Author Topic: Financial matters  (Read 129182 times)

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Offline DaveR

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #285 on: February 27, 2013, 08:56:39 pm »
Parity with the Euro is starting to look very likely. Great news for those of us that receive Dividends in Euros.  $good$

Offline Bri Roberts

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #286 on: February 27, 2013, 10:04:31 pm »
Not too long ago, I advised and arranged quite a few mortgages for customers with an interest rate that tracked the Bank of England interest rate less a half per cent for the lifetime of their mortgage.

For a while now their interest must has been 0%.

If we move into a negative interest rate, I wonder how that will work out for those customers.  D)


Offline Merddin Emrys

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #287 on: February 27, 2013, 10:39:25 pm »
Parity with the Euro is starting to look very likely. Great news for those of us that receive Dividends in Euros.  $good$

Agreed  $good$
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Offline Fester

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #288 on: March 14, 2013, 12:00:36 am »
Not too long ago, I advised and arranged quite a few mortgages for customers with an interest rate that tracked the Bank of England interest rate less a half per cent for the lifetime of their mortgage.

For a while now their interest must has been 0%.

If we move into a negative interest rate, I wonder how that will work out for those customers.  D)

Ahem, cough... I managed to grab one of those, (via The Leeds Building Society)
It cost me a one off fee of £1200 to the society. I couldn't believe my luck!
It was the best decision (financially) I had ever made, and I looked hard for the catch in the small print, but there really wasn't one.
That was almost 7 years ago, and the product was withdrawn within days of being launched.
I was told later by a branch manager, that it was a massive gaffe to have ever offered it.


Fester...
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Offline Fester

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #289 on: March 17, 2013, 11:49:02 pm »
This weekend's news regarding the Cyprus Euro bailout has a very sinister undertone to it.

You see, as part of the conditions of the bailout, everyone with any savings in a bank in Cyprus will have a slice of their money simply 'confiscated' by the Cypriot Govt.

If you have between 1 and 100,000 Euros in a bank you will lose 6.75% of it.   If you have over 100,000 Euros, then you will lose nearly 10%
To me, this is an outrage.  The spectre that your Govt can simply go into your bank account and take your money, when your only crime is to be a saver, fills me with dread.
In my opinion the financial markets in Europe and beyond will take a severe hammering for the foreseeable future.
Faith in the banks, which has been at a low ebb for 5 years will now be further undermined.
Dangerous precedent this.



Fester...
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Offline Merddin Emrys

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #290 on: March 18, 2013, 07:08:31 am »
To me it is theft! I can now see massive amounts of money leaving Greece, Spain etc to avoid any risk of this, exactly what they don't need! I've never been keen on banks, much happier with a good building society!
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Offline DaveR

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #291 on: March 18, 2013, 08:27:36 am »
If such a measure was ever applied in the UK, it would no doubt cover all banks & building societies.

Let's hope they dont start confiscating GVC shares....  :o  :laugh:

Offline Ian

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #292 on: March 18, 2013, 08:28:21 am »
Quote
In my opinion the financial markets in Europe and beyond will take a severe hammering for the foreseeable future. Faith in the banks, which has been at a low ebb for 5 years will now be further undermined.
Dangerous precedent this.

Indeed;  couple that with the lurking spectre of civil unrest and we have fertile ground for extremism to flourish. Mind you, I'm still waiting for a single banker to be prosecuted, as it continues to become clearer that many broke the law. Fining the banks themselves is simply ludicrous.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Merddin Emrys

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #293 on: March 18, 2013, 10:08:04 am »


Let's hope they dont start confiscating GVC shares....  :o  :laugh:

 :o :o Nooooo!! Hopefully not!  :D
A pigeon is for life not just Christmas

Offline Hugo

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #294 on: March 18, 2013, 12:37:24 pm »
This weekend's news regarding the Cyprus Euro bailout has a very sinister undertone to it.

You see, as part of the conditions of the bailout, everyone with any savings in a bank in Cyprus will have a slice of their money simply 'confiscated' by the Cypriot Govt.

If you have between 1 and 100,000 Euros in a bank you will lose 6.75% of it.   If you have over 100,000 Euros, then you will lose nearly 10%
To me, this is an outrage.  The spectre that your Govt can simply go into your bank account and take your money, when your only crime is to be a saver, fills me with dread.
In my opinion the financial markets in Europe and beyond will take a severe hammering for the foreseeable future.Faith in the banks, which has been at a low ebb for 5 years will now be further undermined.
Dangerous precedent this.

They are not the only Government to rob investors in Banks.   The UK government did it to me and many others when I had a number of Ordinary shares in Bradford and Bingley.  They stopped trading in the shares and then a few years later they told me how much I would receive in compensation for those shares.   NOTHING WHATSOEVER!    All the shares I had were then worthless, yet the Bankers still receive bonuses for their failure.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2013, 12:53:13 pm by DaveR »

Offline Ian

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #295 on: May 15, 2013, 09:24:13 am »
From El Reg:

How does one fairly distribute £150m to extend Blighty's mobile coverage? Give the whole lot to a private company that has paid no corporation tax for four years and effectively holds a monopoly.

That company is Arqiva, which owns the vast majority of the UK's TV, radio and mobile phone transmitters. It will get £150m of taxpayers' cash with which to extend its network of sites, which are rented out to broadcasters and phone operators. We're told the money will extend coverage to 60,000 premises and "sections of road", but it will certainly help Arqiva maintain its billion-pound annual revenue.

Not that the revenue leads to profit, thanks to a system of loans and repayments that ensure shareholders make money and the company avoids paying UK corporation tax - as revealed by a Financial Times investigation last year.

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing. John Cresswell, Arqiva’s CEO, told the FT: "Arqiva has invested heavily in the UK’s infrastructure, including £630m in the digital [TV] switch-over. In recognition of this considerable investment in the UK’s communications infrastructure, the government has agreed a tax exemption for Arqiva from 2009."
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Cordyline

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #296 on: May 15, 2013, 12:51:08 pm »
Interesting article Ian
A few years ago i contacted Arqiva asking if I could invest in  them
They said no and they were not planning to float on the Stock market

I have dealings with them here in England; they are very prompt payers

Offline colinaj

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BAD BANKING BY RBS, BARCLAYS AND OTHER BANKS
« Reply #297 on: October 26, 2013, 11:13:47 am »


I have been involved greatly fighting the banks over the financial scandal by the major banks caused by the miss selling of complex financial products to small businesses, on Thursday I travelled to London and took part in a demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament, where inside my Member of Parliament was chairing the debate with over 100 backbenchers and senior MPs present.

The fight through Parliament started with myself when I went to my MP in July 2011, and somewhat 28 months on and having lost everything to the banks we have pushed through a redress programme agreed with the banks for some 32,000 small to medium sized businesses.

I was one of the original members of an organisation of small businesses that came together from all over the country to try to fight this scandalous activity of the banking industry this organisation is Bully Banks, more information on bully banks can be obtained from info@bullybanks.co.uk.

The cost to the banks of redress to these businesses, many of whom are within North Wales, from farmers, hoteliers, B&B owners, holiday parks and many other small businesses. We have proven that the intent of the banks was to suck funds from these businesses, and then attempt to take control of their assets to either be held onto until profit could be made or to be disposed of to preferential clients beforehand.

There is a system now in place that if any of your readers were unaware of I will briefly describe, the banks have agreed to suspend payments upon the interest rate swaps to these businesses whilst they undertake the review process, this would be important information for any of your readers who do not know of this agreement, full refunds of payments will be made and possible consequential losses paid if they can be proven.

This is now not just a national problem it is also local news, we as an area are dependent upon small businesses for the success of our local economy and employment, the banks were unscrupulous in how they targeted customers and were even worse in the methods of how they explained these products, I have currently spoken to a business man who has businesses within the care industry in North Wales, who has suffered a heart attack from the pressures and stress that this scandal has placed upon himself his family and business, I my self had a heart attack a few years back due to the pressure.

It has now been proven that it was not the customer at fault but the banks greed for profit and bonuses, this does need to be brought to the small business readership of you newspaper for the benefit of the local community so if it saves just one person and their business from the stress we have been through it will be well worth it.

Please call me on 07939233825 if you would like to discuss this further, our campaign was described on Thursday 24th October in Parliament as 'David and Goliath', David is winning.

As stated I am aware of many businesses in North Wales who have been affected and would be willing to discuss their own experiences of the torture the banks have put us small business through, me myself became homeless, lost my business, split from my wife for a period, suffered stress leading to a breakdown and now living upon job seekers allowance, even though the banks have agreed it was their fault due to the mis selling of these products.

I hope you will consider an article so as to raise the awareness to other along the coast that there is a redress process in place that will help them and their business, we cannot afford for one more business to be defunct by the bad business practices of the banks in our local communities.

Offline DaveR

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #298 on: January 29, 2014, 09:16:18 am »
I see Barclays Bank are to close 400 branches, that is a quarter of their entire branch network:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25939803

Offline Bri Roberts

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #299 on: January 29, 2014, 12:38:11 pm »
Are you sure, DaveR?

"The bank is also considering closing branches to reflect the fact that more customers are now accessing financial services online and via mobile devices, although it denied reports that it would close 400 branches."