economic situation is dire

[ianrobo1]

I predict we will see personal allowances raised by a large margin tomorrow, again temporary

Would you like to flesh that out, Ian?

Do you believe there will be a change to the personal allowance again this year?

Or is this a yearlong extension to the £600 increase for this year?

thats why it will be 15% for a year or so

What's why? You haven't really made it clear.

15% because indeed that is the level allowed by the EU, also it will cost around £12bn

as for personal allowances I have heard predictions for a year maybe two they will be raised from the current £6k level I am going to say they will be raised to 8k that is amassive increase and is approx worth waht £600 a year

[snowychap]

A rise in allowance for tax of 2k would be 'worth' £400.

Have you heard whether this will take place now (i.e. this financial year)?

An extra increase of that level would be at a cost of eight to ten thousand million annually (on top of the £2,700 million pounds already borrowed).

It would also mean that 2010/2011 would probably be a horror of a year for people on low incomes (if these allowance changes are only temporary).

[RichardCanning]

Chancellor Alistair Darling is to announce his intention to increase the top rate of income tax in Monday's pre-Budget report, the BBC has learned.

BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the move would break a Labour pledge that has held ever since Tony Blair came to power in the 1997 election.

He said sources suggested a new 45p rate would apply on incomes somewhere above £150,000 per year.

The government has not confirmed any of the details.

bbc

Would appear the higher earners will be paying initially for the borrowing

[tonyh29]

unlike the labour party to break it's word :shock:

i wonder what they will spend the extra revenue on ... maybe a pin , a spinning globe and Brown wearing a blindfold to determine who we invade next ...

[tonyh29]

panic over ... just read the story on sky and the 45p rate would only come in if labour were re-elected at the next election

so like ID cards it won't be happening

[ianrobo1]

yes it will Tony because whichever party wins the next election tax rises are inevitable we all know that it is only a question of who gets taxed and how much

[Risso]

I am going to say they will be raised to 8k that is amassive increase and is approx worth waht £600 a year

Hmmm, anyone ever see Gordon Brown and Ian in the room at the same time?

[ianrobo1]

I also predict that we will see a one month council tax holiday

[snowychap]

I also predict that we will see a one month council tax holiday

To be funded by increased council tax next year or an increase in monies from central government?

[greenz]

I also predict that we will see a one month council tax holiday

How do you mean Ian?

That one month would be taken from the whole bill and evened out throughout the year?

Or not pay both March and April...

I think if they do adjust council tax, we'd see our 11 month payment go to 12 months and decrease the amount in which we pay. :?

[snowychap]

Darling needs to cure a nation hooked on debt

The chancellor should look beyond giving consumers a short-term fix

When the last raven leaves the Tower of London and it is time to engrave an epitaph on the nation's headstone, there is no doubt what it will say: "Britain: the country that liked to spend now and pay later."

Today's pre-budget report is all about the government's attempt to exploit this deep-rooted character trait. Assuming the nudges and winks from Whitehall are correct, VAT will be cut to entice consumers back into the shops for a pre-Christmas spending splurge. The theory is that behaviour will be driven more by lower prices today than by the threat of higher taxes at some point in the future. On past form, that looks a reasonable bet.

.......

The real point of the pre-budget report should be to make Britain more sustainable, through a period of low interest rates and controls on consumer credit that will encourage heavy investment in energy efficiency and renewables rather than another mindless spending spree.

To be fair, Darling has never sought to minimise the scale of the crisis. He has treated the electorate as grown-ups and deserves credit for insisting that Britain has to live within its means. He will now leave consumers in little doubt that today's tax cuts are tomorrow's tax increases. But living within our means does not just mean getting the nation's overdraft back to a reasonable level; it means re-thinking whether shop-until-you-drop, live-now-pay-never consumerism is entirely appropriate for our personal finances, for our wellbeing and for the future of the planet.

Only an excerpt from the article.

[Richard]

I also predict that we will see a one month council tax holiday

To be funded by increased council tax next year or an increase in monies from central government?

I cannot see the government increasing the central support grant given and already confirmed for the next couple of years.

The devil will very much be in the detail if this was announced

[snowychap]

Woolworths enters administration

High Street legend Woolworths has buckled under its debt and is set to go into administration, BBC business editor Robert Peston has learned.

The move will put tens of thousands of jobs at its 815 stores under threat.

The board of Woolies - one of the UK's oldest store groups - will meet at 1800 GMT to take the formal decision.

Deloitte will be appointed as administrators to the store chain and also to Entertainment UK, which supplies DVDs to supermarket groups.

However, Woolworths joint venture with the BBC, 2 Entertain, will not go into administration. It is owned by Woolworths' parent company, which will not go into administration.

The UK's Woolworths has no connection with several retail chains around the world that carry the same name.

...more on link

MFI set to go into administration

Furniture retailer MFI is set to go into administration - citing falling demand for big ticket items, cash-flow problems and the withdrawal of credit.

Some stores will continue to trade, but 26 will close. Existing orders will be either met or refunded, MFI said.

The GMB union had warned this was likely unless the firm's store landlords agreed to a rent-free period.

MFI, subject of a management buy-out in September, has 110 stores and a workforce of more than 1,000 people.

Analysts said that the downturn of the housing market was a major contributor to MFI's decline, people stopped buying things such as new bathrooms and kitchens.

'Irresponsible'

MCR have been appointed as administrators, who will work to maximise returns to creditors.

Phil Duffy of the administrators said that "whilst a decision has not been made as to an appropriate exit route and the future of the company, the administrators will be reviewing the possibility of a sale of some or all of the Company's stores."

All outstanding employee wages have been paid up to date and ongoing wages for retained staff will continue to be paid he added.

MFI has seen sales fall in recent years as it has faced increased competition from newer rivals such as Ikea.

The management buy-out bought MFI from its previous owner, private equity group Merchant Equity Partners (MEP).

MEP bought the retail business for £1 in 2006 from the former MFI company, which renamed itself Galiform and maintained ownership of the manufacturing arm.

The GMB union said that MFI employees would not have been surprised at the development, saying the firm had been "badly managed for some years".

But the union's Yorkshire regional secretary Tim Roache said is was "disappointing that the landlords of the shops pulled the plug and did not give the management time to turn it around".

[ianrobo1]

both of those were **** before the credit crisis

[bickster]

both of those were **** before the credit crisis

I agree with that, two chains that had lost their way in the current market a long time ago. Sure the Credit Crunch may have finally done for them but it would have happened sooner or later anyway

[ianrobo1]

yep Bicks, never moved with the times and the credit crunch was the final straw

[Genie]

At least there are a few bargains out there for those brave enough to part with some cash

All football shirts £25 or less at Sportsworld

Villa home = £20

Away = £25

Go through quidco and get 12% cashback too.

[ianrobo1]

finally some good and positive news from one of the banks - RBS - of course owned by us now !!

but the measures taken within the article are positive if the rest follow as they will do

a 6 month breathing space if you lose your job is excellent

[snowychap]

Any idea what this means (from your link, Ian)?

RBS also had to agree to return to "normal" lending practices

[snowychap]

Bank forced into administration

London Scottish Bank has gone into administration after the Financial Services Authority stepped in to stop it accepting deposits.

The FSA acted because the Manchester-based firm did not have the amount of cash it needed to continue operating.

HM Treasury issued a statement saying that all retail depositors would get their money back, even those with more than £50,000 in their accounts.

Officially, only the first £50,000 is supposed to be protected.

The accountancy firm Ernst & Young has been appointed as the administrator.

In February, London Scottish announced it was ending its lending business to focus on its debt collection unit, Robinson's Way.

It specialised in council right-to-buy mortgages and those for high-rise flats.

London Scottish had been looking for a buyer for the group, but said there was no certainty that its discussions would lead to an offer being made.

"A number of parties remain interested in acquiring the group," the bank said in a statement.

Significant rescue

The BBC business editor Robert Peston adds:

London & Scottish defines the notion of a marginal bank. It is a genuine tiddler, with deposits of just £273m, and is not by any stretch of the imagination a vital cog in the financial system.

In normal times, its collapse would not pose a serious threat to the banking system.

And therefore the rule of caveat emptor would apply to those who chose to deposit their cash with it.

But these are not normal times.

The chancellor fears that if any saver were to lose out from the demise of London & Scottish, that could prompt significant and damaging withdrawals of funds from other small banks and building societies.

So Alistair Darling has taken the extraordinary step of promising that no retail depositor in London & Scottish will lose a bean, that all depositors will get all their money back, even if they've deposited more than £50,000 at the bank.