Paul Economides wins British Masters Title

Chester favourite and rising star Paul Economides won the British Masters Super-Bantamweight Title last night with a 98-94 points victory over Shaun Doherty. Paul, otherwise known as the “Spartan” records his 11^th victory after a hard fought match at the Northgate arena in Chester.

Fans were graced with one of the most spectacular fights of the year with two tough competitors battling it out for the full 10 rounds. The match was evenly poised until the strength and power of “the Spartan” showed through in the later rounds.  In a recent statement to the press, Paul Economides comments that he "sees this as a stepping stone to big things in boxing and thanks his fans for their impressive support. The atmosphere was truly amazing".

"The Spartan" is seen by many as one of the brightest prospects in British Boxing. We can’t wait for his next fight.

British Banks Face Credit Downgrade

Credit Rating Agency Moody’s has downgraded the credit rating of 12 major British Banks and Building Societies. Moody’s commented that the banks including Lloyds TSB, RBS, Santander, The Co-operative Bank and Nationwide are less likely to be bailed out by the taxpayer under the current climate. The move immediately sent the share prices of the banks tumbling and has rocked the FTSE [I am glad I sold my shares in Barclays earlier in the year! -Ed].

RBS is of particular concern as the bank is considered by analysts to be in need of government support. RBS underwent a period of dangerous growth prior to the credit crunch and was found to have accumulated a significant amount of toxic debt. Naturally it comes as no surprise that they have invested heavily in Greece.  RBS argue that Moody’s report is unfair and is based on past performance. They have already written off 50% of their exposure to Greece and have sufficient capital reserves in place. Let’s hope so for the sake of the taxpayer. 

RBS is 83% owned by the British taxpayer following a £45 billion bailout of the failed bank. Any requirement for further support will promote an angry reaction in the UK. The reduction in the credit rating of the UK banks will make it more expensive for them to borrow on the capital markets. This will put the banks in a weaker position and reduce their ability to lend to small businesses. There is a strong argument for RBS to be nationalised as this will enable the government to direct lending to the right channels and reduce the banks risk profile (as opposed to pumping money in and taking a back seat). It could be argued that the latest round of Quantitative Easing would be better spent nationalising RBS and directing the money to promote UK business.

The government continue to reassure customers that their savings are not at risk but Belsize point out that the threshold for individual savings is £85,000 per institution. Individuals with savings over this amount would be advised to spread their deposits across different banks in order to reduce exposure.

Bank of England Employs Quantitative Easing

The Bank of England announced its plans to employ quantitative easing as predicted by Belsize last month. £75 billion will be pumped into the system in a bid to boost the flagging UK economy. It is interesting to note that the government have cited their concerns over the European crisis as one of the key drivers for adopting this policy earlier than originally anticipated. 

It is hoped that this latest move will provide stimulus through the correct channels to boost spending in the UK.  Economists will ofcourse point out that this is likely to impact on inflation which has been steadily rising in the UK over the past 9 months since the VAT increase to 20%. We have already seen rising fuel and food prices and rent and house prices have had a notable increase over the summer. Savers will be hardest hit by the rising inflation as money in the bank is generating near zero interest and savings could be diminished as the cost of goods continues to rise. It is time to consider investing in property or other tangible assets for those who are able.