British rate cut awaits London investors next week

British rate cut awaits London investors next week
Market watch top headlinesAustralian reportsAust markets: Australian share market closes higherAust dollar report: Aussie dollar closes at eight-week lowAust credit close: Aussie bonds closes mixedWorld reportsWorld commodities: Oil prices mixed, gold higherWorld markets: US stocks fall sharplyStocks to watchERA, AXA, COF, OZL, ORI, HVN, TAH, REU, RAT, AFG, HGG, GNS,
LONDON, Jan 30 AFPJanuary 31 2009, 06:33AMBritain is next week braced for yet another cut in interest rates to record low levels but it may not be enough to boost the London stock market as recession weighs on the economy, traders said.
The FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed on Friday at 4,149.64 points, up 2.39 per cent or 97.17 points from a week earlier.
The Bank of England (BoE) is widely expected to slash British borrowing costs by a further 50 basis points to 1 per cent at a meeting on Thursday.Now at 1.5 per cent, interest rates are at the lowest level since the British central bank was formed in 1694.
Next week also sees earnings results from energy giant BP, telecommunications group Vodafone and pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline.
This week, a statement from Barclays bank stressing it did not need a government bailout following speculation to the contrary sent its share price and those of its peers rocketing.
Some of the gains were lost as the weekend approached due to "poor earnings and bleak labour and housing market data from the US, heightening fears of a deeper global recession", said City Index market strategist Nick Serff.
"This ended a four-day surge for the major indexes, their best performance in two months," he said.
Another notable British corporate announcement this week came from Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell, which said it had made a net loss of $US2.81 billion ($A4.3 billion) in the final quarter of 2008 on plunging oil prices.
The loss compared with a net profit of $US8.47 billion ($A13 billion) during the fourth quarter of 2007, when crude prices were far higher, Europe's largest oil company said.

Mortgage Relief: Banks agree to help homeowner battlers save their homes

While American homeowners families lose their homes to foreclosures at a rate of 10,000 homes a day, the Australian Government has negotiated with the big four Australian banks for struggling homeowners to allow up to 12 months forbearance on home loans, with the interest to capitalise on the loans,and the waiving of penalty rates.
Agreement by the banks to these requests from Treasurer Wayne Swan gets a big tick from even the most ardent bank bashers.
Maybe the long suffering American jobless homeowners will also get this kind of support, security and peace of mind, and hopefully soon.
Kevin Rudd, Australia’s Prime Minister is to announce his mortgage relief plan that will freeze mortgage payments for up to 12 months for financially stressed homeowners.


Australia's big-four banks have reached the landmark agreement to help prevent struggling families from losing their homes. 


As part of a comprehensive package of assistance for working families with mortgage commitments, the Commonwealth Bank, the National Australia Bank, Westpac Banking Corporation and ANZ Bank will put a freeze on mortgage payments in hardship cases.

 That could mean waiving any penalty rates and fees and charges for late payments.
Banks also indicated that on other loans, including car loans, where appropriate, they would consider interest-only repayment options, and will also consider waiving fees in hardship cases. 

 The Government's purpose in its negotiations with the banks has been clear - to ask the banks to provide maximum flexibility for borrowers suffering temporary hardship, through loss of income from work.
Kevin Rudd gave credit where credit was due and praised and thanked the banks for the goodwill they have demonstrated in this area, and gave credit to Treasurer Wayne Swan for his efforts in negotiating the agreement.

This is just another demonstration Kevin Rudd is doing such a great job at keeping the economy ticking over in a business as usual mode, underpinning property values for all of us, whilst the rest of the World struggles to get out of the global financial crisis.
Good one Kevin.