Showing posts with label UK economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UK economy. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Nigel Farage: Why We Would be Better Off Out of This Chaos
UK Express
IS it time to leave the European Union, would we be Better Off Out? As the Daily Express courageously insists: Of course we would.
Over the last 20 years I have been promoting the very simple idea that our country would be doing itself, its people and the rest of the world a great favour by returning to self-governance. And this is why.
We would be Better Off Out financially by simply not paying the £48million a day to the European Union. This would be money better spent at home with priorities set by our elected representatives, rather than returned in part with European conditions.
We would be Better Off Out financially minus the dead weight of regulation that makes the life of our businesspeople a misery.
Read Full Article
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Monday, November 8, 2010
Unemployed told: do four weeks of unpaid work or lose your benefits
• Crackdown on £190bn-a-year welfare bill
• Payments could be suspended for three months
Toby Helm and Anushka Asthana
Guardian
The unemployed will be ordered to do periods of compulsory full-time work in the community or be stripped of their benefits under controversial American-style plans to slash the number of people without jobs.
The proposals, in a white paper on welfarereform to be unveiled this week, are part of a radical government agenda aimed at cutting the £190bn-a-year welfare bill and breaking what the coalition now calls the "habit of worklessness".
The measures will be announced to parliament by the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, as part of what he will describe as a new "contract" with the 1.4 million people on jobseekers' allowance. The government's side of the bargain will be the promise of a new "universal credit", to replace all existing benefits, that will ensure it always pays to work rather than stay on welfare.
In return, where advisers believe a jobseeker would benefit from experiencing the "habits and routines" of working life, an unemployed person will be told to take up "mandatory work activity" of at least 30 hours a week for a four-week period. If they refuse or fail to complete the programme their jobseeker's allowance payments, currently £50.95 a week for those under 25 and £64.30 for those over 25, could be stopped for at least three months.
The Department for Work and Pensions plans to contract private providers to organise the placements with charities, voluntary organisations and companies. An insider close to the discussions said: "We know there are still some jobseekers who need an extra push to get them into the mindset of being in the working environment and an opportunity to experience that environment.
"This is all about getting them back into a working routine which, in turn, makes them a much more appealing prospect for an employer looking to fill a vacancy, and more confident when they enter the workplace. The goal is to break into the habit of worklessness."
Sanctions – including removal of benefit – currently exist if people refuse to go on training courses or fail to turn up to job interviews, but they are rarely used.
The plans stop short of systems used in the US since the 1990s under which benefits can be "time limited", meaning all payments end after a defined period. But they draw heavily on American attempts to change public attitudes to welfare and to change the perception that welfare is an option for life.
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• Payments could be suspended for three months
 |
| Iain Duncan Smith |
Guardian
The unemployed will be ordered to do periods of compulsory full-time work in the community or be stripped of their benefits under controversial American-style plans to slash the number of people without jobs.
The proposals, in a white paper on welfarereform to be unveiled this week, are part of a radical government agenda aimed at cutting the £190bn-a-year welfare bill and breaking what the coalition now calls the "habit of worklessness".
The measures will be announced to parliament by the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, as part of what he will describe as a new "contract" with the 1.4 million people on jobseekers' allowance. The government's side of the bargain will be the promise of a new "universal credit", to replace all existing benefits, that will ensure it always pays to work rather than stay on welfare.
In return, where advisers believe a jobseeker would benefit from experiencing the "habits and routines" of working life, an unemployed person will be told to take up "mandatory work activity" of at least 30 hours a week for a four-week period. If they refuse or fail to complete the programme their jobseeker's allowance payments, currently £50.95 a week for those under 25 and £64.30 for those over 25, could be stopped for at least three months.
The Department for Work and Pensions plans to contract private providers to organise the placements with charities, voluntary organisations and companies. An insider close to the discussions said: "We know there are still some jobseekers who need an extra push to get them into the mindset of being in the working environment and an opportunity to experience that environment.
"This is all about getting them back into a working routine which, in turn, makes them a much more appealing prospect for an employer looking to fill a vacancy, and more confident when they enter the workplace. The goal is to break into the habit of worklessness."
Sanctions – including removal of benefit – currently exist if people refuse to go on training courses or fail to turn up to job interviews, but they are rarely used.
The plans stop short of systems used in the US since the 1990s under which benefits can be "time limited", meaning all payments end after a defined period. But they draw heavily on American attempts to change public attitudes to welfare and to change the perception that welfare is an option for life.
Read Full Article
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Saturday, October 30, 2010
Doomsayers are selling Britain short, says top fund manager
Tom Dobell, manager of M&G Recovery, believes the UK has plenty to offer investors during the recovery.
Ian Cowie
Telegraph
Don’t get Tom Dobell started on bankers. The manager of M&G Recovery, a £6bn fund with 100,000 investors, tells me: “I am astounded at the way banks have abused their taxpayer guarantee. They have behaved atrociously and have done a huge amount of damage to our country.
“Some of these people have behaved disgracefully. It is amazing what you find out about in fund management. You get to see the best and worst of human nature; sometimes on the same day. HSBC is the only bank I would cross the road for. It is conservatively capitalised and its management has more integrity and corporate culture than the rest of them put together.”
Mr Dobell’s scorn is quite different from the populist claptrap produced by politicians almost every day (yes, Vincent, I mean you). During a lost decade in which the FTSE 100 index of Britain’s biggest shares fell by 15pc, M&G Recovery more than doubled investors’ money.
So the opinions of its manager about who is to blame for the mess we are in and the prospects for Britain’s economic recovery – or the risks of a double-dip recession - are better informed than most. He recently celebrated his tenth anniversary at the helm of the flagship fund of M&G - the company that introduced unit trusts to Britain - and emphasises that he buys or shuns individual shares rather than backing an economy.
But this usually quietly-spoken farming man from Somerset is emphatic that the pessimists are wrong and that those who believe them are not only selling Britain short but missing major opportunities to make money.
Speaking before this week’s better-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) figures eased fears of economic stagnation, he said: “Detractors are ten a penny and, unfortunately, a lot of people see the glass as half empty but I am pretty optimistic and believe there are great opportunities for some British companies.
“We look to identify unloved businesses with honest hard-working managers, good strategies and the cashflow that comes from that. The aim is to buy low, when they are being bashed from pillar to post, and then sell high when they have bounced back.”
Read Full Article
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Telegraph
Don’t get Tom Dobell started on bankers. The manager of M&G Recovery, a £6bn fund with 100,000 investors, tells me: “I am astounded at the way banks have abused their taxpayer guarantee. They have behaved atrociously and have done a huge amount of damage to our country.
“Some of these people have behaved disgracefully. It is amazing what you find out about in fund management. You get to see the best and worst of human nature; sometimes on the same day. HSBC is the only bank I would cross the road for. It is conservatively capitalised and its management has more integrity and corporate culture than the rest of them put together.”
Mr Dobell’s scorn is quite different from the populist claptrap produced by politicians almost every day (yes, Vincent, I mean you). During a lost decade in which the FTSE 100 index of Britain’s biggest shares fell by 15pc, M&G Recovery more than doubled investors’ money.
So the opinions of its manager about who is to blame for the mess we are in and the prospects for Britain’s economic recovery – or the risks of a double-dip recession - are better informed than most. He recently celebrated his tenth anniversary at the helm of the flagship fund of M&G - the company that introduced unit trusts to Britain - and emphasises that he buys or shuns individual shares rather than backing an economy.
But this usually quietly-spoken farming man from Somerset is emphatic that the pessimists are wrong and that those who believe them are not only selling Britain short but missing major opportunities to make money.
Speaking before this week’s better-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) figures eased fears of economic stagnation, he said: “Detractors are ten a penny and, unfortunately, a lot of people see the glass as half empty but I am pretty optimistic and believe there are great opportunities for some British companies.
“We look to identify unloved businesses with honest hard-working managers, good strategies and the cashflow that comes from that. The aim is to buy low, when they are being bashed from pillar to post, and then sell high when they have bounced back.”
Read Full Article
RELATED ARTICLES:
5 Best Countries To Escape America's Decline
Powerful EU Nations May Reform “Mission Impossible” Treaty in Secret
Fresh food that lasts from eFoods Direct (Ad)
Live Superfoods
It is time to Wake Up! You too, can join the "Global Political Awakening"!Print this page
Sunday, October 24, 2010
UK Ministers plan huge sell off of Britain's forest to cut the deficit
Editor's Note: Economic hitmen move in for their pound of flesh in Britain. Surely the government will underestimate the value of their forest resources so the banks henchmen get a very good deal on one of the only remaining public assets in the U.K.
Patrick Hennessy and Rebecca Lefort
Telegraph
Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, is expected to announce plans within days to dispose of about half of the 748,000 hectares of woodland overseen by the Forestry Commission by 2020.
The controversial decision will pave the way for a huge expansion in the number of Center Parcs-style holiday villages, golf courses, adventure sites and commercial logging operations throughout Britain as land is sold to private companies.
Legislation which currently governs the treatment of "ancient forests" such as the Forest of Dean and Sherwood Forest is likely to be changed giving private firms the right to cut down trees.
Laws governing Britain's forests were included in the Magna Carta of 1215, and some date back even earlier.
Conservation groups last night called on ministers to ensure that the public could still enjoy the landscape after the disposal, which will see some woodland areas given to community groups or charitable organisations.
However, large amounts of forests will be sold as the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) seeks to make massive budget savings as demanded in last week's Spending
Read Full Article
RELATED ARTICLE:
US Debt Woes Expose Hidden Austerity and Looting of Public Assets
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Live Superfoods It is time to Wake Up! You too, can join the "Global Political Awakening"!
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Telegraph
Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, is expected to announce plans within days to dispose of about half of the 748,000 hectares of woodland overseen by the Forestry Commission by 2020.
The controversial decision will pave the way for a huge expansion in the number of Center Parcs-style holiday villages, golf courses, adventure sites and commercial logging operations throughout Britain as land is sold to private companies.
Legislation which currently governs the treatment of "ancient forests" such as the Forest of Dean and Sherwood Forest is likely to be changed giving private firms the right to cut down trees.
Laws governing Britain's forests were included in the Magna Carta of 1215, and some date back even earlier.
Conservation groups last night called on ministers to ensure that the public could still enjoy the landscape after the disposal, which will see some woodland areas given to community groups or charitable organisations.
However, large amounts of forests will be sold as the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) seeks to make massive budget savings as demanded in last week's Spending
Read Full Article
RELATED ARTICLE:
US Debt Woes Expose Hidden Austerity and Looting of Public Assets
Fresh food that lasts from eFoods Direct (Ad)
Live Superfoods
It is time to Wake Up! You too, can join the "Global Political Awakening"!Print this page
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
UK "Spending Review" to Cut 500,000 Govt. Jobs
Chancellor George Osborne is setting out details of the biggest programme of public spending cuts attempted by a UK government since the Second World War.
 |
| Getty Images |
BBC
Unveiling his Spending Review in the Commons, Mr Osborne is expected to cut the budgets of Whitehall departments by an average of 25% - or £83bn in total.
He vowed "fairness" would underpin the cuts, telling MPs "those with the most should pay the most".
He also insisted economic growth and reform were at the heart of his plans.
He began his statement by saying: "Today is the day when Britain steps back from the brink, when we confront the bills from a decade of debt."
He told MPs: "It is a hard road, but it leads to a better future."
Up to 500,000 public sector jobs could go by 2014-15, according to the Office for Budgetary Responsibility.
Read Full Article
Unveiling his Spending Review in the Commons, Mr Osborne is expected to cut the budgets of Whitehall departments by an average of 25% - or £83bn in total.
He vowed "fairness" would underpin the cuts, telling MPs "those with the most should pay the most".
He also insisted economic growth and reform were at the heart of his plans.
He began his statement by saying: "Today is the day when Britain steps back from the brink, when we confront the bills from a decade of debt."
He told MPs: "It is a hard road, but it leads to a better future."
Up to 500,000 public sector jobs could go by 2014-15, according to the Office for Budgetary Responsibility.
Read Full Article
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It is time to Wake Up! You too, can join the "Global Political Awakening"!Print this page
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