Author Topic: Financial matters  (Read 131826 times)

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Offline SteveH

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #360 on: June 13, 2022, 09:29:25 am »
Leading UK tech-led estate agent Purplebricks has analysed its property sales data over the first quarter of the year to reveal the top ten areas in 2022 where sellers have sold their properties in the shortest time.       ref   the leader

Conwy in Wales topped the table with vendors selling their properties, from the day their property was first published by Purplebricks to it being sold subject to contract (SSTC), on average in just 15.25 days.

Table of Purplebricks? top 10 fastest selling areas in England and Wales
Conwy, 15.25
Cumbria, 15.73
North Yorkshire, 16.49
Warwickshire, 17
South Yorkshire, 17.53
Dorset, 17.9
Cheshire, 18.02
Co. Durham, 18.05
Tyne & Wear, 18.37
Wiltshire, 18.46

Offline SteveH

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Re: North Wales 2022 Small Business Conference
« Reply #361 on: June 14, 2022, 09:56:01 am »
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)  https://www.fsb.org.uk/  in Wales is delighted to confirm that its annual conference will take place in Dolgarrog, near Conwy at the Hilton Garden Inn hotel next to Adventure Parc Snowdonia on the 14th of July.

Hosted by broadcaster Sian Lloyd and with a strong line-up of speakers, this unmissable event will bring together businesses and experts to focus on how small businesses can accelerate their growth and plan for the future.

Three sessions throughout the day will examine the support your business can access from organisations such as FSB, Business Wales, local colleges and the Development Bank of Wales.

Small business will also hear also from financial experts from the Money and Pensions Service on how to protect the hard work you have put into your business by sound financial planning.

Our keynote speaker is Sid Madge of meee.global who will be sharing his insights into how professional branding and marketing can help your small business fly. Madge will be joined by Simon Dutton who will be delivering a session called Playing for Success, using LEGO? Serious Play?.

There will also be opportunities to network with the twenty exhibitors, other businesses and delegates, and micro, small and medium sized businesses from across the region, who are welcome to attend this free event.

Lunch will be provided, with refreshments throughout the day.

Mike Learmond, Development Manager for FSB in North Wales, said, After a challenging few years for small businesses, we are looking forward to welcoming them together to forward plan and learn from experts and each other. It will give small businesses in North Wales some much needed networking opportunities to share experiences, make new contacts and rekindle relationships with likeminded businesses.?


Offline SteveH

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #362 on: July 06, 2022, 01:16:35 pm »
Household energy bills to hit ?3,000 per year

All types of household energy bill are now heading above ?3,000 a year this winter, say energy industry sources.

The rise is 7% higher than the predicted prices on which the government's recently announced cost of living support package was based.

The government said it didn't recognise the figures, but added it and Ofgem "keep a close watch on energy prices".

National Energy Action said there were "few signs of energy prices becoming affordable this winter".

The bleak prediction comes as households are already struggling with rising food and fuel prices.

Read more    &shake&     https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62056385

Offline Hugo

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #363 on: July 06, 2022, 07:42:10 pm »
I just can't get my head around the problem we are having with soaring energy prices, perhaps I am being a bit naive.      If the costs of obtaing energy have gone up to record levels it is also noted that Energy firms are making record profits from their customers
The Energy firms should think of their customers first and reduce the cost of the energy they supply rather than paying record dividends to their investors
The other alternative would be a windfall tax on the profits of the energy companies.    Perhaps Boris or the next PM  can do this because at the moment the poor are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer.   The gap between the two is getting wider and wider and the country can't afford to wait 2 more years for a change of Government

Offline Helig

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #364 on: July 07, 2022, 11:43:13 am »
I agree there is something very funny about this. I should like to know how companies who obtain most of their energy from renewables can charge such massive tariffs? They are not subject to prices of oil and gas etc. It has all the hallmarks of a rip off of consumers.

In yesterday's paper they covered the story of Lurpak being ?9 in some supermarkets. I have noticed that some items such as Heinz soup which was 95p a tin not long ago are now?1.55 a tin. It is hard to see how that can be justified.  I hope that when Boris b****s off there will be some sanity restored to government and this can be sorted out.

Up here petrol is nearly ?2 a litre while diesel is about ?2.02 a litre.

Offline SteveH

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #365 on: July 07, 2022, 12:38:37 pm »
Quote
Helig.......In yesterday's paper they covered the story of Lurpak being ?9 in some supermarkets. I have noticed that some items such as Heinz soup which was 95p a tin not long ago are now?1.55 a tin.

Tesco issues statement after shelves cleared of another major brand
This comes just one week after Heinz pulled products from Tesco after the UK's biggest supermarket refused to raise prices

?With household budgets under increasing pressure, now more than ever we have a responsibility to ensure customers get the best possible value, and we will not pass on unjustifiable price increases to our customers. We?re sorry that this means some products aren?t available right now, but we have plenty of alternatives to choose from and we hope to have this issue resolved soon.?

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/tesco-issues-statement-after-shelves-24421828

Offline SteveH

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #366 on: July 12, 2022, 10:16:27 am »
Owners of expensive homes in Wales facing council tax hikes as 1.5m houses set for revaluation
The Welsh Government has unveiled proposals aimed at updating the council tax system and ensuring greater 'fairness'

Cardiff wants to revalue all 1.5 millions homes in Wales to ensure valuations are up to date and that people are ?paying the appropriate amount?. At the last revaluation, a third of households saw their bills rise and ministers believe wealth inequalities have since widened.

CONT PLUS 39 COMMENTS 

 https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/owners-expensive-homes-wales-facing-24460701?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589#comments-wrapper

Offline SteveH

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #367 on: August 04, 2022, 01:40:15 pm »
Household energy bills will change every three months under new plans aimed at avoiding price shocks.

Currently, the price cap - the maximum amount suppliers can charge their customers in England, Scotland and Wales - changes every six months.

Energy regulator Ofgem says the change means price rises and falls will be passed on to customers more quickly.

Energy bills soared in April and are expected to rise sharply again in October, when the cap goes up.

Ofgem said customers "face a very challenging winter ahead" and acknowledged the situation was "deeply worrying" for many people.

In May, Ofgem said the typical household should expect to see an ?800 increase to ?2,800 a year, but it now says prices are looking higher than when it made that estimate.

cont  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62408869

Offline SteveH

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #368 on: August 06, 2022, 10:16:12 am »
1.54 billion spent on bottled water UK per year. Volvic (french) top 149.7 Million  &shake&

We admit to buying bottled water [British]up to a few years ago, but stopped to help the plastic waste situation, we changed over to a jug filter system and reusable bottles, no problem at all, and obviously saves us money, not to be sneezed at these days.

Offline SteveH

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #369 on: August 07, 2022, 09:57:54 am »
House prices in Conwy have soared by an average of more than ?9,000 in the month of May, according to figures from the Land Registry.

The latest data from the government department reveals that in May 2022 average house prices in Conwy reached ?215,709.

This was up from ?205,772 in April, representing a 4.8 per cent increase. In the last 12 months it has risen by 13.9 per cent.

In cash terms, the average house price in May was ?32,210 higher than a year earlier with house price growth accelerating to 12.8 per cent in May 2022. Prices were up by 1.2 per cent month on month.   ref Pioneer/Zoopla


Offline SteveH

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Re: Financial matters...Post Office
« Reply #370 on: August 08, 2022, 12:59:14 pm »
Brits have been warned that thousands of Royal Mail stamps are set to be unusable within months as a new system is set to be brought in. The postal service will be rolling out a new barcode system to replace the traditional stamp system.

The barcode system is said to be safer and will hopefully make it easier to send letters. It means that many people who are using stamps only have a few months to use them or lose them.

From January 31, 2023, you won't be able to use the current style of stamps that feature an image of The Queen 's head. Instead, only the new style stamps complete with their new barcodes will be valid, and you'll face a surcharge trying to use anything otherwise.

ALSO...
Royal Mail shake-up could see thousands waiting until 6pm for deliveries
It is part of plans to ensure they keep pace with competitors

cont  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/royal-mail-shake-up-could-24697780

Offline DVT

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #371 on: August 08, 2022, 02:59:34 pm »
That was announced quite some time ago, and the "bar code" stamps have been available on sale and in use.  You can also trade in your "old" stamps for new ones.

What I cannot figure out is how the bar coding works.

I can understand the dots they add to your envelope as that could be a coding of your post code, but all the stamps will have the same bar code, the only variation being stamp value.

They also said, a while back, that if a letter for you arrives at the sorting office with an "old" stamp, then you have to collect it and pay for the privilege, as you do now if the package is "under-stamped".

About 20 years ago and before major use of e-mails my annual postage bill was about ?3,000 ... it's now about ?150.  Most of my mail comes in electronically as well.

Offline Bri Roberts

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #372 on: August 08, 2022, 07:11:56 pm »
Thank you for the reminder.

We have just returned 129 stamps.

Offline SteveH

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #373 on: August 09, 2022, 09:51:16 am »
Thank you for the reminder.
We have just returned 129 stamps.

That would have cost a lot, glad it was helpful.


Offline Bri Roberts

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Re: Financial matters
« Reply #374 on: August 09, 2022, 10:41:15 am »
?117.65  ;)

I cannot understand why a question mark always replaces a pound sign.

Maybe Ian can please explain and correct it when he reads this post.