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Archive for March, 2009
Hurrah! Mortgage approvals up - some good news at last
Monday, March 30th, 2009
Official figurers released by the Bank of England show that mortgage approvals increased more than expected in February. There were 38,000 approvals in the month, up from 32,000 in January.
Citing a BBC article, Vicky Redwood at Capital Economics believes February’s household borrowing figures suggest that housing market activity may finally have turned a corner. However, approvals have a long way to go before they get to levels that are no longer consistent with falling house prices - in fact they need broadly to double.
Well, at last some positive data has come out, and what with the clocks springing forward and Jenson Button winning in the Aussie GP what a good way to start British Summer Time!
However, it’s not all good news this week as unemployment figures creep up. David Blanchflower, Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member, warned that unless the government takes drastic action to tackle the recession, spending up to £90bn on new projects, unemployment could double to as high as 4 million.
Quoting from a Telegraph article:
‘The Bank’s forecast is that there will be a strong recovery and that this will pick up later this year, but there are strong arguments about why that won’t happen,’ he said. ‘The problem is that in forecasts [economists] tend to be over optimistic. Likewise, the probability is that unemployment of 3m is an underestimate.’
A change in circumstances such as losing your job is incredibly tough especially if you have a family to provide for. Sometimes a short-term loan can help you solve your immediate cash needs until a longer term solution can be found. Here at www.247Moneybox.com we are 100% focused on providing straightforward. transparent, online payday loans, sometimes called payday advance loans, personal loans, or fast cash loans. It’s the only thing we do, and we are firmly committed to responsible provision of payday advance loans.
What happens when VAT goes back to 17.5%?
Monday, March 9th, 2009
The British Retail Consortium (BRC), the retail industry trade body, wants the government to delay the VAT increase scheduled for 31 December 2009, arguing that it will severely disrupt Christmas trading. According to the BRC, December is the busiest period for most retailers. It cost the sector around £90 million to implement the cut to 15% and, because of the timing, will cost a similar amount to reintroduce the 17.5%.
This is not good news at all for the stores themselves and the inevitable burden UK consumers will have to bear. We here at www.247Moneybox.com are concerned what the increase in costs will have on the pockets of UK citizens. At the moment purchases made are subject to a VAT rate of 15%, so that holiday or that dental bill has that included. What happens when the VAT rate pops back up to 17.5%?
Yep, it’s going to be tough financially. A loan for payday with us can help you through the transition period as you make adjustments elsewhere in your life for a long-term solution. 24/7Moneybox can provide you with quickly approved payday loans. They are easy to apply for, and typically there is no paperwork or phone calls - our online service is faster and more convenient than other online lenders. There are 3 easy steps to getting your payday loan: simply take a few minutes to fill in our online payday loan application form, obtain approval and receive your cash loan very quickly!
Today’s interest rate cut and what that can mean for you
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Sometimes we here at www.247Moneybox.com go all a bit highbrow and the topic of discussion in the office today has been the latest, albeit expected, cut in the Bank of England (BOE) base rate. The members of the monetary policy committee agreed to cut interest rates another 0.5% in the latest round of slashing rates since last autumn. The base rate is now just 0.5% so is that good news all round?
Well, yes and no. Yes if you are on tracker mortgage that follows the BoE base rate, however even this has a caveat as this article in the Guardian points out. If your mortgage is linked to your lender’s standard variable rate (SVR) you will find they are not contractually obliged to pass on the cut, but some have already announced they will do so. A handful of banks have to cut rates because their terms and conditions state that the difference between their SVR and the base rate cannot exceed a certain level. Lloyds TSB and Halifax, Nationwide and Skipton building societies are in this position. So good news if your mortgage is with them.
It’s certainly not a good thing if you are a saver. Moneyfacts.co.uk estimates that after last month’s cut, 86% of savings providers cut their rates by the full 0.5% or more. The latest reduction will mean already downtrodden savers will receive even less interest.
Probably the most interesting thing to note is that rates on loans and credit cards are not really related to interest rate cuts. In fact, rates on these products have been slowly increasing over last year as institutions tighten their lending criteria. A year ago the average credit card rate was 16.8%, compared to 17.7% now.
We here at 247Moneybox.com haven’t changed our rates at all and clearly set out what your charges will be over the life of your cash advance. That’s important for everyone as we want everything to be clearly out in the open and for you to not have to worry about the Bank of England and the MPC with relation to your 247Moneybox loan.
