Once again we have been slow updating some financial news on Financebam, we will get it right soon.
Let’s start with an update on some financial news items over the last few weeks that will only scratch the surface of what really happened.
Yesterday it was mentioned that even though the high street is taking a battering with sales leading up to Christmas, there is a different story for online sales. Not only is it expected that sales will stay at the same level than last year, but there is real evidence, that credit crunch or not, sales will increase for online purchases compared to last year. Nothing was mentioned about the online insurance market, such as car insurance or breakdown cover.
We clearly have different priorities to the USA. We have easily let our motoring history disappear when the car factories were unable to compete with Japanese and foreign cars imported to us. The message has always been clear in the UK, that if a business is unsustainable then it is right for it to fail, job losses or not. It is not seen this way in other European countries that have no problem saving their national car manufacturing forms by pumping in tax payer’s money.
This trend has crossed the Atlantic, which the big car manufacturers, Ford, General Motors and Chrysler all going cap in hand to the American government for $34b or so to keep them afloat.
Insurance comparison sites have come under some criticism recently, stating they do not do a though enough job of helping customers buy the right insurance. It is claimed that insurance comparison sites, are good at delivering prices, but not so good at ensuring all the facts and conditions of each policy is explained in enough details.
Last week saw another huge drop in bank landing rates, down to an astonishing 2% base rate, in an attempt to get people borrowing and banks lending especially in the mortgage market. Many however are still complaining that they have not yet seen a reduction in their mortgage payments from the last reduction, never mind this further recent one.
It was also mentioned that the government would allow a 2 year holiday (if you could call it that) on interest payments, should you lose your job. This mortgage interest will accumulate and you will have to pay it in the end. Should your home continue to drop in value, this could create some serious negative equity. However, should home prices start to rise again; this could be the answer to giving customers some piece of mind with mortgage payments.
Finally the announcement that Honda have pulled out of Formula One should not have been a surprise in hindsight. How can they justify spending £350 on making 2 cars go around a track faster, when thousands of jobs are on the line and factories are being shut, to keep costs down, with compounds full of unsold cars.