A key theme for me this week has been the announcement of more financial assistance to get people back to work. In the UK chancellor’s summer statement £30bn of measures were announced; from VAT relief for the hospitality industry, a stamp duty cut, to funding for younger workers and those on furlough returning to work. It was about getting the economy moving again.

And this is needed with the economy across Europe and the UK starting to struggle. Both in the numbers and on the ground.

One benefit of lockdown has been the environment. We have reduced the amount of travelling, commuting and related fossil fuels use as a result. However, energy use at home has increased, with homes being generally less fuel efficeint than the office. All of this could take us away from net zero, and the funding announced to assist with insulating homes was nice to finally see. It has the added benefit of extra employment too.

In financial services news, a couple of other key announcements this week

• The extension of the payment holiday scheme for credit cards came into effect.
• New guidance for motor loans was also announced, with a 3 month extension for the scheme

Interestingly in Australia; the initial 6months (which we have in the UK) has just been extended by another 4months. Is this the sign of things to come here too?

We will need to watch all this carefully on how this plays out, especially with local lockdowns coming more into play. It could all get very complex.

Finally, other interesting news to monitor

• The pandemic is changing the way we eat. A return to home cooking and comfort food of our younger selves?
• Businesses continue to look at efficiencies in the new way of working. Yet more announcement of permanent home working and how this may change the structure of retail forever.
• With the much discussed on the (maybe too early) demise of cash, EU banks are working on their own payment infrastructure as an alternative to the likes of VISA and Mastercard.
• Lastly, an interesting article on AI and its acceleration. Digital underpins a lot of the changes we are seeing, so we should expect more (or is that ‘Moore’) in this space

Have a good weekend everyone… @chris_w_tweet

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;

• How we need to get better around thinking about catastrophic risks
• How this links to our human psychology. The type of leader we get elected depends somewhat on the amount of uncertainty.

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