Stock markets have been falling for months, led by a collapse in confidence in the financial system and plunging bank stocks. In the UK we’ve seen Northern Rock crumble, while in the US the investment bank Bear Stearns lived up to its name after jitters led to rumours which led to a run on its [...]
Commentary
If you invest in the stock markets and recently you’ve had to check your portfolio with a stiff drink, at least you’re not alone. According to the FT: Stock markets finished their worst quarter in more than five years on Monday with further losses as investors continued to favour less risky assets. The losses have [...]
Ireland is falling. The US is plunging. After 15 years of house price growth and five years of house price bubble, is the UK housing market aksi turning downwards? Will Elvis finally be spotted on the moon? Prices are certainly stalling, with a drop of 0.4% in London last month according to the Land Registry. [...]
A quick update to my post of last week discussing Zopa rates rising because of the credit crisis. Rates have now come down – my main lending offer to A* customers is now out of the ‘Zone of Possible Agreement’ (ZOPA), which in English means people can get such better rates from other Zopa lenders [...]
I’ve just been checking out my Zopa savings account, where I’ve noticed interest rates are going up. I only ever lend to A and A* borrowers (people with great or better than great credit records) and the rate Zopa is quoting me as competitive is much higher than usual. In fact, in the A*, 24-month [...]
Am I the only investor sick of hearing financial industry insiders bleating that the US Federal Reserve must do more to ease their pain? Am I the only stock market investor who would like to see the world’s major indices fall hard to purge and punish the companies – and policies – that set the [...]
While many people have made a fortune out of property in the UK over the past few years, some have lost a packet – even as prices continued to rise. These are the so-called ‘Sell-to-Rent’ brigade, who attempt to time the peaks and troughs of the house price cycle by selling their home at the [...]
After five months of tough talk, roundabout action and general chicken-sans-headery, the Government has ‘decided’ to nationalise Northern Rock. (Yes, in the same way that I ‘decided’ to start losing my hair). The authorities responsible for dealing with the Northern Rock’s collapse have been making poor precedent-setting decisions since day one of this pantomime. None [...]
Rather than whimpering, if you’re well positioned you should be whooping with joy that you’ve got an unlooked for chance to buy the same shares you were buying last month for 10%, 20%, or even 50% less than you expected to pay.
Last night Alastair Darling, the UK Chancellor, guaranteed 100% of savings in Northern Rock – and indeed the Financial Services Authority has since gone further, stating this guarantee extends to other troubled financial institutions that might emerge in coming days. Given the scenes we’ve witnessed since Thursday’s news that Northern Rock required a lifeline from [...]
As I write, people are queuing outside a major British lender, Northern Rock, to take all their money out. Only in Britain would a run on a bank see customers forming an orderly line from the back. Reading comments in the press, it’s clearly something that many people never expected to see in their lifetimes. [...]