Recent announcements by Treasury delivered worst monthly public borrowing figures since records began in 1993, re-igniting fears over a possible rise in taxes.

Consumers are reducing amount they borrow on credit cards and analysts predict mortgage lending in UK will plummet by 10 per cent over next three years, as out of control growth in house prices finally stalls.

Independent market analyst Datamonitor claims, lenders who have been enjoying a boom in recent years, will struggle to maintain momentum and be forced to work harder to secure market share.

Investor Connections, a group of independent financial advisers, has called for an accurate assessment of UK's current economic position, after statistics showed three main asset classes, shares, bonds and property are all experiencing downward trends.

This downturn should spell good news for borrowers and homeowners, as mortgage and credit industries fight for customers and sharpen up on their competitiveness; however evidence of Lloyds TSB’s actions seems to belie this. With HBOS forced to criticise other credit card companies for failing to provide customers with adequate product information, despite repeated requests to do so from consumer lobby groups and watchdogs on Treasury Select Committee, it looks like majority of finance companies are currently out to protect themselves and their share-holders, with little regard for their customers. At a time when UK consumers are proportionately saving less than half of what they were 25 years ago, you might be forgiven for thinking that competition in banking world would be becoming increasingly cut-throat in order to gain customers’ business, but it seems that big institutions are instead looking to go down route of cost reduction to protect their profits. There are savings are out there to be made, but they are savings in costs to be made by finance companies, at expense of consumer, rather than beneficial savings for customer.

One lessoned learned during ‘90s was importance of due diligence; researching company financial records, management philosophies, growth strategies, etc. Doing so allows investors to find strong investment opportunities and minimize risk of purchasing a bankrupt company.

Investing to make money stresses need to evaluate financial goals and taking steps, not leaps, to get there. The oil boom of year has brought about several high return stocks; doubling or tripling in a matter of months. Taking advantage of one of these stocks is a giant leap, but finding a 200% gain might require 7-8 25% losses. Ultimately, an investor could lose more than gained.

With solid research, finding companies capable of returning 10-20% growth per year has a high probability. While not as romantic as a single high-return investment, five 20% gains equals return of a single 100% gain. This is meaning of taking steps. Settle for solid returns and repeat process as many times possible. While not every stock will produce 20%, selecting strong companies will limit your risk for large losses.

DPB Financial – www.dpbfinancial.com