Tag Archives: recession

MW Interim Finance’s “Wise Words”

MW Interim Finance re-iterates the “wise words” that continue to be relevant as the UK economy stutters through another year of turmoil.

“Many companies have finally recognised a need to either, “restructure for survival” or, “take advantage of the recession to make the changes necessary to benefit from an economic upturn”. However, recognition that change is required versus actually putting plans into action is where some companies, either through procrastination or lack of specialist resource, have either already failed or have exposed their business to potential failure. In order to benefit fully in a recovery change must be planned and executed in a focused manner by directors and senior management”

UK Comprehensive Spending Review – Pensions & Private v Public Sectors

It has been just over a week since the UK comprehensive spending review, (CSR)), which was keenly awaited but with no surprises on the whole, except there were copious figures quoted and a time frame of 2014 / 15 to turn the country around. The upshot was work longer, pay more taxes, and suffer reductions in benefits and public services.

There was however a “double whammy” for men in respect of pensions with an earlier rise in the retirement age and the potential for a move by annuity providers to remove the differential in providing higher annuity rates to males who have the same sized “pension pot”, as females on the basis that men are likely to die sooner. This is a result of a European Court of Justice opinion that “insurance companies may not charge men and women different rates for products”. Once this opinion is ratified in EU law it could have significant implications for life insurance premiums, transfer values and member options.

The private sector over the last eighteen months has suffered the full impact of the economic downturn, recession and low growth “recovery”, but things are getting worse with the cuts announced in the CSR and a view that the private sector will have to absorb the fallout in people and cuts in services in the public sector. In addition, public sector workers will have to increase their contributions and possibly move from a final salary to average salary scheme………..but this is a half measure. The private sector has already, over a number of years, moved away from final salary to money purchase schemes and increased contributions have followed for employees. Why can’t the public sector make the change? More importantly, there should be legislation that does not allow any government to utilise public pension funds in other areas of public sector spending, thus protecting public sector workers.

Cut and thrust – a jobless recovery or a “double dip recession” in the UK?

This week leaders of some of Britain’s biggest businesses gave an emphatic endorsement of the coalition Government’s decision to cut spending immediately in order to pay down the UK deficit.

That of course is the private sector view, however the suggested 25% cuts in the public sector have not engendered the same reaction from those employed in this area or their unions, with a figure mooted of around 600k jobs to be lost in the next few years. The Government expects new jobs to be created in the private sector to cover most of these losses, but there are two factors that show this may not happen and thus push the UK into perhaps a “double dip” recession. Firstly, the public sector relies on supplies from the private sector and so there are bound to be ancillary job losses there. Secondly, many companies have already saved job losses by putting in pay freezes and short-time / part-time working. Any recovery will only mean putting the effected employees back to work full-time and thus not produce additional employment. 

There are difficult times ahead but now that the budget has at least provided the benchmark on what to expect – businesses now can plan with some certainty their future recovery strategy. 

MW Interim Finance can assist SME’s to develop and implement their strategic and operational objectives, and for further information either call Martin Walby on + 44 (0) 7876 566875 or email martin.walby@mwinterimfinance.co.uk

UK no longer in recession

It is official the UK is no longer in recession BUT it barely crawled out of negative growth in the final three months of 2009 according to official figures.

The marginal 0.1% growth between October and December ended a record six straight quarters of decline but was well below the 0.4% expected increase. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figure is only a first estimate and may be revised higher – or will it be lower ?