David Bates Financial Adviser

So can the major governments dictate to the banks on how to reward their staff and waht businesses they should be in? I doubt it very much. If the banks don’t generate profits from astute investment skills, then governments lose tax revenues, businesses cannot borrow money and the economy stagnates or continues to flounder. Leave the banks to do what they do best. By all means banks should learn the principles of sound lending, but apart from that all this rhetoric, particularly in the UK, where the parties are canvassing your vote in the impending election, the banks are being used as the scapegoat for government failings.

The Conservatives are certainly taking a brave step, by setting out the facts of the situation, that have been well documented elsewhere. There is a mountain of government over spend to deal with, and they are warning that it will hurt. Gordon Brown , desperately, tried to to tell us everything would be godd and there would be a reduction in the debt, by more spending, which is self funding???

So what does it matter if we retire a year later, those currently in their 50′s anyway. If it does mean a better longer term pension, then it can only be good.

Cutting out waste is going to help, putting up taxes may have to happen, but that depends on how well the economy improves, and how new business can contribute tax on their profits.

The BBC in their carefully edited versions of events at the Tory conference, as usual managed to distort what was being said. I am sorry Gordon Brown, the media do decide elections. People do follow what they see in their papers and on the internet, as well as on their TV screens, and the point you seem to miss is that the messages , such as in the Sun newspaper, are repeated in all the various new forms of news media, which will only serve to drive home the message, “don’t vote for Gordon (Gone Bust) Brown, the self proclaimed saviour of the Global economies of the world”.

So what if David Cameron was handed a glass of bubbly, these things happen at receptions, where you are an invited guest. No-one really cares if he drinks champagne, surely. Quite frankly, I can’t stand the stuff…much rather have a nice glass of red wine, any day.

Despite Senor Zapatero stating Spain would be out of recession by the end of the year, reports in the British press yesterday , quoted the EU as saying that Spain was likely to slip further into recession and that unemployment will reach 25%. Now this figure is only based on people who are entitled to claim, and does not exclude “autonomo” workers, who may well have deregistered from the system.

Demand for property is only 250,000 a year, yet there are well over .16 million empty or part completed properties, which suggests that it will be at least 6 years until that slack is taken up.

Add to this that exports from Spain are costing more to non EUROZONE currency countries, life is likely to be very difficult, unless domestic demand can be stimulated further.

The Spanish government are talking about raising taxes to cover the situation, but this will only add pain to the economy.

Just when the many pensioners in Spain, who receive UK pensions, were thinking that things were on the up, as the Euro exchange rate hit 1.18 to the pound, it has slipped back to 1.14, based on commercial rates. Anyone on holiday, who needs to get hold of Euros, will now get less for their money. While the FTSE 100 is hovering around the 4,900 mark (slightly down today) there is still hope that the economy is starting to move in the right direction. Unemployment in the UK is at 3.3 million (estimated) or if you believe one English newspaper it is nearer 6 million.

Some people suggest Spain may take another 5 years befoe seeeing serious recovery in the property market, which will mean plenty of bargains for some time for would be investors in property.