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Wednesday, 20 April 2011

MPs explore scrapping cheques

A panel of MPs will certainly re investigate financial institutions plans to get rid of cheques from the payment system by 2018 that had been announced during 2009, it's given that been established that the program would only go ahead if an alternative paper based system could possibly be put in place. Due nonetheless to the public discontent for the concept the Treasury Committee claims it would reopen their enquiry in to the topic.

Andrew Tyrie, committee chairman claims:

"The Payments Council has seemingly forgotten about the millions of individuals who are less at ease with the most recent technologies, we have been inundated by letters from the public telling us that they rely on cheques,"

The drop lately of cheque use have been down to credit cards and debit cards being the preferred approach of payment in most sales out let for example supermarkets and several places have refused to accept them given that around 2008. This was, at that time, an anti fraud measure shortly right after chip and pin was released as signatures had been too simply forged. The height of cheque utilisation was in 1990 as well as the very first recoded cheque was penned 350 years ago.

Wednesday, 16 June 2010

BP needs to stay it's fall from grace

The news today that BP is due to set aside $20 billion in compensation payments in a managed fund will come as welcome relief to investors, no doubt.

While it can hardly be good news for any company, even one as oil-rich, literally, as BP, at least it will help put an end to some degree of uncertainty.

Indeed, the main problem with the BP situation at present is the lack of action and information. It appears the $50 million spent on PR by the company is small fry compared with the corporate communications the company should have been focused on, but little has come out by way of media reports.

Will BP provide a dividend in 2010 or not? They had a meeting on Monday, and the result of that was? Why do they still have BP's Anthony Hayward talking to angry American media when it is obvious a skilled American PR is required?

Interestingly enough, Neil Collins at the Telegraph suggests BP now needs someone like Tony Blair, certainly as an ideal. While some commentators regard the matter as satirical, what is underlined is that BP needs to be seen to act now to repair the damage among investor perceptions.

Certainly if Tony Blair can mislead the UK into voting for an oil war, surely it should not be too difficult for Tony Blair to mislead US votes into believing the situation in the Gulf of Mexico is controlled and managed, and that everything is now absolutely fine?

No big moves in BP's oil price after the announcement of the $20 billion fund agreed with Washington, as markets appear to have already priced this in. Almost certainly there will be no dividend, and almost certainly markets have also priced this in.

I would be tempted to look to buy BP shares now on the grounds that they have suffered a crisis but are unlikely to suffer further, and that under normal market conditions we should expect the share price to rise back into the 400's or 500's within a year. For a shares ISA that would easily outpace the meagre savings rates available at present.

However, I do not think market conditions are normal, and fully believe we are now in a bull market that will likely lead the FTSE 100 back under 4000 points over the next 12-18 months. That will almost certainly take BP shares down with it.

So if you fancy a punt, then BP shares are ripe for it, but take care that the overall market movement appears to be downwards at present.

Tuesday, 20 October 2009

Moving to BT from Zen

Well, it looks as though I'm finally moving ISP from Zen back to BT broadband, as I just called Zen for a MAC code.

It's a shame, really, as Zen has a far better reputation for service and support than BT, but the problem of wireless interference is a constant and annoying problem.

Plus BT are offering mobile broadband with their new broadband packages, and free BT openzone minutes, which will be very useful for business travel.

The caveat is that the pricing on the BT website is quite misleading, as those shown only apply to certain exchanges (apparently) plus they include 24-month pricing, which can take as much as 25%-30% off the 12-month price (so Option 3 is £45+VAT over 24 months, or £30+VAT over 12 months).

Still, at least I know from experience that the BT router supplied is far less susceptible to wireless intereference.

Which is very important, because if I couldn't get decent business broadband, I'd have to consider more serious broadband connection packages, such as a leased line or custom business SDSL, both of which are priced higher than normal mass-market broadband packages.

In the meantime, I can only hope the move to BT goes smoothly, and that I don't end up getting caught up in their cold automated support process - as BT customer service is not renown for being good.

Friday, 21 August 2009

Broadband phone interference

I don't normally write about technical issues. Though I can use computer technology, it all goes over my head and I don't have a clue how it all works.

I've come across an interesting problem while setting up my home office, though - wireless interference.

I was originally with BT as my ISP for broadband, but after previous problems with the company I decided quality of service was more important than price, so I moved to Zen Internet.

They sold me a Thomson TG784 router with the package, and all seemed to be running fine.

Until I bought a nice cordless phone, a Panasonic KX for the home office.

Both work very well and as required most of the time, but the problem is that whenever anybody rings, the broadband cuts out.

The result is quite annoying, especially as I keep getting sales calls from loan companies using autodiallers - which disconnects the internet every time, even when I pick up the phone on the first ring.

I've contacted Zen about the problem, but they haven't been much help at all. And I wouldn't expect much from Panasonic as the phone does exactly what is expected from it.

I was beginning to think I needed a different business broadband service. After all, there is a myriad of types to choose from - ADSL, SDSL, bonded broadband and even leased lines. And don't forget the satellite option!

Apparently, though, wireless interference is not all that uncommon.

The frustration is that if wireless interference is such a problem, then why is more effort not made by manufacturers to minimise the risk of it happening in

the first place?

This is especially when there appears to be quite a push to make much of home networking wireless.

It looks as though I will now have to look at changing my router to one that runs on a different frequency. which is obviously going to be cheaper than

having to get a new type of broadband installed.

It is still a pain, though. Still, I do not think I am the only one who has never got frustrated over a computer issue!

Thursday, 30 July 2009

Get ready for the economic downturn

This spring's green shoots are being increasing shown to have misplaced optimism, with economic conditions continuing to worsen within the UK - GDP continues to fall, and expectations of a recovery for next year remain muted.

While it's easy to just look at the UK in isolation, there are a couple of major economic pointers on the horizon that suggest the world's economy could suffer major set backs - even before a recovery has begun. And this is likely to bode ill for Britain, with existing downbeat expectations potentially proving to be optimistic if these factors play out.

The first is the credit bubble in China. So far, the Chinese economy has continued to grow strong - but it seems that rather than learn from the mistakes of the West, the Chinese are keen to repeat them. Yes, there's a credit bubble forming in the Chinese economy, as the government there encourages lending to such a degree that the IMF is already alarmed.

The second is the original engine of the credit crunch - the US real estate market. So far it has shown no real recovery, and what's worse, is that not only are repossessions (foreclosures) continuing to increase, they are not expected to peak until after August 2011, when the last big wave of ARMs - subprime mortgages - come up for renewal past their discount period.

These are not the only negative indicators - the IMF continues to warn that the world economy faces a deflationary spiral, that if borne out, could leave much of the West enduring an economic scenario equivalent to Japan's lost decades.

The UK has its own problems as well, not least due to the major debt bubble it's been sitting on for the past few years (it's not simply about house prices anymore). Lending in the UK is still suffering, with a mass withdrawal from the personal loans market, and such poor lending to business by the banks that Alaister Darling is now having to try and appear to be doing something about it. In the meantime, the IMF is warning that the UK's credit card debt could be crippling.

Any suggestion of an improving mortgage market should be taken in context of the fact that Spring and summer are traditionally the peak season - and what we've seen so far is still weak.

In short, economic conditions in the world remain fragile, but there are no positive indicators at present to suggest we're past the worst of it - anything but. There are still major dangers on the horizon, which leave little room for optimism for future economic conditions.