Posted by William on October 7th, 2008 in Investment Advice, Pension Advice, UK Financial Advice

Okay, I hate to say I told you so, but there’s little joy in being right about the final US treasury approval of the $700 billion dollar bailout plan… doing virtually nothing. The rescue plan has done very little to calm jittery financial markets everywhere. I really didn’t think it would halt the downward slide when it was proposed and that certainly seems to be the case. Incredible way to blow nearly a trillion dollars of tax payer cash though - wow!

Yesterday in response, unconvinced financial minds, brokers and investors forced the FTSE to a gloomy new record - Monday 6th October 2008 saw the lowest drop in the FTSE value in one day that it has ever experienced.

The Asians are not convinced the cash injection has done the trick either - yesterday the Nikkei dropped to it’s lowest level since 2004. The Yen is rising whilst the Euro and GBP head in the opposite direction. Government Gilts are being snapped up as folks scramble for security.

Covered bonds are in sharp focus too. These are mortgages/loans to the public sector - which are ’secure’ or ‘covered’ by a pool of assets. They are subject to stiffer regulation and those issuing the bonds must make sure their assets reserves consistently cover/back their covered bonds. Institutions which have access to them are set to fare better in weathering the worsening credit/mortgage crisis here in UK.

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Posted by William on September 26th, 2008 in Investment Advice, UK Financial Advice

As the sun streams through my office window on this almost perfect Scottish September Friday afternoon - everything looks so beautifully peaceful. In fact if you listened to your senses you’d think mother nature didn’t have a care in the world and she probably hasn’t.

For us mere mortals however, boy oh boy there’s a storm brewing - and as I’ve just noticed over at Reuters not even $1TRILLION Dollars may be able to fix it. Has the credit crisis on the other side of the Atlantic just lurched nearer to pushing the entire western world off the edge of the precipice where it appears to be hanging by it’s fingernails, down into complete financial meltdown? Pretty dramatic statement I know… sadly quite possibly accurate though.

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Posted by William on September 12th, 2008 in Mortgage Advice, UK Financial Advice

World markets have responded positively in the main to the news that US has effectively nationalised the two mortgage giants known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.On Sunday the Secretary of the US Treasury Henry Paulson announced the takeover of these two huge American Institutions or GSE’s as they are known - meaning ‘Government Sponsored Enterprises’, a curious mix of both state and privately owned entities. Continue reading this post…