Duncan Smith considers incentives to relocate jobless

The new government has announced a new plan to move unemployed people from their council houses to another part of the country with work.

From my understanding we don't have enough council housing in the first place, and what about the family's other family's, friends and more importantly the children's schooling.

Is the government promising, a new job, a place for each child at the nearest school, funding to help for travel, funding to help for child care and a new council house, I don't think so.

This feels like another short sighted attempt by the government to reduce its unemployment numbers without really helping the people that need it.

These are my questions below:

• What happens if one person has a job, but the other partner doesn't are their still expected to move.
• A lot of working people use their family and friends to look after children, under this system the government will have to pay for extra child care.
• What happens if you turn down the job (do you then loss your benefits and housing)
• Were are all these jobs, Britain no longer has mass factory's or manufacturing sites.
• Will the government also give them money to put a car on the road or pay for public transport, because you can't say well we have a job and a council house for you, but they are twenty miles apart and we are cutting all the public transport systems.
• Also this migration will be from the north to the south, since the north was so heavily hit by the Tory's back in the 80's the jobs on scale needed just don't exist.
• Are you guaranteed a school place for your children in the nearest school, which then will have a knock on effected, do we just add more children to the class or will local family then get turned down.

written by Recession2009

Please read press story below

Duncan Smith considers incentives to relocate jobless

Unemployed people living in council homes could be offered incentives to move to areas where there are jobs, the work and pensions secretary has said.


Iain Duncan Smith said millions were trapped in "ghettos of poverty" unable to move for fear of losing their homes.

Labour's Ed Balls called the idea "profoundly unfair" and likened it to Tory calls in the 1980s for people to "get on your bike" to look for work.

But Mr Duncan Smith said such comparisons were "ludicrous".

The coalition government has promised bold welfare reforms to ensure work pays better and to tackle generations of unemployment in families.

'Trapped'

Mr Duncan Smith said that the fact that there were five-and-a-half million people who were not working showed that current policies were not working.

Britain had one of the most static workforces in the western world, with people "trapped" in areas with high unemployment, he said.

Under the last government, he told Sky News, "almost ghettos of poverty" had appeared "where people are static and unable to get work because there is not work there".

The government wanted to distribute unemployment more evenly across the country and to make it as easy for people on low incomes to travel to do a job as the better-off, he added.


Mr Duncan Smith said he did not expect people to relocate to different parts of the country, nor did he want everyone to move to the south east of England.

UK jobless total climbs to 2.4m

The number of people out of work in the UK has risen to its highest level since 1995, official figures have shown.

Unemployment increased by 220,000 to 2,435,000 in the three months to June, taking the jobless rate to 7.8%.

Claims for unemployment benefit were the highest in 12 years, increasing by 24,900 from June to 1.58 million.

 

Average earnings, excluding bonuses, grew at their slowest rate since records began in 2001, the Office for National Statistics said.

Unemployment hits 9.5 percent in U.S.

Employers cut more jobs in the U.S. in June causing unemployment to rise to 9.5 percent from 9.4 percent in May, the highest since August 1983.

The Labor Department report shows that in June employers slashed 467,000 jobs and hourly earnings were flat. In May the economy lost 322,000 jobs.

Factory payrolls fell by 136,000 after decreasing 156,000 the prior month. Payrolls at builders fell 79,000 after decreasing 48,000.

read full article at Buffalo Business First

Obiturtary of the high street and other companies - UPDATED

Please follow the link to see updated list of high street and companies that have gone in administration since January 2008

Obituary of the high street and other companies

Obiturtary of the high street and other companies - UPDATED

Please follow the link to see updated list of high street and companies that have gone in administration since January 2008

Obituary of the high street and other companies

NEW blog in development

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Hi all, I have been developing a new blog please come and visit it

allaboutgrub.wordpress.com

 - this blog is all about food, ingredients and where to buy good quality food from - add a marker to my allaboutgrub map to tell others about great places to eat out or places to buy great food from -

"go on share your food experiences with others" 

NEW blog in development

[caption id="attachment_571" align="aligncenter" width="310" caption="allaboutgrub"][/caption]

Hi all, I have been developing a new blog please come and visit it

allaboutgrub.wordpress.com

 - this blog is all about food, ingredients and where to buy good quality food from - add a marker to my allaboutgrub map to tell others about great places to eat out or places to buy great food from -

"go on share your food experiences with others" 

US jobless rate increases to 8.1%

 

The US jobless rate jumped in February to 8.1%, according to official figures from the Labor Department. The number of people out of work rose by 651,000 during the month. Both figures were bigger than expected. The number of job cuts in January was revised up to 655,000 while December's losses were pushed up to 681,000. December's figure was the biggest job loss in a single month since October 1949. The unemployment rate was the highest since December 1983.   Rising unemployment has meant greater demand for free meals President Obama said that the number of jobs lost so far in the recession was "astounding". Speaking in Ohio, he added: "I don't need to tell the people of this state what statistics like this mean," saying that he had signed his economic stimulus package in order to save jobs. The extra 161,000 jobs added to December and January's figures mean that almost two million jobs have been lost in the past three months. A total of 12.5 million people are now unemployed in the US. "It just continues to show the grim state of the labour market, which suggests a deepening US recession," said Joe Manimbo, currency trader at Ruesch International in Washington. Across sectors There were further signs of companies cutting back on their spending with the news that the number of people who wanted to work full-time but were forced to work part-time for economic reasons rising 787,000 to 8.6 million.   FEBRUARY'S BIG JOB CUTS Goodyear: 5,000 Macy's: 7,000 General Motors: 3,400 Estee Lauder: 2,000 Lincoln Electric: 900 The average working week stood at 33.3 hours, matching the record low set in December. Jobs were cut in most sectors, with only government, education and health services adding staff. In the manufacturing sector 168,000 jobs were cut in the month while 104,000 jobs went in construction and 375,000 were cut in the service sector. "The payroll numbers are very weak. With the revisions, we've had significant job losses in the past four months," said Gary Thayer, senior economist at Wachovia Securities in St Louis. "Companies are reducing workers and output in order to bring inventories into line with weak sales." Among the companies that announced big job cuts in February were Goodyear, Estee Lauder, Macy's and General Motors. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress earlier in the week that economic indicators "show little sign of improvement" and suggest that "labour market conditions may have worsened further in recent weeks".

US jobless rate increases to 8.1%

 

The US jobless rate jumped in February to 8.1%, according to official figures from the Labor Department. The number of people out of work rose by 651,000 during the month. Both figures were bigger than expected. The number of job cuts in January was revised up to 655,000 while December's losses were pushed up to 681,000. December's figure was the biggest job loss in a single month since October 1949. The unemployment rate was the highest since December 1983.   Rising unemployment has meant greater demand for free meals President Obama said that the number of jobs lost so far in the recession was "astounding". Speaking in Ohio, he added: "I don't need to tell the people of this state what statistics like this mean," saying that he had signed his economic stimulus package in order to save jobs. The extra 161,000 jobs added to December and January's figures mean that almost two million jobs have been lost in the past three months. A total of 12.5 million people are now unemployed in the US. "It just continues to show the grim state of the labour market, which suggests a deepening US recession," said Joe Manimbo, currency trader at Ruesch International in Washington. Across sectors There were further signs of companies cutting back on their spending with the news that the number of people who wanted to work full-time but were forced to work part-time for economic reasons rising 787,000 to 8.6 million.   FEBRUARY'S BIG JOB CUTS Goodyear: 5,000 Macy's: 7,000 General Motors: 3,400 Estee Lauder: 2,000 Lincoln Electric: 900 The average working week stood at 33.3 hours, matching the record low set in December. Jobs were cut in most sectors, with only government, education and health services adding staff. In the manufacturing sector 168,000 jobs were cut in the month while 104,000 jobs went in construction and 375,000 were cut in the service sector. "The payroll numbers are very weak. With the revisions, we've had significant job losses in the past four months," said Gary Thayer, senior economist at Wachovia Securities in St Louis. "Companies are reducing workers and output in order to bring inventories into line with weak sales." Among the companies that announced big job cuts in February were Goodyear, Estee Lauder, Macy's and General Motors. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress earlier in the week that economic indicators "show little sign of improvement" and suggest that "labour market conditions may have worsened further in recent weeks".

British jobs for British workers

Deal hope in foreign workers row

Workers say the action is not racist, but about discrimination against Britons

A possible deal to end the row over the use of foreign labour at Lincolnshire's Lindsey Oil Refinery will be put to local union leaders and workers later.

The proposal emerged after talks chaired by Acas.

A GMB union source told the BBC the deal could see half of the disputed 200 jobs offered to British workers, but the Unite leader has denied this.

Hope that new 'half-and-half' deal in foreign workers row could end wildcat strikes

A proposed deal that could end the bitter row over foreign workers at an oil refinery will be put to unions today.

Marathon talks aimed at ending a series of wildcat strikes at Lindsey plant in Lincolnshire ended last night with the outline of a possible deal.

Union sources said it involved offering half the jobs of the disputed recruitment contract to UK workers.

Downturn will bring big fall in migrant workers, says CBI

Companies facing decline in demand for goods and services will reduce their use of agency staff, MPs are told

The use of migrant labour in Britain will decline abruptly as companies face a sharp fall in demand for their goods and services, the Confederation of British Industry told MPs yesterday. John Cridland, the CBI's deputy director general, told the Commons home affairs committee that the first response of many firms to the downturn was to reduce their dependency on agency staff, many of whom are migrant workers.

He said that there was evidence that many nationals of new EU states were going home as unemployment rose in Britain and suggested that the flow of skilled migrants from outside Europe would also decline. He added: "I expect that, when we have the next report from the [Home Office's] migration advisory committee on the needs for skilled labour, we will not see the same need for non-EU labour in the same numbers because of the need to provide as many employment opportunities as possible for the unemployed. All I'm suggesting is that the market will correct itself, but what we cannot avoid is a significant increase in unemployment, which is a sad but inevitable consequence of recession."

read full articles Click here

British jobs for British workers

Deal hope in foreign workers row

Workers say the action is not racist, but about discrimination against Britons

A possible deal to end the row over the use of foreign labour at Lincolnshire's Lindsey Oil Refinery will be put to local union leaders and workers later.

The proposal emerged after talks chaired by Acas.

A GMB union source told the BBC the deal could see half of the disputed 200 jobs offered to British workers, but the Unite leader has denied this.

Hope that new 'half-and-half' deal in foreign workers row could end wildcat strikes

A proposed deal that could end the bitter row over foreign workers at an oil refinery will be put to unions today.

Marathon talks aimed at ending a series of wildcat strikes at Lindsey plant in Lincolnshire ended last night with the outline of a possible deal.

Union sources said it involved offering half the jobs of the disputed recruitment contract to UK workers.

Downturn will bring big fall in migrant workers, says CBI

Companies facing decline in demand for goods and services will reduce their use of agency staff, MPs are told

The use of migrant labour in Britain will decline abruptly as companies face a sharp fall in demand for their goods and services, the Confederation of British Industry told MPs yesterday. John Cridland, the CBI's deputy director general, told the Commons home affairs committee that the first response of many firms to the downturn was to reduce their dependency on agency staff, many of whom are migrant workers.

He said that there was evidence that many nationals of new EU states were going home as unemployment rose in Britain and suggested that the flow of skilled migrants from outside Europe would also decline. He added: "I expect that, when we have the next report from the [Home Office's] migration advisory committee on the needs for skilled labour, we will not see the same need for non-EU labour in the same numbers because of the need to provide as many employment opportunities as possible for the unemployed. All I'm suggesting is that the market will correct itself, but what we cannot avoid is a significant increase in unemployment, which is a sad but inevitable consequence of recession."

read full articles Click here

Global recession claims 67,000 jobs in a day

The depth of the global recession was glimpsed today when almost 80,000 jobs were lost or put under threat in the UK, Europe and US, making it one of the bleakest days in recent memory.

Household names, including electronics retailer Philips, construction equipment maker Caterpillar and drug group Pfizer announced thousands of job losses, with many posts expected to be lost in the UK. Steel company Corus, for instance, is axing 2,500 British workers as it dumps 3,500 worldwide.

Even upper-crust London retailer Fortnum & Mason, which can trace its roots back to 1705, is suffering. It emerged yesterday that the Piccadilly-based department store is looking to cut about 100 of its 530 staff as shoppers seek out cheaper alternatives to products such as its £500 picnic hampers stuffed with champagne, vintage marmalade and smoked salmon.

The scale of the challenge faced by world leaders as they grapple with the worst economic downturn since the second world war was underlined yesterday as Gordon Brown issued a stark warning that the global economy will be undermined unless countries work together to tackle the crisis. The prime minister said the world needed to "ensure that we do not experience a new form of financial protectionism, of mercantilism, of retreat into domestic financial markets".

In the US, where General Motors cut 2,000 jobs, President Barack Obama warned it was imperative that Congress pass his $825bn (£590bn) package of spending and tax cuts as soon as possible. "We cannot afford distractions," he said. "We cannot afford delays in getting legislation to boost the economy through Congress."

New research from the Institute of Directors showed British business leaders are not only pessimistic about their companies' prospects but have recently seen a marked deterioration in performance.

"In previous IoD surveys, companies were saying it's going to be hell out there in the future but we're not doing too badly at present. Now they're saying the problem is much closer to home," said the IoD chief economist and director of policy, Graeme Leach."We're a long way into the financial crisis but the economic crisis is only just beginning."

Managers across the UK, meanwhile, have accepted their own redundancy as "inevitable", according to the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), which has examined recent calls to its helpline. "Quite clearly, any suggestion that there is already light at the end of the tunnel is misplaced," said Ruth Spellman, chief executive of the CMI.

The job losses announced yesterday fell mainly across industry. Europe's largest consumer electronics company Philips is shedding 6,000 jobs after announcing its first loss for half a decade. US mobile phone company Spring Nextel is axing 8,000 and Pfizer is shedding 19,000.

But the biggest losses announced yesterday were from Caterpillar. The Illinois-based manufacturer of heavy-duty earth-moving equipment is cutting almost 20% of its workforce – or 20,000 people. The news has raised fears for the company's 10,000 employees in the UK, which is Caterpillar's largest operation outside the US, and Ireland. It has factories dotted across the UK from Teesside, Leicester and Peterborough to Shrewsbury and Slough. In Ireland its electricity generator business FG Wilson is Europe's largest assembler of generators.

sourced from The Guardian

Global recession claims 67,000 jobs in a day

The depth of the global recession was glimpsed today when almost 80,000 jobs were lost or put under threat in the UK, Europe and US, making it one of the bleakest days in recent memory.

Household names, including electronics retailer Philips, construction equipment maker Caterpillar and drug group Pfizer announced thousands of job losses, with many posts expected to be lost in the UK. Steel company Corus, for instance, is axing 2,500 British workers as it dumps 3,500 worldwide.

Even upper-crust London retailer Fortnum & Mason, which can trace its roots back to 1705, is suffering. It emerged yesterday that the Piccadilly-based department store is looking to cut about 100 of its 530 staff as shoppers seek out cheaper alternatives to products such as its £500 picnic hampers stuffed with champagne, vintage marmalade and smoked salmon.

The scale of the challenge faced by world leaders as they grapple with the worst economic downturn since the second world war was underlined yesterday as Gordon Brown issued a stark warning that the global economy will be undermined unless countries work together to tackle the crisis. The prime minister said the world needed to "ensure that we do not experience a new form of financial protectionism, of mercantilism, of retreat into domestic financial markets".

In the US, where General Motors cut 2,000 jobs, President Barack Obama warned it was imperative that Congress pass his $825bn (£590bn) package of spending and tax cuts as soon as possible. "We cannot afford distractions," he said. "We cannot afford delays in getting legislation to boost the economy through Congress."

New research from the Institute of Directors showed British business leaders are not only pessimistic about their companies' prospects but have recently seen a marked deterioration in performance.

"In previous IoD surveys, companies were saying it's going to be hell out there in the future but we're not doing too badly at present. Now they're saying the problem is much closer to home," said the IoD chief economist and director of policy, Graeme Leach."We're a long way into the financial crisis but the economic crisis is only just beginning."

Managers across the UK, meanwhile, have accepted their own redundancy as "inevitable", according to the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), which has examined recent calls to its helpline. "Quite clearly, any suggestion that there is already light at the end of the tunnel is misplaced," said Ruth Spellman, chief executive of the CMI.

The job losses announced yesterday fell mainly across industry. Europe's largest consumer electronics company Philips is shedding 6,000 jobs after announcing its first loss for half a decade. US mobile phone company Spring Nextel is axing 8,000 and Pfizer is shedding 19,000.

But the biggest losses announced yesterday were from Caterpillar. The Illinois-based manufacturer of heavy-duty earth-moving equipment is cutting almost 20% of its workforce – or 20,000 people. The news has raised fears for the company's 10,000 employees in the UK, which is Caterpillar's largest operation outside the US, and Ireland. It has factories dotted across the UK from Teesside, Leicester and Peterborough to Shrewsbury and Slough. In Ireland its electricity generator business FG Wilson is Europe's largest assembler of generators.

sourced from The Guardian

Updated: Should we help the banks

Click here to see video of Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown says the government will do 'everything it takes' to support the economy

Gordon Brown video

The Guardian's economics editor, Larry Elliott, assesses the government's latest banking bail-out



We I'm in two minds regarding this, I know that we really don't have any choice but I think the banks the should not only loan to business but also loan to the their customers.

Why should we keep or money in banks, their have wasted / loss billions of pounds in bad deals and investments - so why are we having to help out these private companies.

I don't fully understand but if we loss the banks to who economy would crash, but why use tax payers money. The issue I feel the most strongly about is what is the bank doing with this money, and who is it helping.  Is this securing peoples own investments, shares and pensions.

Now I privately rent my flat and I use public transport, so these actions taken by the Government - reducing vat and lowering interest rates has not benefited me at all. Transport cost have in increased by up to 10%, rent has not reduced like peoples mortgages. In the present economic situation you are not really able to ask for a pay rise, because if you have a job you are luck.

When the banks were offering 5 times and 100% mortgages, I was unsure because of the finical commitment. But what I feel is the people that over mortgages them self's either knowingly or accidental have been bald out by the government. But people like me who was not sure I could commit to the monthly re payments is know stuck, because the deposits are so high I can't afford to pay my rent, bills and save for a deposit.

I know that this money to the banks is intended to go towards business, but maybe reduce tax on people earning below £25,000 per years, because this will give people money in their pockets to spend in the high street.





Bank shares in free fall despite bail-out

Bank shares plummeted today amid concerns that the latest government package to stabilise banks and encourage lending would not solve the deepening economic crisis.

Royal Bank of Scotland was the biggest faller in the FTSE 100 share index, its price collapsing by more than 66%, to 11.6p, after it warned ofthe largest loss in British corporate history of up to £28bn and its chief executive, Stephen Hester, admitted that full-scale nationalisation of the bank had been considered.

The taxpayer already owns 58% of RBS but this will soon rise to 68% when £5bn of preference shares owned by the government are converted into ordinary shares.

The first day of dealing in shares of the newly created Lloyds Banking Group resulted in a 34% drop to 65p. The bank, which now has more branches than any of its rivals, issued a trading statement insisting that Lloyds TSB had been trading "satisfactorily", while HBOS, which it rescued in a deal brokered by Gordon Brown, had not suffered any "significant change" in its trading position.

Unlike RBS, Lloyds TSB is not asking the government to convert the preference shares it owns in the combined bank into ordinary shares, which means the taxpayers' stake is staying at 44%.

Eric Daniels, the chief executive of Lloyds, said the bank was "continuing its ongoing constructive dialogue" with the government about the wide range of measures announced today. Among them is a plan to sell insurance to banks to help them cap the losses on loans that have turned sour in the credit crunch.

HSBC, the only bank listed on the stockmarket not to have raised any fresh funds, insisted it would not need to use the government insurance scheme.

"HSBC has not sought capital support from the UK government and cannot envisage circumstances where such action would be necessary," the bank said. "HSBC has long been one of the world's most strongly capitalised banks and is committed to maintaining this position."

Shares in HSBC closed down 6.5% at 501p amid persistent talk that it would need to raise funds, which has been widely predicted since analysts at Morgan Stanley said last week that the bank may need as a much as £20bn of extra funds.

Barclays shares – which lost a quarter of their value in a frenzied hour of trading on Friday – recovered many of their losses early on but closed down another 10%, at 88p.

To participate in the government's insurance scheme, Barclays would need to sell preference shares to the government or find cash to cover the cost of the guarantee. John Varley, the bank's chief executive, is thought to be determined not to sell such shares to the government, even though they would not appear on the bank's shareholder register.

The bank has yet to decide whether to participate in the insurance scheme. Varley said he welcomed the range of announcements today. "The government has worked hard to construct practical and extensive measures to help the UK economy," he said. "The programme is made up of a number of important initiatives in the areas of capital ratios, funding and asset protection."

He added that Barclays would work with the tripartite authorities – the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority – over the coming days "to understand the detail of the programme and to determine how it can be used to best effect on behalf of customers, shareholders and the wider economy".

RBS expects to use the scheme and Hester admitted today that he expected the bank to be "guinea pig". He admitted total nationalisation of RBS had been discussed with the government. "It was discussed as something we all wish to avoid," he said.

Bruce Packard, banks analyst at the stockbroker Evolution, said: "These share price movements tell you that the government has gone around and said the bank bail-out in October hasn't worked and if they hadn't done that I don't think we'd be in this position.

"I'm a banks analyst and I don't want to criticise the government. They did the right thing in the second half of October but I'm not sure they're doing the right thing now." He has a price target for RBS shares of 18p

sourced from The Guardian

UK banking plan faces criticism

The government's latest plan to counter the economic downturn by encouraging lending has been criticised, and sent banks' shares tumbling.

Opposition MPs argued that the government's measures were inadequate and too many details remained unknown.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the move, which centres on state insurance for banks, was essential to help protect jobs.

Business leaders have raised concerns over how much the plan will cost.

The latest government package is the second major set of measures to encourage banks to lend to individuals and businesses, as credit remains scarce or expensive to obtain.

The news sent banking shares down sharply, with Royal Bank of Scotland closing down 67%.

The bank's warning that it could see record losses for 2008 compounded worries about the state of the finance sector.

'Turbulent times'

But the prime minister said that without the new schemes, jobs may have been "needlessly" lost at healthy firms struggling to gain access to necessary funding.

"Good businesses must have access to credit," said the prime minister.

"It is because of this that we are taking the action to expand lending."

Shadow chancellor George Osborne said the details of Monday's package remained a "mystery".

Mr Osborne added that the prime minister "hasn't saved this economy and he hasn't even saved the British banks yet".

Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman Vince Cable said the government's latest plans were inadequate, urging instead for the whole banking sector to be nationalised.

"The government must bite the bullet on the public ownership and control of the banks to ensure that lending is maintained to sound companies who can keep the economy ticking over in these turbulent times," he said.

What we've said is 'you've got to lend about £6bn more to businesses and to people' and the RBS Group have agreed to that Chancellor Alistair Darling

The long list of policies includes a scheme to offer insurance against banks losing more money from the bad debts that started the credit crunch.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England is to be able to buy assets direct from firms.

The government would not reveal how much the latest plan would cost the taxpayer.

Four key points

Here are the key points of the government's latest announcement:

• Banks will be able to take up government insurance against their expected bad debts

• The Bank of England will be able to buy up to £50bn worth of assets in companies in all sectors of the economy

• Northern Rock has been given extra time to repay its loans from the government

• The government is increasing its stake in RBS to nearly 70% from 58%. RBS also said it was set to report a huge loss for 2008, with asset write-downs of up to £20bn.

Insurance plans

Under the insurance scheme, banks will agree with the government the amount they expect to lose from particular debt.

The Treasury will then sell insurance against about 90% of the institutions' additional losses from the debt.

Chancellor Alistair Darling told the BBC that banks taking out the insurance would have to make "very specific legally binding agreements to lend more money".

Under the Bank of England's new role, it will be able to buy up to £50bn of high quality assets, such as bonds and loans, directly from companies

Northern Rock extension

There have also been changes to the terms of previous bank rescues.

The government has given Northern Rock longer to repay its loans from the government.

There was concern that the timetable for repaying the loans was forcing Northern Rock to reduce its mortgage lending too quickly.

Separately, RBS said it had agreed with the Treasury to swap the £5bn of preference shares the government holds for new ordinary shares, increasing the government's stake from 58% to nearly 70%.

The swap will reduce RBS's annual payments to the government as preference shares have a higher guaranteed rate of return than ordinary shares.

sourced from The BBC

Updated: Should we help the banks

Click here to see video of Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown says the government will do 'everything it takes' to support the economy

Gordon Brown video

The Guardian's economics editor, Larry Elliott, assesses the government's latest banking bail-out



We I'm in two minds regarding this, I know that we really don't have any choice but I think the banks the should not only loan to business but also loan to the their customers.

Why should we keep or money in banks, their have wasted / loss billions of pounds in bad deals and investments - so why are we having to help out these private companies.

I don't fully understand but if we loss the banks to who economy would crash, but why use tax payers money. The issue I feel the most strongly about is what is the bank doing with this money, and who is it helping.  Is this securing peoples own investments, shares and pensions.

Now I privately rent my flat and I use public transport, so these actions taken by the Government - reducing vat and lowering interest rates has not benefited me at all. Transport cost have in increased by up to 10%, rent has not reduced like peoples mortgages. In the present economic situation you are not really able to ask for a pay rise, because if you have a job you are luck.

When the banks were offering 5 times and 100% mortgages, I was unsure because of the finical commitment. But what I feel is the people that over mortgages them self's either knowingly or accidental have been bald out by the government. But people like me who was not sure I could commit to the monthly re payments is know stuck, because the deposits are so high I can't afford to pay my rent, bills and save for a deposit.

I know that this money to the banks is intended to go towards business, but maybe reduce tax on people earning below £25,000 per years, because this will give people money in their pockets to spend in the high street.





Bank shares in free fall despite bail-out

Bank shares plummeted today amid concerns that the latest government package to stabilise banks and encourage lending would not solve the deepening economic crisis.

Royal Bank of Scotland was the biggest faller in the FTSE 100 share index, its price collapsing by more than 66%, to 11.6p, after it warned ofthe largest loss in British corporate history of up to £28bn and its chief executive, Stephen Hester, admitted that full-scale nationalisation of the bank had been considered.

The taxpayer already owns 58% of RBS but this will soon rise to 68% when £5bn of preference shares owned by the government are converted into ordinary shares.

The first day of dealing in shares of the newly created Lloyds Banking Group resulted in a 34% drop to 65p. The bank, which now has more branches than any of its rivals, issued a trading statement insisting that Lloyds TSB had been trading "satisfactorily", while HBOS, which it rescued in a deal brokered by Gordon Brown, had not suffered any "significant change" in its trading position.

Unlike RBS, Lloyds TSB is not asking the government to convert the preference shares it owns in the combined bank into ordinary shares, which means the taxpayers' stake is staying at 44%.

Eric Daniels, the chief executive of Lloyds, said the bank was "continuing its ongoing constructive dialogue" with the government about the wide range of measures announced today. Among them is a plan to sell insurance to banks to help them cap the losses on loans that have turned sour in the credit crunch.

HSBC, the only bank listed on the stockmarket not to have raised any fresh funds, insisted it would not need to use the government insurance scheme.

"HSBC has not sought capital support from the UK government and cannot envisage circumstances where such action would be necessary," the bank said. "HSBC has long been one of the world's most strongly capitalised banks and is committed to maintaining this position."

Shares in HSBC closed down 6.5% at 501p amid persistent talk that it would need to raise funds, which has been widely predicted since analysts at Morgan Stanley said last week that the bank may need as a much as £20bn of extra funds.

Barclays shares – which lost a quarter of their value in a frenzied hour of trading on Friday – recovered many of their losses early on but closed down another 10%, at 88p.

To participate in the government's insurance scheme, Barclays would need to sell preference shares to the government or find cash to cover the cost of the guarantee. John Varley, the bank's chief executive, is thought to be determined not to sell such shares to the government, even though they would not appear on the bank's shareholder register.

The bank has yet to decide whether to participate in the insurance scheme. Varley said he welcomed the range of announcements today. "The government has worked hard to construct practical and extensive measures to help the UK economy," he said. "The programme is made up of a number of important initiatives in the areas of capital ratios, funding and asset protection."

He added that Barclays would work with the tripartite authorities – the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority – over the coming days "to understand the detail of the programme and to determine how it can be used to best effect on behalf of customers, shareholders and the wider economy".

RBS expects to use the scheme and Hester admitted today that he expected the bank to be "guinea pig". He admitted total nationalisation of RBS had been discussed with the government. "It was discussed as something we all wish to avoid," he said.

Bruce Packard, banks analyst at the stockbroker Evolution, said: "These share price movements tell you that the government has gone around and said the bank bail-out in October hasn't worked and if they hadn't done that I don't think we'd be in this position.

"I'm a banks analyst and I don't want to criticise the government. They did the right thing in the second half of October but I'm not sure they're doing the right thing now." He has a price target for RBS shares of 18p

sourced from The Guardian

UK banking plan faces criticism

The government's latest plan to counter the economic downturn by encouraging lending has been criticised, and sent banks' shares tumbling.

Opposition MPs argued that the government's measures were inadequate and too many details remained unknown.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the move, which centres on state insurance for banks, was essential to help protect jobs.

Business leaders have raised concerns over how much the plan will cost.

The latest government package is the second major set of measures to encourage banks to lend to individuals and businesses, as credit remains scarce or expensive to obtain.

The news sent banking shares down sharply, with Royal Bank of Scotland closing down 67%.

The bank's warning that it could see record losses for 2008 compounded worries about the state of the finance sector.

'Turbulent times'

But the prime minister said that without the new schemes, jobs may have been "needlessly" lost at healthy firms struggling to gain access to necessary funding.

"Good businesses must have access to credit," said the prime minister.

"It is because of this that we are taking the action to expand lending."

Shadow chancellor George Osborne said the details of Monday's package remained a "mystery".

Mr Osborne added that the prime minister "hasn't saved this economy and he hasn't even saved the British banks yet".

Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman Vince Cable said the government's latest plans were inadequate, urging instead for the whole banking sector to be nationalised.

"The government must bite the bullet on the public ownership and control of the banks to ensure that lending is maintained to sound companies who can keep the economy ticking over in these turbulent times," he said.

What we've said is 'you've got to lend about £6bn more to businesses and to people' and the RBS Group have agreed to that Chancellor Alistair Darling

The long list of policies includes a scheme to offer insurance against banks losing more money from the bad debts that started the credit crunch.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England is to be able to buy assets direct from firms.

The government would not reveal how much the latest plan would cost the taxpayer.

Four key points

Here are the key points of the government's latest announcement:

• Banks will be able to take up government insurance against their expected bad debts

• The Bank of England will be able to buy up to £50bn worth of assets in companies in all sectors of the economy

• Northern Rock has been given extra time to repay its loans from the government

• The government is increasing its stake in RBS to nearly 70% from 58%. RBS also said it was set to report a huge loss for 2008, with asset write-downs of up to £20bn.

Insurance plans

Under the insurance scheme, banks will agree with the government the amount they expect to lose from particular debt.

The Treasury will then sell insurance against about 90% of the institutions' additional losses from the debt.

Chancellor Alistair Darling told the BBC that banks taking out the insurance would have to make "very specific legally binding agreements to lend more money".

Under the Bank of England's new role, it will be able to buy up to £50bn of high quality assets, such as bonds and loans, directly from companies

Northern Rock extension

There have also been changes to the terms of previous bank rescues.

The government has given Northern Rock longer to repay its loans from the government.

There was concern that the timetable for repaying the loans was forcing Northern Rock to reduce its mortgage lending too quickly.

Separately, RBS said it had agreed with the Treasury to swap the £5bn of preference shares the government holds for new ordinary shares, increasing the government's stake from 58% to nearly 70%.

The swap will reduce RBS's annual payments to the government as preference shares have a higher guaranteed rate of return than ordinary shares.

sourced from The BBC

UK jobless 'to reach 3.4 million'

Unemployment will soar to 3.4 million as the financial crisis deepens, forecasters predict ahead of official jobless figures this week.

The Ernst & Young Item Club says the number of those out of work in the UK will pass 3.25 million by the end of 2010, and hit 3.4 million in 2011.

"All of the economic statistics are now in free-fall," it said in its forecast.

It warned the next 12 months would see the UK economy suffer its largest contraction since 1946.

The UK's gross domestic product would shrink by 2.7% in 2009 and another 0.5% the following year, the Item Club said in its latest report on the UK economy.

The official unemployment total reached a 10-year high of 1.86 million last October and some analysts expect the figure to increase to two million when new figures are published on Wednesday.

'Depression' warning

The group says that inflation and interest rates will stay close to zero, helping pensioners and those with tracker mortgages.

However, it said these conditions will do little to aid the housing market, set to fall 22% more over the next 18 months as it remains starved of finance for new mortgages. Meanwhile banks will be unable to lend to companies and consumers until the US sorts out its own banking problems.

"The government has failed to stop bankers hoarding cash and it seems this panicky behaviour is spreading out to the rest of the economy," the group warned.

The Item Club predicts that business investment will fall by nearly 17% this year, dropping almost another 6% in 2010 as worried company treasurers sit on cash.

In addition, consumer spending is expected to shrink 2.6% in 2009 as employees fearing for their jobs become "much more cautious" consumers.

sourced from The BBC read full article

UK jobless 'to reach 3.4 million'

Unemployment will soar to 3.4 million as the financial crisis deepens, forecasters predict ahead of official jobless figures this week.

The Ernst & Young Item Club says the number of those out of work in the UK will pass 3.25 million by the end of 2010, and hit 3.4 million in 2011.

"All of the economic statistics are now in free-fall," it said in its forecast.

It warned the next 12 months would see the UK economy suffer its largest contraction since 1946.

The UK's gross domestic product would shrink by 2.7% in 2009 and another 0.5% the following year, the Item Club said in its latest report on the UK economy.

The official unemployment total reached a 10-year high of 1.86 million last October and some analysts expect the figure to increase to two million when new figures are published on Wednesday.

'Depression' warning

The group says that inflation and interest rates will stay close to zero, helping pensioners and those with tracker mortgages.

However, it said these conditions will do little to aid the housing market, set to fall 22% more over the next 18 months as it remains starved of finance for new mortgages. Meanwhile banks will be unable to lend to companies and consumers until the US sorts out its own banking problems.

"The government has failed to stop bankers hoarding cash and it seems this panicky behaviour is spreading out to the rest of the economy," the group warned.

The Item Club predicts that business investment will fall by nearly 17% this year, dropping almost another 6% in 2010 as worried company treasurers sit on cash.

In addition, consumer spending is expected to shrink 2.6% in 2009 as employees fearing for their jobs become "much more cautious" consumers.

sourced from The BBC read full article