Expect a fall of another 1% today down to 2%. That equals the lowest ever seen since the inception of the BoE in 1694.
Expect a fall of another 1% today down to 2%. That equals the lowest ever seen since the inception of the BoE in 1694.
Forgive my cynicism about all the things going on at the moment....recession? credit crunch?
"Shares in UK financial data firm Experian have risen more than 8% after it unveiled better-than-expected sales." - from a company now looking to shed 300 jobs
"Nomura"- shedding 1,000 jobs in London and currently making multi-billion dollar profits
"Morrison's latest rise in sales has outperformed those of its rivals (at 8% for the quarter). On Tuesday, Tesco reported a 2% rise in quarterly sales, Asda's quarterly sales rose 6.9% while Sainsbury's sales were up 4.3%." - those are annual rises of 8% - 32%
Recession? Perhaps for the likes of you and me, whilst the government puts in place plenty of policies to help the blue chips and their multi-million pound bonus-earning executives
Who do YOU think is doing best out of the VAT rate cut?!?
We're not technically in a recession yet, although we probably will be after Christmas. The Credit Crunch has thus far only hit the banks, it's only very recently that it's started to hit consumers hardOriginally Posted by Mr1470
That's to be expected -they're shedding 300 jobs now, not a year ago. The demand for their services is expected to reduce dramatically over the next 12-24 months as will the profits.
Until very recently, RPI (inflation) was over 5% and food prices were at an all time high, meaning the supermarkets passed on the price. We've not been consuming more, it's just been costing more. That doesn't mean the supermarkets have been more profitable though (although they may have been) - it's sales not profit.
"Morrison's latest rise in sales has outperformed those of its rivals (at 8% for the quarter). On Tuesday, Tesco reported a 2% rise in quarterly sales, Asda's quarterly sales rose 6.9% while Sainsbury's sales were up 4.3%." - those are annual rises of 8% - 32%
Recession? Perhaps for the likes of you and me, whilst the government puts in place plenty of policies to help the blue chips and their multi-million pound bonus-earning executives
What do you think the definition of recession is? It's nothing (directly) to do with us plebians on the street - it's all to do with businesses, or more specifically a shrinking of economic output for two consecutive quarters.
ASDA are already passing on the savings to customers, so I presume Tesco will be as well.
Last edited by TheHeathens; 04-12-2008 at 12:01 PM.
But "over 5%" is not 8% and it's most certainly not 32%! And I believe the supermarkets have been making hefty profits. As have many other large corporations.
Now don't get me wrong, I understand the need for any and every business to make profit for distribution and reinvestment....but there comes a point where the scales tip too far in favour of them. And certainly, I don't expect the government to assist them in this.
Yeah, right! Sorry, I'm being cynical againIt doesn't take much to give with one hand and take away with the other!
And it's not just the supermarkets....interestingly I've just had an e-mail from my broadband provider saying they'll be passing on the VAT decrease in January...hmm, didn't it change on 1st December?!?
And can anyone tell me if the M6 Toll charges have suddenly decreased to take account of the VAT change? Or car parking charges perhaps?
Inflation was over 5%, but that takes into account a 'basket' of goods and services. Some items in that 'basket' have gone down in price (widescreen TVs for instance) and some have gone up (Oil, food etc). The 5% is an average figure of everything covered so it's quite possible that food prices rose by 32%.
I remember reading that the average family would be spending about £750-1000 extra per annum on food because of the rise in the price of staple foods.
Regarding your second point, what you need to be looking at is how many people get laid off in the City over the next year and how many 'fat-cats' get their full bonuses. Looking at the figures now is silly because it's performance over the last year, and we haven't been in recession over the last year.
Yeah, I agree with you on that, also add the likes of football matches as well.
But (and I haven't re-read this) I think the "sales" figure would essentially include the "basket of goods" not just food?
And isn't it fascinating.....the "essentials" of life go up in price, the "luxuries" go down. One cites "increased transport costs" as a major reason, the other manufactures most of the goods in India and the Far East but transport costs don't seem to affect them
Is there not such a thing as shame and decency anymore? Could you (or should anyone else be allowed to) take a seven figure bonus right now whilst at the same time making a decision to sack, say, 50 people whose total salaries for the next year would be the same as that bonus?
Interesting as well what big bonuses the bank executives earned for earlier results....does putting the bank's future in jeopardy not count? Or is short term gain everything now?
It is my understanding that it is not compulsory to pass on the VAT reduction saving to the consumer. For example if a company charges £20 for goods or services, and that figure includes the VAT element, then they can continue to charge £20 and simply pocket the 2.5% they would previously have been sending to HMRC.
My company quotes prices exclusive of VAT, so my customers all enjoy the reduced total.
FWIW I dont think this cut will encourage much extra spending. I mean, if a TV was £1000 and you couldnt afford it, are you gonna rush out to buy it now its only £975? I doubt it.
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Of course all of that is factually correct BA....but the fact is the government dressed it up as helping the little man in the street.
It's doing no such thing because, as you rightly point out, the vast majority of retail businesses are not going to change prices, they'll just keep the extra 2.5% as profit.
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