Spending Cuts & Economy - Austerity Forever!

[Philipnet]

I saw this:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/...ey-work-or-not
and thought it was an unusual but possibly interesting idea.

Imagine a Britain where the government pays every adult the basic cost of living. Whether rich or poor – or, crucially, whether you’re in paid employment or not – everyone gets the same weekly amount, with no strings attached.

Far-fetched? Maybe.
I've got no idea how they'd pay for it and what economic impact it would have.

[Perry Vale]

I've read up on the subject quite a lot - surprisingly makes a lot of sense.

There's a segment discussing it on this episode of Keiser Report, starting at around the 12 minute mark.



How you'd get tabloids like the Mail & The Sun onboard though, I don't know.

[Perry Vale]

Eurozone banks' £715bn black hole threatens economy: IMF report accuses EU of failing to address huge problems affecting the financial sector

Banks in the eurozone have a £715billion black hole in their books, posing serious danger to the stability of the European and global economy.

In a hard-hitting report, the International Monetary Fund accused the EU of failing to address the huge problems affecting European banks.

It hit out at banks in Greece, Italy, Portugal and 'some large German' banks for not tackling 'non-performing (bad) loans and excess banking capacity'.

Some 15 per cent of banks in advanced countries, most of them in Europe, 'face significant problems in attaining profitability,' the fund warned.

It also called on the US to fully repair mortgage intermediaries Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which were at the centre of the 2008 financial crisis.

[Perry Vale]

Interest rates could go negative, says Bank of England rate setter

The UK’s interest rates could be cut below zero, according to a leading Bank of England policymaker.

Gertjan Vlieghe, a member of the Bank’s nine-strong monetary policy committee, which sets interest rates, said that they could go "a little bit negative”.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, Mr Vlieghe said that sub-zero rates were a theoretical possibility that the Bank would “have to think about very carefully”. Central banks across Europe, as well as in Japan, have already pushed their interest rates into negative territory.

A slowdown in the British economy, coupled with persistently low rates of inflation, has led to increased speculation that the Bank could have to cut its rates below their current levels of 0.5pc in the event of another recession.

[Perry Vale]

BHS 'could file for administration' threatening 11,000 jobs

UK retailer BHS could file for administration as early as Monday, threatening 11,000 jobs, the BBC understands.

Sources close to the owners told the BBC that "things don't look good".

Talks are continuing with Sports Direct to buy some of BHS's 164 stores but it is understood any buyer would only do so if it did not have to take on its £571m pension deficit.

Last year BHS was sold by the entrepreneur Sir Philip Green for £1.

The loss making chain store was bought by a little-known collection of financiers, lawyers and accountants.

Last month the brand was rescued from the brink after creditors voted to accept a cut in the rent bill for about half of BHS's 164 stores.

BHS denied speculation on Friday that it was on the brink of falling into administration. A spokesman said it was "business as usual" at the company and it was "on track" with talks over funding.

[Perry Vale]

They're back!

Barclays offers 0% deposit mortgage to home buyers

The no-deposit mortgage has returned, with Barclays removing the need for buyers to put down any deposit when buying a home using its “family springboard” mortgage.

The deal had previously allowed people to climb on to the property ladder with a 5% deposit, provided that a “helper” – often the home buyer’s parents – puts cash equating to 10% of the house purchase price into a savings account linked to the mortgage.

Under the new deal, only the 10% contribution from parents is needed. This cash will be returned to the borrower’s parents after three years with interest added – provided borrowers have kept up with their mortgage repayments.

The lender has also raised the maximum amount that home buyers can potentially borrow as a multiple of their income under the deal. Customers with an income of more than £50,000 will be able to borrow up to 5.5 times their income, up from a maximum multiple of 4.4.

What could possibly go wrong?

[Perry Vale]

Also, and so it begins - the war on cash....

€500, the 'Bin Laden' of banknotes, could be axed

The European Central Bank looks set to phase out the €500 note, nicknamed the “Bin Laden” of banknotes because of its associations with money-laundering and terror financing – and because while many people know what it looks like, few have ever seen one.

Sources close to the ECB said the bank was likely to announce on Wednesday that the fuchsia coloured bills, the highest-denomination of the eurozone’s seven banknotes, would no longer be printed or distributed from 2018, on the grounds that they are too often used to finance crime.

The move, if approved by the bank’s governing council meeting in Frankfurt, would come after months of mounting pressure from France, which has been working to clamp down on terrorist financing in the wake of last year’s bloody attacks in Paris – but equally stiff opposition from Germany.

The Guardian aren't trying to scare you, of course. Using the word "crime" in the URL, and multiple mentions of terrorists in the first few paragraphs is just responsible reporting.

Yet....

Although there is no specific data establishing that €500 bills are widely used for illicit activities, an EU action plan found last year that the notes were “in high demand among criminal elements … due to their high value and low volume”.

The biggest "facilitators" of money laundering and terrorist financing is of course, Central Banks, yet they're not being phased out....

[Perry Vale]

Banks dump small businesses, charities and fintech firms to save on red tape costs

British banks are increasingly willing to scrap the accounts of charities, small businesses and fintech firms in a bid to cut the cost of regulatory compliance and anti-money laundering controls, according to a report commissioned by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Official crackdowns on money laundering and corruption have forced banks to work harder to ensure they are not inadvertently letting dirty money into the financial system.

Combined with the higher cost of other regulations, this has had the side-effect of pushing banks to reject customers who are too small to be worth assessing for financial crime risks, according to the study by consultants at John Howell & Co.

Typically customers could be dumped or have applications rejected by banks if they struggle to show the correct documentation, operate in sectors or countries deemed to be at risk of financial crime or terrorist financing, if they fail a background check, or if their accounts are unprofitable for the bank.

As a result charities operating in troubled countries can be hit, leaving them to try to carry out their operations in cash, while money transfer businesses can also be seen as a risk.

“Two large UK banks are together closing around 1,000 personal and 600 business/corporate accounts per month for ‘risk appetite’-type reasons,” the investigation found.

We're all in this together....

[Perry Vale]

RBS becomes the first bank to set negative interest rates: It's charging large firms to hold cash - so could families be next?

Negative interest rates moved a step closer yesterday as one of Britain’s biggest banks warned it is about to start charging some corporate customers for holding cash.

In a watershed moment, the Royal Bank of Scotland has written to certain institutions – including fund managers and pension funds – to inform them that it will apply negative interest rates from Monday.

Negative interest rates mean people effectively lose money from keeping it in a bank.