UK banks are vying with each other to capture market share with some historically cheap deals which will free equity to invest in either property or other assets. For example HSBC is offering 2 year fixed at 0.89% and 5 year fixed for 0.99% while Lloyds Bank owned Halifax have responded by offering 2 year fixed at 0.83%. GBP may be trading water v USD at 1.3850 but versus EUR it is looking distinctly perky at 1.1810.
Yesterday the first $1 trillion part of a huge infrastructure and investment proposal was passed by the US Senate for the largest such programme in decades; the second part is for $3.5 trillion. Road and bridge building across the USA and the rollout of high speed broadband to rural communities over the next 5 years are included plus social programmes stretching out for the next decade. Next stop is for the measures to go to the Democrat controlled House of Representatives in the Autumn. Those other social programmes include homecare for the elderly, early affordable child education, free tuition community colleges and a reduction in carbon emissions. This long list has been met with opposition from Republicans who dismiss it as a “socialist” waste of money. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is raising the stakes by saying that the Senate needs to pass both parts of these programmes before it will act. USD firm v EUR at 1.1715.
With the lack of new motors, the second hand trade has more than doubled in the past few months with year on year Q2 growth of 108% which means more than 2.2 million vehicles have changed hands. In case this whets your appetite to trade up or down, the most in demand models are Ford Fiestas, Vauxhall Corsas, Ford Focuses and VW Golfs; if you happen to have a grey, blue, silver or black model, you could be quids in. New car registrations fell by more than 30% last month making it the worst July for new car sales for 23 years.
It was this day in 1979 that diehard fans of Led Zeppelin descended en masse on Knebworth for the two day Festival and what turned out to be the very last time that the iconic British rock band played live in the UK -and to a huge crowd of 104,000 on the first night. A year afterwards John Bonham’s proclivity for breakfasting on industrial amounts of vodka caught up with him-permanently. Here is one of their great songs: Whole Lotta Love:
You need cooling
Baby I’m not fooling
I’m gonna send ya
Back to schooling
A-way down inside
A-honey you need it
I’m gonna give you my love
I’m gonna give you my love
Want to whole lotta love
Want to whole lotta love
Want to whole lotta love
Want to whole lotta love
You’ve been learning
Um baby I been learning
All them good times baby, baby
I’ve been year-yearning
A-way, way down inside
A-honey you need-ah
I’m gonna give you my love, ah
I’m gonna give you my love, ah oh
Whole lotta love
Want to whole lotta love
Want to whole lotta love
Want to whole lotta love
You’ve been cooling
And baby I’ve been drooling
All the good times, baby
I’ve been misusing
A-way, way down inside
I’m gonna give ya my love
I’m gonna give ya every inch of my love
I’m gonna give ya my love
Hey!
Alright! Let’s go!
Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder
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