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Nip to Kent for a Safari?
If money is an issue for a holiday this year, you can save on a trip to the savannah – by going to Hythe in Kent instead. Billed as “Europe’s only overnight safari lodge”, Livingstone Lodge is set to open in April as a satellite of Port Lympne Wild Animal Park.
It may not be as hazardous as trekking through Kenya but the probability of spotting big game are pretty good as the building overlooks a watering hole visited by more than 500 animals including black rhino, wildebeest and giraffe.
An overnight stay – at £175 per adult – on the 40-hectar (100-acre) site includes an evening meal and a 90-minute safari tour, as well as a tour of the main Port Lympne Park.
Homebuyers ‘returning to the market’
Estate agents are emerging gingerly from the credit crunch reporting that homebuyers are slowly coming back to look for bargains.
Inquiries so far this year have doubled to 60,000 compared with the same period last year – leading some agents to ‘mailbomb’ potential sellers to satisfy demand.
Most of the inquiries were from first-time buyers looking to take advantage of low prices and interest rates.
But with banks unwilling to lend money, only those with a hefty deposit are likely to get on the property ladder.
Homes down again and no end in sight
The price of an average home has fallen below £200,00 for the first time in two years.
Prices tumbled by nearly nine per cent in the year to November, with the number of properties changing hands well down.
Northern Ireland remained the bleakest spot for price falls, down 16 per cent , but all regions experienced significant drops.
The average price stood at £199,000 – the first time the figure has dipped below £200,000 since November 2006, according to the Department of Communities and Local Government.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said it was seeing rising interest in the market. Spokesman Ian Perry added: ‘Buyer interest is now at levels not seen since 2006 but, without mortgage finance, the housing market is at a standstill and transaction levels at an all-time low.’
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said: ‘The latest news on the housing market does little to change our view that another hefty price fall is on the cards.’
Air passenger numbers drop as travellers stay in the UK
Air passenger numbers slumped last month as cautious Brits avoided the ski-slopes and opted instead for a quiet Christmas at home.
Airport BAA reported a 7% drop in air traffic from London airports in December. The biggest falls were at Gatwick where traffic was down nearly 14% on the previous year. This was mainly due to transatlantic flights transfers being moved to Heathrow. Passenger numbers from Stansted fell by 13% and several budget airlines were forced to cut flights as they prepared for the expected downturn.
House sales fall to record low
The number of homes being bought has fallen to a record low, despite escalating consumer interest, new statistics show. New buyer inquiries improved for the second month in a row during December, but the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors warned that with no end to the present mortgage crisis the number of properties changing hands would stay low.
Protecting the home at Christmas
No one will argue that home security is not important in this days and age we live in. For those who live in the country or in sparsely populated suburbs, securing your home becomes an even bigger issue. And when it comes to Christmas the issue gets even bigger. Statistics clearly show that criminal activity increases during the holiday season and it is therefore imperative for homeowners to take the right precautions.
To avoid being a victim of a burglar full of the joys of Christmas, here are some basic tips to bear in mind over the festive season:
If you have a Christmas tree on show in the window then don’t keep your presents beneath it. By doing so you are effectively advertising the gifts to the burglars passing your home.
Carefully dispose of the packaging for any expensive presents such as computers or stereos. If boxes are left outside by the rubbish bin it is easy for burglars to see what’s on offer inside.
Don’t forget basic security such as always locking doors and windows when leaving the house or going to bed. In the rush and stress that traditionally accompanies Christmas, such simple actions are easily forgotten.
If you are going away at Christmas, don’t think that burglars are on holiday too. Be sure to take all the necessary precautions such as asking neighbours to keep an eye on your home. With an average of 1 in 5 houses left empty over Christmas, burglars will be out in force looking for empty properties and inevitable security lapses.
Various security products for each and every parts of the home are available in the market today. Various security products include emergency exit, security shutters, roller garage doors, safety gates and much more. The main security with respect to home is the entrance gate. This is where a home security gate may help. The main point with a security gate on your property is to limit access and it also allows you to monitor who is trying to come onto your property.
With new technology and increased competition, home
electric gates are surprisingly affordable. You can find systems in all price ranges and easily find the one that is right for you.
So don’t waste your time and make sure to secure your property as safety as possible to avoid a horror scenario when coming back from your Christmas holidays.
Bank of England drops interest rate to record low
The bank of England yesterday cut interest rates to 1.5%, the lowest level since it was founded more than 300 years ago. It is said the world economy seemed to be in the midst of an "unusually sharp and synchronised downturn".
The Bank argued that the move would provide a considerable economic benefit, as part of a raft of measures by the government to stave of the effects of the credit crunch.
A number of lenders, including, HBOS, Lloyds, TSB, HSBC and Nationwide passed on the rate cut, whilst other banks are still reviewing rates.
Credit crunch sparks boom in staycations
The recession is giving the caravan industry a surprise boost as more Britons opt to holiday on home soil. With the euro almost worth the same as the pound, people are swapping expensive foreign holidays for ‘staycations’. Advance bookings for caravan and camping sites for 2009 are already up 40 per cent on this time last year.
‘We confidently predict that 2009 will be the year that welcomes the return of the great British holiday,’ said Nick Lomas of the Caravan Club, whose membership rose by ten per cent last year.
Banks Defy Bank of England cut in interest rates
Britain's biggest banks - some of whom have happily taken tax payers cash in recent weeks - have seemingly defied the desire of the government by failing to pass on the lowest interest rates for more than 50 years.
Halifax, the country's biggest mortgage lender and part of the large HBOS group, has said it was passing on just a fraction of the Bank of England's one percent cut to its clients, even though they have recently received £11 billionof taxpayers' money in a Government rescue plan.
Nationwide, the UKs biggest building society, has said for the time being it would only pass on two-thirds of the rate cut, which took base rates of lending from 3% down to 2%. This rate matches the lowest rate in seen in 50 years.
Of Britain's eight largest banks, just three promised to pass on the cut in total to their customers. Many have also withdrawn their most competitive mortgage deals. Halifax, along with Lloyds TSB – which has received £5 billion of taxpayers' money – Abbey and Alliance & Leicester pulled all of their tracker mortgages for new customers, which track the Bank of England base rate.
The withdrawal of these trackers will prevent the thousands of borrowers that are coming to the end of their fixed and tracker mortgage deals in the next few months, from taking advantage of the moderately cheaper rates. The banks' non-cooperation came in the face of the Prime Minister urging the banks to pass on the full benefits of yesterday's rate cut to struggling families.
Banks will next week be summoned to a meeting at the Treasury to discuss their lending practices. Treasury officials are expected to start a number of detailed studies looking at the rates and fees charged by banks for a number of popular mortgages – including tracker deals.
Treasury officials have privately indicated that they will not hesitate to intervene if they discover that banks are behaving inappropriately. Banks privately indicated that they could not afford to cut their rates any lower without damaging their balance sheets. However, research from personal finance publishers MoneyFacts showed that banks were making considerably more money from their fixed-rate mortgages compared with a month ago.
In lowering rates again following last month's dramatic 1.5 percentage point reduction, the Bank of England itself hinted that base rate cuts were not enough to stop the economy sliding into a prolonged recession. The Bank is now considering radical plans to pump cash directly into the economy – the nuclear option for when interest rate cuts fail.
One of the main measures under deliberation is what is known as "quantitative easing", which in effect involves the Bank printing money and passing it into the economy. Although in normal times such moves can risk causing inflation, with the UK facing possible deflation such a drastic move is being investigated by the Bank's experts as a possibilty. If the scheme is approved by the Treasury it may be put into action soon into the New Year. It would be the first time the Bank has injected money into the economy in this way since the 1970s.