Despite the glossy spin which many people are trying to place upon the UK economy there will be many difficult weeks and months ahead for millions of families in the UK. Whether or not we see the emergence of the so-called feel-good factor in the short to medium term is debatable but the truth is that debt problems in the UK are still prominent and likely to get very much worse before they improve. So are your debts spiralling out of control?
Dubai World, the state-owned conglomerate at the centre of the Dubai economy, has today announced a deal in principle regarding the company's US$23.5 billion of debt. While details have yet to be confirmed it is believed that the debt will be restructured after an agreement was reached in principle with the main lending banks. However, the agreement will have to be rubberstamped by other lending institutions on the outside of the core group which could take some time.
The Russell Group, which represents 20 of the UK's largest universities, has caused some controversy over the last few days with a suggestion by UK graduates should be made to repay student loans quicker and at a higher rate of interest. Currently student loans are subsidised by the UK government and graduates only start repaying their loans once they are earning over £15,000 a year.
It is believed that the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government is looking to increase loan targets previously set by the Labour government. While bank shares heaved a sigh of relief today with many believing that plans by the new government could have been far harsher there is still some concern about a potential banking levy, legislation to control remuneration as well as the likely increase in loan targets.
The latest figures from The Insolvency Service confirm that the situation in the UK is getting worse. A total of 35,682 people in England and Wales were declared insolvent during the first three months of 2010 which is a 17.9% increase on the same period last year and the highest level since records began. So is this the top of the insolvency mountain?
A report issued today is suggesting that one in three of the UK population is hiding debt issues from their families and struggling to make ends meet. This so-called "hidden" debt mountain is set to stand at around £55 billion and will be nothing but a millstone around the neck of many in the UK for many years to come. So are you one of the one in three keeping your personal finances secret?
The UK government has today come in for severe criticism from a committee of MPs who have highlighted issues regarding consumer debt and the UK government's inability to tackle this problem. A number of projects have been introduced by the Department for business costing around £600 million since 2004. However, despite the fact that significant money has been invested in the area of controlling consumer debt, total consumer debt in the UK has risen from £1 trillion to £1.4 trillion in just six years.
The MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) will meet this week for the last time before the election amid signs that members are becoming increasingly concerned about the lack of lending to the UK small business arena. It seems as though the opinion of MPC members is divided at the moment and there is even talk of bringing back the quantitive easing program in the short-term. So what can we expect this week?
Despite the fact that the UK economy is still struggling to pull away from what has been one of the worst recessions in living history it seems that more and more people are now looking to borrow money to relieve their financial pressures. It has been revealed that for every pound saved in the final quarter of 2009 a total of 62p was borrowed by UK consumers. While there may be concerns that UK consumers are getting themselves into more and more debt, the truth of the matter is that without borrowing the UK economy would grind to a halt.
A Bank of England report has today confirmed that small business funding is still well below government targets despite serious pressure placed upon small business lenders over the last few months. The report from the Bank of England confirms there has been little change in lending to small businesses between the first quarter of 2010 and the final quarter of 2009. So what are the consequences of limited liquidity for UK small businesses?
