certainly for other work. The requirement to maintain existing structures does not go away: houses are, if anything, built to poorer standards than years ago; the population hasn't decreased; people are more willing these days to have extensions rather than pay to move house; people still want to improve and maintain their homes. An analogy might be to suggest that a software developer would work more on maintenance and support rather than development in the current market so perhaps your dad's job function may need to change. I imagine that the term "builder" covers a multitude of disciplines like IT, so it really depends on what he actually does. Hope it works out though :)
I can't help but feel that the "credit crunch" phenomenon is akin to some sort of mass hysteria. Some companies are using it to their advantage, plying their trade using credit crunch sales tactics; others are using it simply to tighten their belts and that is probably a good thing anyway; still others, however, are using it as an excuse to exercise the typical British management "knee-jerk" reaction and I think we're seeing a disproportionate number with regards to the latter.
Last point - pensions. They're nothing more than a Government-sponsored scam IMO.
We're doing the 'credit crunch sales tactics' part, and doing fairly well at it so far, but that only works if the companies you sell to are in business. We have government customers, so they're a relatively safe bet, but we also have banking customers, and I don't need to tell you what they're like at the moment.
As expected, DSG have reported they're in trouble. Yet another long-running basket case.
Starting to worry a little bit, Iain isn't getting his xmas bonus this year and the offices around the country and slowly letting staff go. His offer to go to Dubai is also out the window as people from other offices are being relocated to there. A few of the projects he's working on are getting shut down too :(
Our gas prices went up a fair amount but we pay by SO so we're not quite feeling that yet.
We are on a fixed rate mortgage at the moment but with the interest rate drop it would've been better if we weren't.
Jobwise I'm ok. They always need till monkeys down the high street but trying to apply for a pub job isn't going well.
My parents and brother own a tyre fitting company and MOT centre and they're really feeling it. They had to send the van guy home the other day as there was just no work but obviously still had to pay him, they're getting maybe 3 or 4 calls a week atm. :(
There are currently meetings going on about how much Social Services will increase what they pay for residents. Portsmouth have been the lowest for the past two years and as majority of out residents come though Ports SS it kinda makes things difficult. The "government" are insisting that nursing homes pay a certain wage for care assistants but when individual social services aren't paying enough to cover basic amenities it makes you wonder how we are meant to do it.
Dad's business (electrical contractor) is going into liquidation.
One of the companies I do the accounts for has gone into liquidation, the MD of two of the other co's I work for has taken accounts work off us to save costs. Therefore I've had my hours cut. Hmph.
Beansprout
28-11-2008, 02:40
Friend lost her job as a manager at her local woolworths :(
Personally...'tis a good time to be buying businesses at good prices, running special offers (3 for 2 at the moment ;)) and so on! Lots of clients asking how we're doing as a result of the credit crunch...fortunately, so far, people still need websites.
I have however stopped shopping at Sainsbury's, preferring the Morrissons which is excellent so far and so much cheaper.
3 for 2 offers on businesses? Are things really that bad? :p
Never been in a Morrissons myself. Haven't been in a Woolies for a while either.
Morrisons is great for cheap but decent quality stuff :) Always do the bulk of shopping there.
Nearest one is 17 miles away. While I can get there for free it's at least a three-hour roundtrip on several buses. :)
Probably not worth it then! Ours is only a 10min drive away and right next to where I work so very convenient :) Always feels much more relaxed there than Tesco or Asda which is also a huge selling point.
Shame there's not one then. It was like a battlefield in Tesco last time I was there - people and trolleys everywhere.
Beansprout
28-11-2008, 12:57
3 for 2 offers on businesses? Are things really that bad? :p
3 years for the price of 2:cool:
Am having to go back to Morrissons today because the slab of cow we bought has gone bad within a day.....they seem to do this "prepared in store" thing rather than pre-packaged stuff, so I expect that's the cause....never trust those in-store counters :/
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/portsmouth/Shock-as-four-car-dealerships.4742015.jp
The guy quoted in the article (Richard Skuse) is my friend Jo's other half :( Jo herself had just quit her PCGE as it was making her ill though stress and worry and now this has happened :(
Ouch :( Anything to do with cars is getting hit so badly.
My next door neighbour works for Ford in a factory and just been told no more work till January, he's on full pay but missing out on shift allowances and overtime etc which is taking a big dent out of their income. Crap time of year for it :( He's already worried he won't have work to go back to anyway.
Lotus usually announce redundancies at this time of year but this year have reported profit!
Tysonator
01-12-2008, 13:59
Honda uk have stopped production at thier Swindon plant for 2 months in early 2009. Plus there isso much car stock car sitting around in compounds and air fields that have not got orders on them. Just surplus stock !
However the Car manufactors will still not lower their prices to help consumers !
Have chatted to Jo, apparently Rich is going to try going self employed - he pointed out people still need work done on their cars, they just can't afford stupid garage prices. Fingers crossed it at least tides them over.
Another customer gone under. Bigger than Woolies too!!!
Honda uk have stopped production at thier Swindon plant for 2 months in early 2009. Plus there isso much car stock car sitting around in compounds and air fields that have not got orders on them. Just surplus stock !
However the Car manufactors will still not lower their prices to help consumers !
Greed is good, you seen how much is costs to make and produce a car then what they sell it on to us.
Credit crunch is a blessing in disguise, its just showing us how much we were dependent on credit and more so these "big" companies.
Too true. I just got a flyer from Dominos Pizzas. Apparently they have a special "opening deal" - two large pizzas for £30 plus garlic bread and drink. Apparently that's saving £15!!! It's freakin' pizza FFS! Bread, cheese and thin tomato sauce with some crap on top.
Now I'm sorry, I love pizza but I'm not paying £30 for two large, hungry people. That's just ridiculous. No doubt if they went under they'd moan about the credit crunch. How about the fact that they're actually just gouging their customers?
Too true. I just got a flyer from Dominos Pizzas. Apparently they have a special "opening deal" - two large pizzas for £30 plus garlic bread and drink. Apparently that's saving £15!!! It's freakin' pizza FFS! Bread, cheese and thin tomato sauce with some crap on top.
Now I'm sorry, I love pizza but I'm not paying £30 for two large, hungry people. That's just ridiculous. No doubt if they went under they'd moan about the credit crunch. How about the fact that they're actually just gouging their customers?
Yeah, I would love to know the profit margins of said companies because they amount they mark up must be huge but they must waste the rest of the money on so much crap.
How does a company like Woolworths that employs 30,000 not have a sound business structure, so much shop space and a 99 year old brand and they just blame the credit crunch.
Beansprout
04-12-2008, 17:12
Too true. I just got a flyer from Dominos Pizzas. Apparently they have a special "opening deal" - two large pizzas for £30 plus garlic bread and drink. Apparently that's saving £15!!! It's freakin' pizza FFS! Bread, cheese and thin tomato sauce with some crap on top.
Now I'm sorry, I love pizza but I'm not paying £30 for two large, hungry people. That's just ridiculous. No doubt if they went under they'd moan about the credit crunch. How about the fact that they're actually just gouging their customers?
:eek:
We have some awesome Pizza hut vouchers...spend over £40 and get 50% off, so it's never more than around a five each with plenty left over for the next day :cool: I'm going to miss not being a student!
How does a company like Woolworths that employs 30,000 not have a sound business structure, so much shop space and a 99 year old brand and they just blame the credit crunch.
Anyone who blames the 'credit crunch' for Woolworths probable demise is completely missing the point. The only thing the 'credit crunch' did for them is stamp on the accelerator. Same goes for MFI. In both cases they were having a severe identity crisis, and in the end didn't know what they were, and that's why they failed. It's a huge shame (in the case of Woolies at least) but that's the price you pay for what appears from the outside to be inept, or at least misguided, leadership.
I actually went into Woolies for the first time in ages today. Shelves were surprisingly full, so either they're not selling or they're still able to get hold of stock. Bought a few bits and bobs. Almost certainly don't need them, but they'll keep.
I'm going to miss not being a student!
Beansprout in double-negative shocker. :shocked: ;D
Tysonator
04-12-2008, 23:48
Woolies seem to have a number of issues from what i readed about. Shortage of working capital seems to be their major one, i.e. having funds in the bank and cash turn over from sales to then in 30 days later to pay the suppliers.
I think Woolis have been in trouble for years. Infact a major share holder had been trying for some while to sell his stake in woolies.
As for MFI, well service is grap, delivery was grap, price of goods grap !
so no wounder they are having problems !
Years ago, if you wanted cheap goods but weren't overly concerned about quality or service etc. you went to Woolies. And if you knew what you wanted, and didn't need to browse you went to Argos. Both places offered goods at lower than the rest prices.
Now both sell at the same as everywhere else, but the service is still crap, and woolies sell the same goods as everywhere else. Both are "just another shop" with no niche so it's not at all a suprise Woolies has failed. Not sure why Argos isn't struggling to be honest.
Tysonator
06-12-2008, 11:43
I think Argos you can browse at home then just go to the shop to get items you need. Unlike other shops you have walk around the store. Perhaps thats why Argos are still there !
In the majority of Argos stores it's essentially a warehouse operation with a glorified counter and a few shelves of display stock. The result is they can stock a lot of stuff in a lot less space than it would take with a traditional store, so providing the cost of printing all those millions of catalogues isn't too high then overheads per product should be lower, and thus margin should be higher (assuming similar prices).
Of course, if you're going to have to shop from a catalogue anyway then you might as well do it online (where overheads are even lower). However, Argos does undoubtedly have its advantages (both for those who don't want to/can't shop online, and in the case where you might want to return goods).
I don't know how they're doing business-wise. Probably not so well like everyone else, so who knows.
Spent £30 in woolies today. Had in the window 8 days til it shuts.
Pretty much everything is 50% off RRP now, but some stuff is even less. Got a 6 pack of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/279-3947885-9342750?ie=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=dvd-uk&field-artist=World%20War%20II%20in%20Colour
with 1 of the discs missing for a fiver. The missing one just cost me under £3 off amazon. Also picked up a dire straits dvd, police dvd, 3 decent greatest hits (tom petty, deacon blue, elo) and a few other bits.
Staff are looking a lot more miserable than last time I was in there. Feel sorry for them, but not the head office management.
Went in WH Smiths today had £20 giftcard to spend, games and dvd wise it was pot, Fallout 3 Mirrors Edge and Dead Space had a tag of £44, mum bought the card of my and she got some books, talk of WH going bust.
I've got a £10 giftcard from there. I'd best use it pronto if that's the case. Will look this week. Wouldn't surprise me either as like Woolies they've rather lost their identity over the years.
Wouldn't suprise me either. Especially as the local one now has not only a coffee shop in it (why?!), a mobile phone shop, but also the "main" post office. Very little smiths actually left!
Knipples
04-01-2009, 22:08
I tried to buy "The Clone wars" for my Brothers birthday tomorrow in there today, it was out of stock. Its hardly an old dvd.
They didnt seem to have a whole lot of stock in there in general to be honest.
local one now has not only a coffee shop in it (why?!)
Because it's the "done thing". Borders and Waterstones do this, so WH Smith just had to jump on the bandwagon too, didn't they. Our local Borders also has a Game store inside it.
Beansprout
04-01-2009, 22:57
Aye...Waterstones partnering with Costa (I think) was an ingenious move....generally reasonably quiet places to sit down and work / read a book :)
Beansprout
04-01-2009, 23:15
I think it was ingenious when Borders, and Barnes and Noble did it, Waterstones just took a good idea and utilised it to their advantage. Jolly good idea too, might I add. :D
When I was younger I always fancied that one day I'd open a book/coffee shop , now it's just another idea that's not really do-able due to the big competition.
I never realised Borders existed over here until recently, for me Waterstones has always been the de-factor bookshop o.o
Beansprout
04-01-2009, 23:20
Strange world eh, I've never seen a Borders over here until a few months ago in Bournemouth where we went to Starbucks to use the wifi while others went looking for books :)
One thing I've noticed since driving back upto Leeds is that there appears to be a lot less cars on the A1. Both on the drive up and down. Now my work has implemented a travel ban on the technical side of the business, my side is ok. Just wondering if anyone else has this.
Certainly being one of very few cars heading down the A1 at 7pm was odd. Normally a stream of cars go from Leeds down the A1.
We've definately noticed a decline in demand, and tendered proposals are almost always negotiated now. Always on the price. A few customers haven't paid up either. We're owed several grand at least for unpaid work. Almost certainly concerned businesses beginning to pay what they consider the most important bills first, and seeing how long they can delay the others. Official letters citing debt collection and legal action will probably go out soon, which feels harsh, taking the very little money these businesses are trying to cling on to, but, we're a business as well and we have to look after ourselves. Nobody else will.
Only thing that we're bothered by is the building of our new house being indefinately delayed, they asked us to call back in April to see if they'll be doing anything on the site this year. Our house is one of the last ones to be built, so rather than moving in this September it could be 2+ years.
Financially though it's had no effect on us, if anything we're in a better position to barter with the house builders as we've not agreed a price! Our current flat isn't worth much anyway so any drops in house prices won't hugely effect us, seeing as we've a tiny mortgage which at the rate we're going will be paid off by the end of 2010.
I feel very lucky compared to some people, if our house being delayed is the only thing, then I'll happily accept it!
Mrs L got took into a breifing this morning (She works for Co-Operative bank) that CFS are merging with Britannia building society to create a new super mutual
The Boards of Britannia Building Society and Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) - two of the biggest customer-owned financial services businesses in the UK - today confirm they have agreed to merge to create a super-mutual as a unique, ethical alternative to shareholder- and Government-owned banks.
The new business will combine CFS's strong personal and corporate banking, insurance and investment expertise with Britannia's extensive high street presence and savings and mortgage product strength.
I was asking her the other day about how things are with CFS and the bank as the industry wasn't in the best of health. It appears tht CFS are in a very healthy position as they were a lot more responsible in what they borrowed, where they borrowed it from and who they lend to to. It is expected that they will annouce record profits this year, new account applications are up and more are being accepted.
So it's not all doom and gloom in the banking world. Good news very rarely makes the front pages these days though.
I always had tonnes of cash when I started this job 3 years ago, now I seem to be going down to the wire more and more (I have always saved the same amount each month and never touch it)... no pay rises the past 2 years and it looks like there won't be one this year despite our firm actually doing well out of the whole credit crunch situation :( bonuses are to be halved (if we get one at all).
Meh
Justsomebloke
21-01-2009, 18:26
I'm in the Best position I've been for a Decade which is Damn strange when all I hear about is Job losses & how most people are in Skintsville.
I have a job, I'm rebuilding my credit limit/rating & I am able to take advantage of cheap deals for my food. I can honestly say that I don't really want for much at all apart from maintaining my good health.
Credit crunch hits porn? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7898318.stm)
Slinwagh
19-02-2009, 10:39
It hasn't affected us really, although utilities have gone up our mortgage has gone down, so in terms of income and outgoings we are pretty much on a par.
Our mortgage rate is now only 2.1% we get any cut passed onto us in full so we are benefiting from that, we can afford the rate to increase by 5% and still be where we budgeted for if that makes sense.
Del Lardo
20-02-2009, 12:21
One of my friends took voluntary redundancy from Citi yesterday. Works in IT on trading systems (so not an overpaid banker) and they've already has several rounds of compulsory redundancy so he's decided to take the money and run. It's worked out pretty well for him as he was planning on moving to Australia this year so he'll be going a couple of months earlier but with a bigger pile of cash.
He was also telling me yesterday that there have been two 'jumpers' in his building since September and he has the displeasure of seeing the 2nd one go past his window. He did get the rest of the afternoon off work and a net has now been installed.
He was also telling me yesterday that there have been two 'jumpers' in his building since September and he has the displeasure of seeing the 2nd one go past his window. He did get the rest of the afternoon off work and a net has now been installed.
I shouldn't but.....
I4khXkE5gEI
Faysh.
No rise for me this year, apparently some people will get one but I had 'a big rise' in APRIL last year so I get nothing. I actually got promoted which I think is different but what can you do? I've been told my company isn't expecting to expand this year but at the same time not shrink/lose any contracts. I don't know a great deal about the financial market but I've been told the bank I'm working at won't suffer as much as its privately owned.
The biggest difference I've noticed is the investment bankers don't get fresh bagels anymore! (Which were very tasty ;) )
I just discovered I don't have unemployment cover on my mortgage. Not that I'm expecting it but oof. I'm not sure I even want to know how much that'll cost to add given the current climate. :(
Edit - Unemployment cover isn't on the same policy as the life cover, it's on a different one. Phew. :shocked:
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