blonde poker forum

just wondering how bad is it in the uk at the momment???/.
in the papers here in cyprus .,,it makes out the uk is in deep,.,deep.,.,chit???
views please,..,.will it get worse before it gets better???
are you affected???././etc./,/,.

We're in deep crap, keep sunning yourself.

My brother in law's some sort of joiner and the firm he works for just laid off half the staff today.

He survived the axe but said it was pretty brutal like, grown men in tears and all sorts.

Was a joke about 3 months ago.

The government put an end to that.

They have now started to make it worse, everything they plan on doing is going to ensure that this gets a lot worse.

2.5% reduction in VAT, makes no difference to the public, or 75% of businesses.

Costs the government billions.

National Insurance is going up, makes everyone poorer.

GG Gordon
GG Alistair

Things are gonna get V bad.

A friend of mine has recently started his own business and is on the flat-rate VAT scheme. The changes in VAT means he's out of pocket already. Seems a good way to help small businesses and get people spending ;frustrated;

It is going to be horrific. Depression not recession.

and the government forecasts it will be over in 2099. Just lollolololol

read all 3 million pages of my blog for more

is 2099 a typo or is this gonna really drag on?

typo

governemnt thinks it will end in 2009

2019 is closer

Is save save save as much advice as anyone needs?

Save what?? - i'm boned  ;reallyamsorry;

 ;gobsmacked; 

Not correct..

The changes mean that someone earning £40,040 or more will pay £3,803.80 a year in National Insurance next year, compared to £3,260.40 this year - an increase of £543.40. Those earning below £35,100 will pay marginally less than this year.

Personally anyone earning over 35k can take the increase hit :)

Depends what definition you use - but I would have thought you're being a bit on the pessimistic side.

My sister and her husband both work for Woolworths - they're somewhat concerned at the moment.

My sympathies to them both, Woolworths will probably (just about) survive until the Xmas Season ends, then it'll all go tits up.

And of course, Woolworths Management will blame the Credit Crunch, the Government, the Weather, this, that, & the other, as will every other failing business.

In the case of Woolies, of course, they have nobody to blame except their incredibly incompetent Board of Directors, & Senior Management - it's a text-book case of how not to run a business.

The Freeholds to most of the Stores were sold years ago, so now 90% af all net profit goes to pay shop rents. Which is a bit awkward if they do not make profits. And they don't.

Are you sure about this?
I thought i read that the increase would make anyone who earns over 19.5k worse off.

Lol, could argue about your last statement all week long! :)

I am pretty sure those figures are correct and if we go back to the last budget these increases can be offset with the reduction in basic rate of income tax from 22p - 20p. I guess I am old fashioned and a socialist at heart. I do not see anything wrong with the more well off in this country getting us out of the shit.

To me 35k wage is alot, unless you have a huge mortgage then its plenty to live on :)

housing costs aren't necessarily one's biggest outgoings.  Before my daughter started school her nursery fees were over £1,200 a month (and that is standard in this neck of the woods).  Add that to bills, rent/mortgage, food etc and you aren't left with much, if anything, from your monthly take home pay from a 35k a year salary.

Dunno where you live Acidmouse, but I'm guessing it's not London.

Andrew T beat me to it - but I was just about to add - unless you live in London

EDIT: but outside of London then I agree.

Yes I agree London is one of the very few places where earning 35k a year might still leave you with little money after living expenses. But then again most people don't live in London so for the majority of people the national insurance increase won't really effect them.

I am so glad I left London in 2002...:)

Im gonna duck after ive said this, but Im interested to hear people thoughts.

A huge amount of the credit crunch has been caused by people borrowing more than they can sensibly afford.
Admittedly it should never have been available to them.
Not many of these people earn over £35k.

Not trying to offend/upset anyone, just playing devils advocate.

 ;scarymoment;  ;hide;

This whole mess was caused by people spending money they didn't have on shit they didn't need. The government seems to be trying to fix it by encouraging people to spend money on shit they don't need (because if they really did need it, they'd already be buying it).

I'm no economist but that really doesn't make sense.

Agreed and people will not spend more with these measures. Until people are confident they will not lose their jobs they wont spend!

It will not stop the Gas and Electric companies taking the piss and using the rising fuel costs to rip off its customers even more in times of need. So glad they got privatised, but then again atleast the shareholders are making money eh!

average salary £31.5K

http://www.fool.co.uk/news/your-money/2008/12/02/how-does-your-wage-measure-up.aspx?source=uemfoleml0010038

That's actually an okay article.

It concentrates on the headline average but it does show the other data showing why the average doesn't really matter.

The important thing to look at is the difference London makes:

London Ave Wage:      46,462
South East Ave Wage: 32,819

That's the difference between 1st and 2nd place highest salary regions.
Given the population density of both of these it's easy to see how much effect they have on the national average.

Credit Crunch

I blame Steve Mclaren. It was because of this Jockey we had nothing to talk about this summer.

On a serious note We are selling more BMW used cars than we were last year. Which
is good if you sell BMW's..at our Dealership.. There are some VERY cheap cars out there at the minute.   

It's not all doom and gloom out there..

Regards

M



 

How much of a reduction is there in the used DB9 market?

You can get a used DB9 (http://www.buyyourcar.co.uk/used-car/aston-martin/db9.aspx) that's about 2-3 years old for £60-65K.

Here's an example of how prices of high-end cars have dropped.  Audi R8s - they were £99K less than 6 months ago (for a used car that had done less than 5,000 miles - they were sometimes more expensive than a new one because of the waiting list for a new one).  They're now £20-£30K less.

M - how are your new sales going?  Some places are struggling, whilst others are battling through it OK.

there was an article in autocar 2 weeks ago saying you can get DB9s for less than 50K and the V8 things for less than 40

I think the amount of people having credit is being exaggerated surely? I reckon a decent percentage 20-30% have not everyone borrowed huge, mortgaged themselves and had no savings? I would say I am quite a gambler but when I realised summer 07 that the prices were topping off I decided to put my over priced flat on the market, sold it quickly and put the profits away, have then only used savings for holidays and always kept money aside and to be fair have definitely gambled less, I am pretty young/daft so surely a pretty high number of people did similar things or at least stopped borrowing?

You're probably right.  I think if they're a few years older they'll definitely be in that range.  I'm sure the advertised price for the cars is far more than you could haggle the dealer down to as well.  Amazing to think that a new one now would cost in the region of £130K.

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/ASTON+MARTIN+DB9/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-143-240-4294966999-4294967000/advert.action?R=200849324558028&distance=337&postcode=g38jj&channel=CARS&make=ASTON+MARTIN&model=DB9&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=

not bad, probably get another 5k off...

cayman's for less than 20 hmmmmmm

or is it too girly/hairdressy?

Cayman's are good cars.  You after a car at the moment? 

M - how are your new sales going?  Some places are struggling, whilst others are battling through it OK.


Also we are buying R8 @ circa 56k....they've done 40k in 6 Months. White is worth more than any other colour.  

As for buying an Aston new, I'd prefer to drink bleach....  

New car sales are genrally poor. MINI is the strongest brand in the UK if there stopping production  
there is no bluffing about sales of new cars.

Our success at Sytner Leicester we have the cheapest used cars in the country (I only sell used cars). People call us on price. If your not the cheapest in the country you won't get the enquiry's.

And we are the best used car sales team in the country at dealing over the phone or by email.  

Regards

M

  

Just dreaming atm

That's definitely an asset.  So many dealerships have a sales team that just don't understand how to deal with phone or internet enquiries.  They seem to want to sit on their arses and wait for people to walk in before they'll do anything.  More and more people are looking for a bargain (or at least to save some money) and if you can't deal with potential customers that aren't in the showroom then you're going to struggle.

OT question. What's going to happen to in car TV's next year or whenever it is we go digital? Are they all going to stop working?

ok totally off topic but quick one for the car sales guys, i'm thinking of upgrading my girlfriends car for crimbo, she has a wee MG convertible and would want another convertible, willing to spend 5k + trade in MG what would you recommend wouldn't want anything too old, maybe in last 5 years...

cheers

Steven

BMW have been digital for a few years on there TV's

The new Multi Media pack allows you to recieve emails/texts to the car it also holds up to 3000 Songs and you can watch
DVD's when the car is not moving. Rear Multi Media has a screen in the back which works all the time.

Clever these BMW

Regards

M

   

The Mazda MX-5 is streets better than the MG in terms of reliability and driving experience (imo) and an ideal replacement for the MG.

You'd be looking at the MKII for that money, so avoid the 1.6 engine as it's woefully underpowered.  You can get a decent MKII for £5K.

New car sales: (http://www.am-online.com/news/story/?nID=42898829)

New car registrations fell by 36.8% in November to 100,333 units, while volumes year-to-date are down 10.7%.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders  said the slowdown was in line with generally weaker demand in the UK, although the move to cut VAT on December 1 may have deterred any end of month sales drive into December or next year. The VAT cut is likely to reduce an average car’s price by £250.

From the dealers AM has spoken to recently, November has been a tough month and the SMMT has said the slowdown is steeper than expected.

The market decline in November was across all sales types, fuel types and segments. Small cars weathered the decline better than most and reported an improved market share, whilst diesel penetration rose to a record 47% in November. Only private buyers can benefit from the temporary VAT cut and their volumes were down 45.1% in November.

The new car market is expected to be 2.1 million units this year.

The new Ford Fiesta was the UK’s best selling model in November, just ahead of the Ford Focus. The Focus remains the best seller over the first 11 months of the year.

Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive, said: “November has been another difficult month for the motor industry and while some consumers may have delayed their purchases to take advantage of the recent VAT reductions, overall demand continues to fall.

“Urgent action is now required to ease access to credit and finance, both to support consumers and meet the cash-flow needs of the industry.”

RMIF reaction

Sue Robinson, director of the RMI national franchised dealers association (NFDA), said: "Recent Government moves to address the economic situation should help stimulate the car market as we go into 2009, but we do expect to see some improvement this December, traditionally one of the quietest months for car dealers.

"Many more will be waiting for the resulting economic stabilisation, and for credit to become more readily available before considering buying a new car."

Robinson added that the economy is unlikely to make a major recovery until banks start "lending sensibly to consumers, businesses and each other, when this happens car sales will increase again".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7764777.stm

Base Rate cut again from 3% down to 2% as of today!

fixed rate mortgage ftl :(

The recession is entirely the fault of the bbc who are all communists and intent on destroying the capitalist system. 

I have some shares and decided not to watch the news or go to the bbc website for a few days and they recovered in value I watched the news again and the shares fell. 

We will be back to normal in no time if you all just keep away from bbc news output.

+1

Tracker Mortgage of BBR + 0.93% that commenced the day of the first rate cut from 4.50% to 3.00%.

Current pay rate 2.93% - SHIP IT!!!!

The weather killed trade more than the credit crunch.. we're still selling out of key lines like laptops, the only difference I've seen is that people are being much more aware of price now..

+2

Things aren't going to be getting better any time soon for new car dealerships:

http://www.am-online.com/news/story/?nID=42898847

5,200 franchised retail outlets in the UK will shrink to between 3,500 and 4,000 in 2009

Tracker Mortage BBR +0.29%   Double SHIP IT    2.29% 

the only pisser on that, is if it goes any lower, I can only go down to 2.25%..

If this collar comes into effect for anyone check that it was clearly documented on the key features literature when you took out your mortgage.  One of the major lenders didn't do this and the FSA have told them that they can't impose it.

Chelsea BS - Discounted tracker = base rate - 0.5% - current deal 2.5% - will be 1.5% from january (confirmed by chelsea).

do I win a prize ?

lol its actually not beyond possibility that BofE base rate could go to 0% - then they would have to pay you each month

Honda S2000 ftw

Good shout.  You could probably get a high-mileage one for your budget.  Actually, you didn't say how old the MG is or what it's worth.  Remember, if you trade it in the dealer will have your pants down on the price.

Are you actually getting a free mortgage now?

All the flat rates were changed after VAT was reduced to 15% so there is no change to those using the fixed rate scheme.  It may be that he hasn't changed his flat rate.

I think the flat rates were not reduced by the same 14.3%, hence some traders are out of pocket.

i think so. will need to check. its a weird situation anyway.....

I work in the finance game,I specialise in secured loans and pensions. Secured loans have gone to shit as of today the best rate out there is 12.98% with a maximum ltv of 70% (mortgage balance+secured loan amount diveided by the value of your property) this time 2 years ago we could get 6% and 125% ltv.

Pensios are now are companys way forward we have been in buisness for 20 years and without them we would go under.

Just agreed an extra chunk of cash on my mortgage with IF.

Thought they'd put me on some weird rate that they made up from somewhere but no they just added it to my existing tracker.

1%. Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.

How long will it last though? I'd have had this no matter what but how many people will borrow more against their houses just because it's cheap? Surely the rate will go up at some point and a lot of people will be knee deep in shit.

Surely this is just compounding the "credit crunch" problem by encouraging more spending of money that people haven't got?

I turned downa loan today for 100k on a prop worth 1.9 mil with a mortgage balance of 1.1 mil, The money isn't there for everyone.