Ways to reduce fuel bills
October 19, 2011
Exorbitant fuel charges are crippling the whole of the UK. So when a debate about energy prices comes to the fore I’m not one to stand by idly and say nothing.
I’ve always maintained that the government have a conflict of interest when they talk to the ‘big 6′ energy companies. On one hand they are trying to give the appearance of being on the public’s side, but on the other they are raking in the tax from the high prices we currently see.
There’s thus no incentive for the government to make the energy companies reduce their rates, even though the wholesale price of electricity and gas doesn’t correlate to what as retailers we are expected to pay. It’s the same as oil. The prices go up but they rarely come down. Even when the wholesale price is much lower than it ever has been.
It’s obvious, as far as I’m concerned, that the government are trying to ‘deflect’ our attention away from high pricing and onto energy efficiency drives and ways to insulate our home. This makes them appear to be helping us to be green, but in reality is helping themselves.
Most people don’t want a two-for-one offer in the supermarket - we don’t want all that food.
Most people don’t want to get a free gift when they buy car insurance.
Most people don’t want to have to turn to ‘alternative’ ways to bring energy bills down.
What we want are realistic, fair prices with no gimmicks, no sale’s schmooze, no meercat toys and definitely no one making massive profits at the customer’s expense.
As the recession continues and everyone’s purse strings tighten even further, more job losses have been announced.
In the news today, Staples Promotional Products are eliminating 45 jobs. The job losses come from the Iowa, Hawarden and Marcus plants, all job losses are blamed on the economy.
Last year, Staples Promotional Products became the largest US supplier of promotional products after they acquired Corporate Express Promotional Marketing in 2008. According to reports the two companies earn more than $400,000,000 in sales annually, yet are still heavily affected by the current recession.
After the print of the Sunday Times rich list, it has become apparent that the music industry have been hit hard by the credit crunch too. Reports have said that some of the wealthiest British individuals have seen massive dips in the fortune.
The list has shown that Paul McCartney has apparently lost £60 million from his wealth since the list was published last year. Though, still in 3rd position on the music industries wealth list it is hard to feel too sorry for him. His fortune still stands at an estimated £500 million!
Elton John has seen a 26 percent drop on his fortune, from £235 million in 2008 to £175 million this year.
All looks good for Andrew Lloyd Webber who tops the music industry rich list.
The rest of us can watch on in envy, as they lose more than we could ever hope to hold in our accounts!
Slight Improvement On The Mortgage Situation…
April 15, 2009
Though market activity remains low, mortgages given out increased slightly in February. The number of loans given in February rose by 4% from January.
First time buyers have to raise 25% deposits to get a mortgage though at least now there is some movement.
Council of Mortgage Lenders Director General Michael Coogan said:
“We are not convinced that underlying trends have shifted sufficiently to change our forecasts for mortgage market activity in 2009, but there are some positive signs for later in the year, some large banks are making more funding available through enhanced lending commitments, which is helpful but will not satisfy consumer borrowing demand on its own.”
Though there does seem to be a lift, the number of mortgages given has significantly decreased on passed years.
Bad Customers
January 14, 2009
Most people understand the bane of bad customers, you dread their calls and whatever you do is never good enough. Don’t forget those that think they know it all, even though they are paying for your professional opinion, they don’t allow you to do the job you know you can do.
It boils down to the 80/20 rule; twenty percent of your customers are super stars. Dealings with them flies with ease and subsequently you succeed far more for them than anyone else. These customers should be held on to and looked after as they are what get you through the day.
You may find that within the other eighty percent there are some you will be better off without. Look at the time you spend trying to manage their moaning and dealing with their outlandish requests. The problem is that Sales often do not spot the warning signs and don’t say no to potentially unprofitable business.
Though not all businesses have the luxury of getting rid of their bad customers, if possible you should politely tell them that they would be better getting their product or service elsewhere. I know it may seem ridiculous to turn business away, especially with the current economic climate but you must look past additional revenue and think about increases in profit.
The fact is that not all customers are right, this is a myth and not all customers are profitable. Moving forward; determine what makes a good customer for your business; pass this brief onto your sales department. If an existing client crosses the line, sack them, some customers are just not worth the trouble.
Major UK Names Enter Administration
November 26, 2008
High Street old timer Woolworths with 815 stores UK wide has today gone into administration.
This will put thousands of people out of work with the board of directors meeting at 6pm to make a decision regarding Woolworth’s future.
Not only this, but MFI are also set to go into administration. Problems cited have been less demand, cash flow problems and credit terms being withdrawn. Though not all of the 110 stores are closing, only 24 will remain open.
Back to Woolworths, all 815 stores are in danger with 25,000 potential redundancies. Woolworths have continued to struggle with their £385 million debt, which has been made worse recently as they have had to pay cash to suppliers as they could no longer get trade insurance.
Though there have been great efforts to find buyers for their business, today they have had to accept their fate in administration. I think this goes to show that as much as the Labour Party would like us to believe that the recession will be over in 6 to 12 months, this is unlikely to be the case.
We should look to the long term and prepare for the worst. The recent budget plans seem to be a gamble with Britain’s future, this is the time to be careful and prepare for the next couple of years of doomy finances, not risk everything.
Global Economic Trauma
October 27, 2008
As share prices continue to fall, European markets have hit a five year low figures show this morning. This follows Japan’s Nikkei index which closed earlier at a 26 year low, causing investors to fret about global economic slowdown.
Market Strategist, Neil Parker from Royal Bank of Scotland said;
“There’s lots of volatility, not just in the equity market, but in the interest rate and currency markets too, we’re going to get further big swings as the markets watch for what the authorities are going to do.”
The economic crisis is literally a global problem, all markets are down and in many cases are in the worst shape in the last ten years.
The G7 are warning that the strength of the Yen is threatening economic stability and are currently trying to reduce the value of the currency. Though the Yen briefly weakened over the weekend it quickly climbed back to its 13 year high over the dollar. The strength of the Yen is attributed to the carry trade, where traders borrow the Yen in order to buy other currencies with higher interest rates.
As the difference between Japanese and other currency rates grow less and less carry trading has taken place. These traders are now using other currencies to buy Yen which is boosting the currency further.
General trauma in all financial markets and it’s not going to get any better any time soon. I think it’s best for Gordon Brown to let the market run its course… I can just see him scraping this £50 billion together and it going straight down the pan!
Britons are best preparing themselves for a rough ride; markets go through peaks and troughs as a natural economic occurrence. No amount of bail out money will change the current cycle we are in.
Brown £Billion Bailout
October 13, 2008
The £37 billion bailout for RBS, Lloyds TSB and HBOS has been hailed as essential for the whole of the economy by Gordon Brown.
The markets have welcomed the news as the FTSE 100 opened five percent higher today. The RBS chief executive is to stand down as the bank is now worth less than the extra capital that was already raised by its shareholders.
Lloyds TSB are revising the terms of its takeover of HBOS and is raising £5.5 billion of new capital.
Barclays is to raise £6.5 billion to strengthen its balance sheet with help from its investors. The Barclays group has said that it will not be paying dividends for the end of the 2008 financial year, due in at £2 billion.
The £37 billion bailout will leave only HSBC (a foreign owned bank) as a fully independent bank on the high street.
The Government has already had to bail out two major UK mortgage lenders and controls Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley.
The intervention raised hopes that the suffering markets may begin to fight back in the midst of a turbulent economy. I think like many others that this is unlikely!
More Economic Trouble
September 30, 2008
Here in the UK; Brown, King and Darling have said they will:
“take whatever action is necessary to ensure the continued stability of the system.”
The American House of Representatives has voted against a $700 billion financial bailout. Gordon Brown has said that this news is very disappointing as the collapse of the US economy will impact on the UK’s. The failure of the plan that was to help the financial industry has pushed global markets significantly downwards.
On Monday this week the government nationalised Bradford & Bingley, which is now the second UK bank to be put under public ownership throughout the deepening financial crisis.
After the announcement regarding the bail out, the Stock Market fell by $3 Trillion, the biggest drop in four years.
It is not yet clear how the powers that be will sort the situation but a solution is needed to stabilise the global economy. The financial future is looking very grey indeed.
Hard Times
September 19, 2008
Times are hard and everybody is feeling the pinch. It seems that we cannot turn on the television or radio without hearing about companies in decline, jobs being cut and people having to curb their spending. 
I think by reflecting on my social circle I can see the affect that the credit crunch has had. This time last year my friends and I would go out every weekend; shopping and partying. Now, nobody is going out to bars and restaurants, even on payday the bars are not full. It was not long ago that there were queues to get into many bars.
It seems that our habits are changing and spending behaviour in general has taken a ‘u’ turn. A recent social with my friends included a night at Mecca Bingo. It was cheap and cheery, and frankly a good night out. This really is not something that I would have thought I would have found myself doing. In all fairness, it wasn’t too minging either. Since the smoking ban, the air in the hall was bearable. Granted, everything was a little bit brown from smoking years past. But I got involved and overall it was fun.
When the smoking ban came in Bingo halls lost 50% of their custom. This is now beginning to turn around, with people tightening their purse strings, many low cost businesses are flourishing amongst the economic turmoil. The likes of Aldi are seeing their profits soar, while Marks and Spenser continue to plummet.
I think we will see far more of this behaviour over the next year or two. However, it leaves me and many others wondering; how long the recession will last and how hard things will get until we finally get through the other side?!
Another US Bank Hit By Credit Crunch!
September 15, 2008
In the news today, American investment bank Lehman Brothers has filed for bankruptcy protection. The fourth largest investment bank has made the announcement amid their growing financial crisis.
The bank has incurred billions of dollars in losses in the American mortgage market. This news will deliver a further blow to the global financial system as many other banks are involved with Lehman business.
It is unlikely that Lehman will receive help from the US Federal Reserve like Bear Stearns had been seen. This is because Lehman is an investment bank rather than a consumer institution with people owning checking accounts.
European and Asian stock markets have seen a sharp drop and the euro has grown in strength against the dollar. The fall of yet another financial institution has increased fears over the strength of the global financial system.
Both Barclays and the Bank of America were in talks to rescue the Lehman bank. Though, since both institutions pulled out over the weekend, Lehman Bros is looking even more likely to collapse.
Lehman Brothers employ around 25,000 staff around the world, including 5,000 in Britain. The file for bankruptcy protection will give the company time to reorganise and devise how they will pay off creditors.
This is now three of the top five American investment banks that have been struck hard by the credit crunch. It is not only financial institutions that are feeling the strain, AIG; the largest global insurer also has problems mounting. With exposure to the property market crisis, AIG have asked for 40 billion dollars from the US Federal Reserve to stay afloat.
So, it is not only the UK that is struggling financially. America was first hit by the credit crunch and it appears that the UK is following their trend. Our government keep trying to instil an opinion within voters that the UK economy will be OK. Looking at the market, I think that any simpleton can see that this is not the case. It looks more and more likely that the UK will sink far deeper into the financial crisis that we are currently seeing globally.
It is likely that the situation will get far worse before it gets better. I just hope that Britain is prepared for the financial turmoil on the horizon, rather than hiding in denial!