Get your haircut, down the pub: Weekly Roundup 4 July 2020

The big news this week(end) is of course that we can now all get a haircut and head out to the pub. With haircuts starting at midnight and the pubs open from 6am (yes 6am!), it certainly looks like a long day for some on Saturday.

All of this is, of course, about coaxing the UK economy back to life. With the economic fallout continuing this week, and with the worst economic contraction in 41 years it is needed.

On average businesses are waiting to be paid £150k and with rents now due, you can see the pressure everyone is under to get the wheels of commerce turning again.

The housing market continues to be under pressure. This week house prices were reported as continuing to fall and there has been a 90% fall in home loans. This is all significant for the sector.

During the week the FCA did confirm proposals to extend the payment holiday scheme for credit cards and overdrafts. Many have taken advantage of these schemes, with the assurance that their credit bureau report would not be impacted. For many, this will result in additional interest charges, and some voices are now being raised that even with no CRA impact this could affect a future ability to borrow or get a loan.

And, of course, we are not out of the danger zone yet. We have seen some resurgence of cases in Europe as lockdown has eased and this has been even more aggressive in countries such as the USA and Latin America. Interestingly the resurgence in cases in parts does seem to have a lower mortality rate this time around. The theory is this is linked to a lower incidence in care homes this time around. Either way, with any new lockdowns we will certainly be more prepared.

In related news, a couple of interesting articles;

Lastly a couple of other emerging trends.

  1. Fraud in Business. The wirecard accounting fraud was widely reported, however, Lookers was also in the news this week. Is this another sign of economic stress?
  2. Automation and digitalization. It continues. HSBC wanted to double their mobile user base footprint, however some commentary on how this needs to add value to customers to really succeed.

Have a good weekend everyone…. @chris_w_tweet

This entry was posted in Opinion. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *