Business news 3 August 2023
James Salmon, Operations Director.
Household missed payments hit year high. Bank set to increase rates, with ‘shock-and-awe’ hike possible. And more business news that we thought would interest our members.
Household missed payments hit year high
Consumer group Which? estimate that some 2.4 million households were unable to pay at least one bill in the month to mid-July.
That brings the number missing payments for things like credit card bills or utilities like energy, water or their phone to a high for the year.
And 770,000 households also were unable to pay their mortgage or rent.
Which? estimates that 5% of renters and 3% of mortgage holders defaulted on their payment.
January is usually when the highest number of households miss a payment, after paying for Christmas and with the energy crisis it was even worse this year, but we have now returned to those levels as household face a massive squeeze on their budgets.
The consumer insight tracker, a monthly online poll, suggests that 8.6% of households missed at least one bill payment in July. In January it was 8.2%.
Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which? said “With interest rates predicted to rise again, these pressures on household finances are only set to increase,” adding “We’d encourage anyone who’s struggling to seek free debt advice and reach out to their bill provider for help”.
Which? also called on businesses providing essential services like energy, food and telecoms to do more to support customers.
Less than 20% said they thought their household financial situation would improve over the next 12 months, while 37% said they thought it would get worse.
Do you have outstanding accounts with consumers? If you are worried about your customers being in distress, owing your business on outstanding invoices, talk to CPA about our Overdue Account Recovery service which can get your bills prioritised over others. We resolve an average of 84% of referred accounts quickly and efficiently.
Just call Peter Uwins, CPA’s National Sales Manager, on 020 8846 0000 (business hours) or email nsm@cpa.co.uk today.
When you see your money come in, you will be so glad you used CPA.
Bank set to increase rates, with ‘shock-and-awe’ hike possible
With the Bank of England set to decide on whether to increase rates again today, most analysts expect the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to up the base rate from 5% to 5.25%.
However, more than a third believe the rate-setters could opt to increase the rate to 5.5%. While analysts differ on the possible scale of a rate hike, they agree that the Bank will increase rates for the fourteenth consecutive meeting as officials look to drive down inflation.
Altaf Kassam of State Street Global Advisors believes the base rate will climb by at least another 50-basis points before peaking, suggesting this would be best in two 0.25-percentage-point increments but warning that markets “can’t rule out a shock-and-awe announcement.”
Althea Spinozzi, a strategist at Saxo Markets, said the economic backdrop “calls for another 0.5% rate hike” but says the MPC may opt against doing so in fear of “overtightening” and pushing the country into a recession.
Markets
Equity markets suffered heavy losses yesterday, taking negative cues from Wall Street after leading credit rating agency Fitch downgraded the US government’s rating. Fitch, one of three major independent agencies, cut the rating from the top level of AAA to a notch lower at AA+, in light of the countries debt burden and political squabbles over the debt ceiling.
The FTSE 100 dropped 1.36% to 7561.63 and the Euro Stoxx 50 dropped 1.6% to 4336.5. Overnight in the US the DOW dropped -0.98%, the S&P 500 dropped -1.38% and the NASDAQ had its worst day since February, dropping -2.17%.
Perversely, the US Dollar has strengthened, bolstered by prevailing risk-off sentiment. The Pound is relatively indecisive, down at $1.27, as investors keenly await the BoE rate decision later today.
PM dampens hopes of tourist tax U-turn
While retail and hospitality businesses have been arguing the case for scrapping the tourist tax and reinstating tax-free shopping for overseas visitors, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has dampened hopes of a U-turn, arguing that most of the benefit of the tax break went to “a very small area in central London.” Since 2021, foreign visitors from outside the EU have no longer been able to reclaim sales tax on purchases in Britain. Businesses say this means international shoppers are choosing rival European capitals over London. Quizzed on the calls for a reversal, Mr Sunak told LBC that while he avoided talking about tax policy because of the possible impact on markets, it was worth noting that about 97% of the benefit of the tourist tax break was concentrated on a small part of central London.
Climate
Chair of Ford Motor Company’s UK operations, Tim Slatter has called on the government to take action on climate change. “We can make this happen,” he said “We can reduce CO2 emissions, and we can probably get them down in time. But we need to get on with it.” When Car company bosses are rallying against a government sliding back on environmental issues, perhaps we should sit up and take notice. Government ministers have refused to confirm we will stick to our ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars in 2030. Keir Starmer has meanwhile said Labour would definitely go ahead with the ban.
More pressing is the target due to come in to force on 2024, fixing the percentage of electric cars sold. The only problem? The government haven’t yet got round to setting the target. Grant Shapps has promised the Dept of Transport will shortly publish it. Not sure what the hurry is, 2024 is over 4 months away!
Companies face pressure to disclose net zero credentials
Companies will be pressured to disclose their net zero credentials as ministers crack down on greenwashing. The Government has announced that it will adopt internationally approved climate reporting standards to maintain London’s attractiveness as a global financial centre. The new rules will require companies to publicly disclose their impact on the climate, including their ‘scope three’ emissions. The Financial Conduct Authority and the Government will oversee disclosures from UK-listed companies and UK registered companies and limited liability partnerships, respectively. The aim is to make the disclosed information globally comparable and decision-useful for investors. Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch will consider endorsing the international standards to create the UK sustainability disclosure standards by July 2024. The UK-specific standards will only deviate from the global baseline if necessary.
Home loan hikes sees more seller discounts
Amid a background of soaring mortgage rates, the market has seen an increase in homes sold at a discount. Estate agents have warned that high mortgage rates are forcing homeowners to sell up quickly as they come to the end of fixed-rate deals and face far higher bills. Homeowners in the South East have suffered the biggest jump in asking price discounts, with data from Zoopla showing that 8% of homes up for sale in the region had reductions of 5% or more in July. This was up from a five-year average of 4.4% and the highest share in the country. The East of England had the second largest share of homes listed with discounts of at least 5%, at 7.3%, while London was third with 6.6%.
Post-Brexit UK border food checks delayed again on inflation fears
The Government is expected to announce a further delay to post-Brexit border controls on animal and plant products coming from the EU, with concern over the impact of increased bureaucracy on inflation.
Industry backs investment boost for high-growth firms
Greg Smith, chief executive of intellectual property investor IP Group, says there is widespread industry support for reforms to boost investment in the UK’s high-growth companies. He said: “There have never been more stakeholders across the sector – be it regulators, capital providers, the stock exchange and companies – saying that this is something which is important.” This comes with the Treasury currently consulting on rule changes designed to streamline the listings regime to try and ensure domestic firms stay in the UK. Ministers have already sought to deliver £75bn in extra investment into Britain’s private companies through the Mansion House Compact, an initiative that will see firms including Aviva, L&G, Phoenix and Scottish Widows pump a minimum of 5% of defined contribution pension cash into unlisted British companies by 2030.
One in 10 BNPL consumers end up with debt collectors
Heather Stewart in the Guardian looks at concern over buy now, pay later (BNPL) schemes, noting that missing a repayment can result in late payment fees and defaulting can lead to debt collection agencies. She says that despite concerns raised by charities and debt campaigners, BNPL remains unregulated by the Financial Conduct Agency (FCA) and Treasury plans to regulate BNPL have been delayed. The FCA has warned of the harm caused by BNPL, citing estimates that one in 10 consumers using it end up facing debt collection, while chief executive Nikhil Rathi recently told the Treasury Select Committee that there was “harm accruing” all the time BNPL continues to operate without consumer regulation. Campaigners are concerned that those already struggling financially are most likely to use BNPL due to the lack of safeguards.
Uber chased for extra £386m in VAT
HMRC is pursuing Uber for £386m extra in VAT, with the ride hailing firm saying tax authorities have “disputed the amount and manner in which we were applying VAT to our UK business.” A High Court court ruling last year determined Uber’s drivers were employees, not self-employed contractors, resulting in the firm adding VAT as of March 2022. Uber paid HMRC £615m in November but the tax office says the firm owes an additional £386m, having disputed the way it had applied a tax simplification measure for tour operators.
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Why should you become a CPA member!
The Credit Protection Association (CPA) has been assisting thousands of UK businesses to get paid, since 1914. We have seen many financial crises, this one will be particularly deadly for suppliers for some time to come.
CPA eases cash from tardy debtors – Efficiently, Effectively, Economically and Ethically. And we provide credit information so you can monitor and assess your key customers.
Unlike other credit management companies, we offer our members a fixed annual subscription regardless of how high the debt value maybe!
No face-to-face meeting required – just call Peter Uwins, CPA’s National Sales Manager, on 020 8846 0000 (business hours) or email nsm@cpa.co.uk today.
When you see your money come in, you will be so glad you used CPA.
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections
Do you have a commercial late payer that is causing you grief? Use CPA’s no-win, no-fee, commercial debt recovery service!
If you have a particular business customer who is late paying and causing you sleepless nights, why not offer it to CPA for purchase on recourse?
CPA’s collection department will then pursue the debt. We will be liable for any costs incurred and then when we have recovered the debt, we will pay you the net principle debt recovered less our percentage.
Once you have enjoyed that success then you can consider the more cost effective membership which includes our Overdue Account Recovery service and Status/Credit reports as well as a range of other complimentary services.
Just call 020 8846 0000 and ask for Godfrey Nelson or Cris Shirley (business hours) or email debtpurchase@cpa.co.uk today.
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections.
Get compensated for previous late payments
Have you been paid late by business customers in the last six years?
Maybe you no longer work with them. Under legislation, you are entitled to compensation you for those late payments you have suffered.
You put up with the PAIN – now claim the GAIN!
Claim late payment compensation (LPC) from former business customers who paid you late in the last six years!
CPA (LPC) Recoveries is using our bespoke software and decades of experience to do just that for our clients
Check our compensation calculator to see how much your business could be owed!
Discover NOW the potential value of late payment compensation hidden in your sales ledger!
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections.