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January 2020

Disclaimer :
"Any views or opinions expressed in these blogs are solely those of the author and might not represent those of Access Credit Management Limited."

The Chinese Economy Ends 2019 Strongly

Submitted by admin on Thu, 02/01/2020 - 10:04

The Chinese economy has ended the year on a more positive note, following a difficult 2019 in which trade wars played a big part in holding it back. Indeed, December has been the economy’s best period in 8 months. This has caused some analysts to predict a brighter 2020 for the Asian giant. 

 

The Latest Figures

 

The country’s manufacturing industry ended the year strongly, with output increasing in December. This suggests that the economy might finally be steadying after a long period of sluggishness and falling production numbers.

Chinese Central Bank Moves to Help Economy

Submitted by admin on Wed, 01/01/2020 - 00:00

China’s central bank has taken steps to avoid the country’s economy from slowing down further in 2020. The People’s Bank of China has decided to let commercial banks operate with lower capital reserves.

What Does This Change Involve?

The idea is that banks in the country will now have a lower reserve requirement ratio (RRR). This figure was slashed by 50 basis points, bringing it down to 12.5%. The change is effective from the 6th of January, 2020.

The British Economy Showing Sign of Improvement Thanks to Brexit Clarity

Submitted by admin on Mon, 06/01/2020 - 00:00

The start of 2020 has seen hopes rise that the UK’s economy is improving. This is largely based on the greater clarity over Brexit achieved following the election win for Boris Johnson. Recent studies also reveal modest improvements at the end of 2019.

While the numbers show that certain industries are still struggling, there are signs that the year ahead could be more positive. 

Improvements in the Service Industry

The UK Government Is Urged to Go Green to Help the Economy

Submitted by admin on Mon, 13/01/2020 - 00:00

A new study suggests that the British government could help to stave off recession by encouraging green projects. The idea is that they could put as much as £59 billion into plans to help the planet, and boost the economy at the same time.  

The Details of the Research

This study comes from the New Economics Foundation think-tank. They believe that encouraging green projects could help to avoid a repeat of the 2008 economic crisis, or that it would at least limit the size of the recession.

The Huge Cost of Getting Big Ben to Bong on 31st Jan 2020 Brexit Day

Submitted by admin on Mon, 20/01/2020 - 00:00

With the countdown to Brexit Day well underway, there is a debate over the cost of ringing it in with the help of Big Ben. It has been suggested by pro-Brexit MPs that the famous chimes should ring out at 11pm on the 31st of January 2020. But how much could it cost?

What Did Boris Johnson Say?

The Prime Minister has pointed out that it would cost a lot of money to announce Brexit with the iconic chimes of Big Ben. He mentioned a figure of £500,000. With the proposed plan for it to strike 11 times, that would mean a cost of £45,454 for each and every chime.

Time Is Running Out for Self-Assessment Tax Returns

Submitted by admin on Wed, 22/01/2020 - 00:00

The 31st of January marks the deadline for British workers to submit their self-assessment tax returns. This is for the tax year that runs from April 6, 2018 through to April 5, 2019.

Yet, it has been reported that there are still millions of people who haven’t yet done this.

The Figures to Date

HMRC has confirmed that around 11.7 million people in the UK need to submit a self-assessment return this year. However, by the middle of January they had only received 6.9 million of them. This leaves close to 5 million taxpayers who still need to do this. 

How Prudent is it for Self-Employed Workers to Pay into a Pension Scheme?

Submitted by admin on Mon, 27/01/2020 - 14:54

The number of British workers who don’t have a pension scheme is extremely worrying. As part of the overall total, there is a group of over 3 million self-employed workers who haven’t put anything away for their golden years.

Is this something that they should start doing right away?

Why Are the Self-Employed Different?

A survey by the government-backed National Employment Savings Trust showed recently that under a quarter of all self-employed workers in the UK are saving into a pension scheme.