Archive for May, 2010

As a part of its plans to ring in extensive cuts worth £6.25 bn, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has confirmed that it intends to cut down on its funding of existing housing projects by £230. It and also expressed doubts over sanctioning an additional funding of £610m.

This deferral on new projects is expected to be pressed on till 22 June when the emergency Budget will be presented. These reductions are a direct consequence of the announcement that the HCA’s parent body, the Department for Communities and Local Government will be subjected to a monetary cut of £780 m. The HCA will also be compelled to derive 2% savings in cash standstill, 3% on additional operating costs and 10% on its running costs.

A spokesperson for HCA disclosed that the cuts have come at the cost of postponement of numerous commitments.

Sir Bob Kerslake, the Chief Executive of HCA, stated that the cuts signify HCA’s role towards government saving. He added that the HCA will implement these cuts in a manner that will curtail the shocks that it might produce.

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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is pressurizing the UK government to formulate a realistic and strong plan to deal with the UK budget deficit. The OECD believes that this plan should in no way disturb the thrust that is driving the economy right now.

The UK government is also deliberating reductions in public sector investments. Such a move might curtail the economic growth, but it will also help the government tackle the problem of inflation. Those arguing for this strategy believe that inflation could become a major concern in the short to medium term, leading to a surge in the interest rates towards the end of 2010.

Recently the government had announced public-sector investment reductions adding up to £6.2 billion. However, experts believe that this amounts to only 10% of the total reduction necessary. Chances are also rife that UK might lose its AAA rating in the credit markets. This would shake the confidence of investors in the UK market and also increase the cost of tuning up the present debts and generating new finances in the future.

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Independent property investment consultancy Ducalian has asked investors to approach any news of a significant improvement in the property market with a pinch of salt. According to the consultancy, the rapidly fluctuating figures of property sales point to the fact that such news of recovery must be treated with a certain level of caution.

Andrew Styles, the firm’s senior consultant has stated that the market was still very feeble, with pricing vulnerable to market instabilities. According to Styles, the growth patterns that many had predicted the year before were yet to be fully realized. On an optimistic note, Styles added that he was definitely expecting the market to regain its lost glory soon. He was, however, reluctant to put a timeline to when this recovery will happen.

There is however, some positive statistics coming in from the Association of Estate Agents. The association has in April reported an increase in the number of people who have registered to look for property.

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The FSA has banned a former employee at Seymour Pierce Limited from working in financial services again, after he stole from his employer and a number of clients.

Between 2001 and 2006, John White stole a total of £152,372 in 37 separate transactions, and hid £145,000 in a dormant account that had been paid to Seymour Pierce in error.

In one instance, White even transferred a personal trading loss into a Seymour Pierce account and also stole trading profits, dealing commission and credit interest belonging to his employer.

White was Settlements Manager at Seymour Pierce, and was responsible for entering details of executed trades onto the system; his role also entailed making changes to static data (such as names, addresses, and account numbers) on client accounts.

Last year the FSA fined Seymour Pierce £154,000 for failing to establish effective controls to prevent an employee committing fraud; White was that employee.

Margaret Cole, the FSA’s director of enforcement and financial crime, said:“White was a long standing employee of Seymour Pierce who misused his senior position with the firm. He exposed weaknesses in the firm’s systems and used them to his advantage.

“We expect people who work in the financial services industry to behave with honesty and integrity, yet White’s conduct was anything but. As this case demonstrates, we are committed to deterring behaviour of this kind by punishing anyone found to have committed such misconduct.”

Seymour Pierce has said that it has returned money and assets to clients who were victims of White’s fraudulent activities.

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