In all the BBC’s extensive coverage of what should prove to be another cut in UK interest rates today, why is the impact this has on those people who SAVE never mentioned? It strikes me that media focus is relentlessly on the plight of those who borrow – often beyond their means – whilst those people who wisely make provision for their future by saving their money are all but forgotten. It’s as of saving is a sin whilst borrowing is de rigeur. I’d like to see much more attention paid by the BBC to the plight of savers…but then again, maybe they aren’t the right sort of people?
People who save tend to be older, and almost by definition, wealthier. They are therefore more likely to vote Conservative and their interests are therefore of little interest to the BBC except to call them selfish or old-fashioned.
I have to say that in this morning’s BBC Breakfast news reports it was mentioned.
Admittedly it was a brief bolt-on at the end of a massive ‘isn’t this great for all of us home-owners’ (I presume that all in the BBC are mortgaged to the hilt, and for some reason presume that owning a home is mutually-exclusive to saving wisely against future calls on money) and near zero was devoted to the consequences of only addressing those who are in hock to the limit at the expense of those who are more… prudent. At least to the economy, the longer term and our kids’ futures, as opposed to the short term voting chances of certain folk and their ‘committed to the point of no turning back’ cheerleaders.
But never say never. It is seldom the case.
a good point –it doesn’t really encourage pension savings, ISA or savings at all. The government seem to be flailing about wildly pretending to be busy + competent, but the international money markets have devalued the sterling perhaps fearing a british credit collapse.
The detail on the government mortgage guarantee is interesting —Beckett on Today seemed to indicate only certain mortgage defaulters would be allowed government help –she was a bit confused about whether the banks had actually fully agreed to the plan —
Peston has recognised the dilema:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/
On balance, savers tend to vote Conservative and borrowers Labour, so the BBC will support borrowers.
Gordo sneered when challenged about whether £50,000 saving protection limit per institution was enough. “Perfectly adequate” he said. He knew 97% of savers had less than £50,000. He also knew the other 3% represented 50% of bank funds on deposit. If the banking system were ever to go under it would wipe out the “wealthy”. Communist equality at a stroke – it’s class war. He is now creating Britains own sub-prime debt, underwritten by taxpayers ie southern England. He is a sectarian politician who takes any opportunity to promote his tribe and destroy other tribes. Britains Mugabe.
On sky news this morning, 75% of mortgage lenders had failed to pass on the BoE rate cut YET 97% of banks had passed interest cuts on to savers!
Mailman
There are twenty-odd million households in the UK and the CML predicts repossessions to hit 75,000 or more next year. Margaret Beckett went on Five Live this morning and said that the government’s mortgage guarantee scheme is expected to cover 9,000 households, so for all the trumpeting it’s scarcely going to touch the sides
David Vance
That Robert Peston must have been reading your mind. (Aha! so now we know how he gets all those scoops).
His blog this morning, posted at 8.15 is headlined Why Punish Savers?
what’s worse? Failing to pass on all the interest rate cut to hard-pressed families, or slashing the retirement income of elderly couples who live off the interest on their bank and building-society savings?
As I say, it’s a proper old dilemma.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/
Within many mortgage agreements or loan facility documents there are, I believe, clauses that fix a minimum rate of interest that will be charged on the mortgage or other loan. The base rate has probably already reached a point where any further reduction will be irrelevant for the householder or small business.
I doubt that there is a minimum rate payable to the investor.
Eric,
Surely the common sense approach would be to bail home owners out directly, not the banks?
So you fall on hard times and start falling behind on your mortgage. Government steps in, takes ownership of your home BUT you arent evicted. In fact, the Government retains ownership of your home until you “buy them out”. But lets say you get something like 5 years to sort yourself out and at the end of that period if you are still in the crapola, then tough, you get kicked out.
I know, I should be running this country! 🙂
Maillman
The largest borrowing sector is industry. Individuals really aren’t directly affected by the BoE interest rate.
In all the BBC’s extensive coverage of what should prove to be another cut in UK interest rates today, why is the impact this has on those people who SAVE never mentioned?
David, the story you link has this in it:
any further cut in rates is unlikely to be welcomed by savers who often depend on interest payments from their savings – as banks are also likely to cut the interest they pay on these accounts.
Ws this added after your post?
Are they beginning to listen?
It must be dawning on Peston etc that after 2% the next drop is 1% and then zero. And that is the end.
All to no probable effect whatsoever.
At zero% savers get nothing.
However desperate the Beeb is to prop up Brown they must be realising that it is about to fall apart.
I can well imagine the panic gripping them.
40 years of social engineering about to go up the spout.
Their beautiful dream- a sensitive and caring dream in their eyes- falling to pieces.
Never mind . There is always the option they have held in reserve.
A headlong rush into a police state.
The arrest of Damian Green may have been no illthought out farce but a warning to us all.
“We are all of the law and it is whatever we say it is”
Full steam ahead to plunge into Japanese-style depression/deflation of the 1990s and they have not recovered yet.
It is not even the answer, all that will happen is that the pound will fall even more, let’s see what was that stupid comment…”the pound in your pocket will still be worth a pound”. We are again about to find out what a liar Wilson was, hey, wasn’t that a labour scam as well. They have got form. Where are the cops when needed?
Ipreferred,
What industry ?
In my Eye Spy book you get 300 points if you see a Condor soaring over Birmingham, but 3000 points if you see a fully working, profitable factory.
I know very little about economics, despite being president of the World Bank for 13 years (just kidding – I’m not the real Bob McNamara), but even I know that we’re totally fucked and we’re going to feel this.
Dave S
Actually the next stop after 2% could be 1.75%, 1.875% or even 1.95% – there is no requirement for interest rates to be stated in whole percentages. Traditionally they have been expressed in movements of 1/8% or even 1/16% but they could use decimals. As the rate gets lower, a more granulated approach may be appropriate; the drop from 3% to 2% saw a reduction of 33.33% in the interest bill of someone borrowing at base; a reduction of another third from that would be to 1.33%.
Everything is downhill with Boredom Brown. He’s just that kind of guy . . .
And the FT 100 index reaction to today’s interest rate cut ? Slightly DOWN ! Wonder if the BBC will report that !
i see that sterling has plummeted again today in the wake of this announcement..
low interest rates = low currency worth.
yup – investors are heading for the exits.
since there is no open thread, i thought i might post on what is being broadcast on bbc 1 right now – its the shannon matthews case.
although i recognise that it is a topical issue right now, what concerns me is that the BBC have not done a similar full scale documentary/investigation into Peter Connelly.
yes – the shannon matthews case is horrific… but lets get this into perspective. she wasnt beaten to death, or abused.. its just a tale of very very stupid people , who think that they can have an easy route to 50 grand of reward money.
stupid – yes.. immoral – yes… but evil? i dont think so.
which is why i wonder why the bbc wastes it time on this stuff, when there are far far bigger fish to fry.
but then, i’m not surprised.. the bbc is pravda. let me reach for the remote and turn over.
Dong | 04.12.08 – 1:38 pm
agreed .. but it will be worse.
there are several big differences.
1. the japanese education system churns out scientists and engineers. our system churns out chavs and workshy fuckers
2. the japanese crime rate is very low – because of strict immigration controls.
we dont.
3. the japanese government believes in the concept of a japanese nation.
ours dont. they signed up to the EU federation rather than putting it to the vote.
in light of all of the above,the comparision with japan is wrong. its more close to weimar germany in the 1930s.
Archduke
Thoroughly enjoying your posts this evening !
Quite right about the difference between the Japs and the Brits.
I haven’t seen any BBC news today, so don’t know how they have reported the currency and stock markets giving Brown and the, not-so-independent, BoE the thumbs down.
I would have made it headline news !
my blog is no.2 on google for “gordon brown is a fuckwit”…
awesome.
Grant | 04.12.08 – 9:09 pm
weimar germany went extremely liberal as well. it is well documented that if you were gay, you should head to berlin in the 1920s.
the germans went ULTRA liberal, in the 1920s..
its actually quite sad reading about the detailed history of it – lots of avant garde artists were sent off to concentration camps by the nazis. they were just attracted by the liberal mindset of berlin… and were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Everytime someone opens their mouth the pound goes tits-up
http://www.x-rates.com/d/EUR/GBP/graph120.html
This is the markets view of our squirming Scottish barrister-infested governmenmt attempts to make this country’s economy “work” -no confidence.
Never ever ever again appoint those who practice law to govern. Utter total airheads, expert on how life ought to work as opposed to how it actually works. Disaster.
American joke: What do you call 100 lawyers, feet in concrete, at the bottom of the sea? A good start.
Archduke 9:15
Are you suggesting that there may be an anti-liberal backlash in the UK ?
just watching the health and safety docu on c4 right now…
and you english folks thought you had defeated the Nazis…
Andrew 9:19
Yep, the currency and stock market reactions this week to Gordon and his BoE lickspittles has been a thumbs down. Don’t know if the BBC have reported that !
Grant | 04.12.08 – 9:27 pm
its already started with labour areas voting “right wing” BNP…
to paraphrase george orwell – the proles usually lead the way.
its started already.
Archduke 9:28
You mean you are not English ?
I thought everyone on this website was, apart from David Vance, David Preisler and me .
david vance is northern irish unionist..
i’m southern irish republican. by background mind you.. i’m actually a libertarian – after a long long journey from hardcore communism to free market economics…
that saying of churchill, or whoever it is, is entirely correct – if you are a socialist when you are youngster, you have a heart, but if you are conservative when older, you have a brain.
yup.. thats me.
grant – > and “pounce” is an indian immigrant guy, served in the british military. the most radical anti-muslim rants come from him, as he is an ex-muslim himself. and i totally welcome his viewpoint… wouldnt mind buying the guy a few pints ,cos he’s opened my eyes to another world thats not reported on.. forced marriages, beatings, and such like that goes on in islamic families…
we’re a bit of mixture on here.
and by the way grant- me and david vance totally disagree on the ireland stuff.
but thats ok.. thats free speech and democracy – and long may it last.
i like this place , because there are folks on here that actually DISAGREE with me.. i like that. would be fucking boring if everyone on here agreed with each other… i certainly dont want that.
Archduke 9:38
Great, the more , the merrier. But , don’t forget, we Celts have to stick together. Multiculturalism is the name of the game !
Archduke, any differences between you and DV and by extension between Unionists and nationalists, pale into insignificance if the NuLab/BBC lefties get their way. All of you – unionist, republicans etc – and me will be totally ruined by those bastards who would sell out their own and anybody else’s country to the EU and islam.
Archduke 9:40
Quite agree, or should I disagree !!
Were you ever in the Merchant Navy ?
i dont buy the multicultural stuff. the british isles is “vibrant” enough as it is.
always has been.. its just that the left imposed their idea of multicultist stuff in order to supress english nationalism. and we can see the result – copious amounts of young english folks who have no sense of attachment to their country.
Grant | 04.12.08 – 9:46 pm
no , never in the forces. one of the things i’m sad to say that never did, and i wish i did.
i regret it , because nearly every single one of my ancestors was in the british forces. including one that switched sides in WW1 and fought for the germans in egypt. now thats an interesting story.
german “irish brigade”…
Allan@Oslo | 04.12.08 – 9:45 pm |
dont i know it.. our differences pale in comparison to whats coming with the Euro Calphilate..
Archduke
I only asked because, I thought you were someone I knew , but not so !
Also , only joking about “multiculturalism” . It is a road to ruin.
Allan Oslo. Good points, agreed.
Isn’t there usually a Question Time blog here by now ?
Grant, Your wish is granted!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/question_time/7759084.stm
alan johnson, labour left
andrew lansley , conservative, mild left
arlene foster DUP , right?
conor murphy, sinn fein, left
mark durkan , sdlp, left
kevin maginnis, uup, unionist, right?
i say “right?” with regards to the unionists, because they were willing to do a deal with gordon brown to get 42 day detention through in return for seven pieces of silver. (sorry david, but that did happen…)
so in reality, the only truely “right” guy is the tory.
JonD | 04.12.08 – 9:09 am |
& Tom | 04.12.08 – 10:06 am |
Robert Peston is a proven mouthpiece for No. 10, and little more these days.
Nick Robinson outed him last recently by admitting on his own blog that the government briefed both Robinson and Peston about the Pre-Budget Report. Yet on his blog, Peston did his usual Jeremy Clarkson introducing The Stig routine – “some say….” – and then regurgitated Mr. Brown’s talking points as if it came from one of his special “scoop” sources.
What’s particularly sickening about this – and I think he should be fired for it – is that he knows that all too well, has admitted as much in those “who, me?” interviews following the HBOS fiasco, and is now deliberately taking advantage of that to shill for his boy. And he’s the friggin’ business editor for the BBC! Somebody was asking earlier about how some addition got slipped into a financial article, and now you know why.
Peston did the exact same thing yesterday, and in his haste to wipe Mr. Brown’s backside he overlooked a serious flaw in the mortgage guarantee plan. What’s relevant here is that he claimed that the banks were all for it, but added an “or so I’m told” disclaimer. Now, everyone knows from previous Peston-related financial turbulence that he has a couple of serious sources in The City, dating from his days at the Financial Times. So when he plays the “my sources tell me”, he knows we think it’s the banks.
He obviously posted that before other people (such as Fraser Nelson) started saying that they called the banks who said it was news to them, because he added an update:
I’ve become a bit wary of the Government’s claim that the eight biggest banks have backed the mortgage-guarantee scheme, having spoken to a couple of them.
Oh, have you now, Robert? It wouldn’t be because everybody is saying the banks didn’t know about it, and you just printed Brown and Darling’s lie, would it? You can’t have said in the initial post that “the government says” that the banks are into it, because that would give the game away, wouldn’t it? Awwww.
So the noise from Peston today is more of the same: lay out the government line, dress it up a bit and defend it by saying he’s heard this or that supporting it, and then later make another post frowning about how concerned he is that there’s a problem.
The post Tom is talking about is true to form. I mean, who else did Peston think was going to be doing the foreclosing? Ladbrokes? He had spouted the government plan, saying it’s a response to the gloom and doom from the CML to distract people from the giant hole in it, and is now shocked, shocked to learn that the guys at CML are pissed off that they look like bad guys. Who does he think he’s kidding with this game? I know, I know….
I’m starting to think everyone would be better off if Peston just went to work for Mr. Brown straight out as a financial adviser. There’d be one less partisan hack in an important position at the BBC, and he certainly knows more about what works and what doesn’t than the fools in Downing St.
David Preiser
more of the same: lay out the government line, dress it up a bit and defend it by saying he’s heard this or that supporting it, and then later make another post frowning about how concerned he is that there’s a problem.
This is the most percipient analysis of Peston’s methodology I have ever seen.
That it is the apercu of a New Yorker, with no axe to grind in UK political squabbles, makes it all the more persuasive.
One thing makes me pause, though – surely Peston gets cross when he finds Brown & Co have yet again made him look foolish/naive/plain wrong?
No journo wants to have egg on his face.
Tom,
I must admit I do have an axe to grind against the BBC being a biased official state broadcaster, and their attempt to manipulate society in a certain direction is frightening. But even without that, Peston’s actions are so blatant, and so damaging, that I can’t ignore it. Thanks.
Peston does get annoyed when Mr. Brown makes him look wrong, or comes out against his recommendations. So he’s not shy about pointing out the dangers of Mr. Brown’s massive public debt, nor the nationalization of banks. Sometimes, though, I think he’s so caught up in his own trip that he doesn’t even realize what he’s doing.
Nick Robinson revealed that, a few days before the PBR announcement, the government informed him and Peston that they were going to raise the VAT. Peston did one of his “predictions”, and when Mr. Brown got cold feet and ditched the plan, Peston’s next post was “See, I told you that taxes were going to rise eventually“. He got in one subtle dig later, but that was it.
Peston must go.