Debt firms snap up UK student loans for £160m November 29, 2013 DEBT MANAGEMENT group Erudio was yesterday revealed as the buyer of £890m worth of student loans that have been sold off by the government. Erudio Student Loans, a consortium made up of Arrow Global and CarVal Investors, paid £160m for the portfolio. The deal will see it take control of the government’s remaining 17 per cent [...]
The Bank has put the brakes on Funding for Lending – Why not on Help to Buy? November 28, 2013 Threats of an overheating housing market have reached Threadneedle Street, and they're cutting out the mortgage incentives from the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS). This morning Bank of England governor Mark Carney said that "risks to financial stability may grow if there are further substantial and rapid increases in house prices". FLS was launched at [...]
UK immigration and emigration are falling: three illuminating charts November 28, 2013 UK emigration is at its lowest since 2001, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The number of people emigrating fell from 349,000 between June 2011-2012 to 320,000 between June 2012-2013. (ONS) The number of people immigrating also fell: 503,000 people immigrated to the UK between June 2012 and 2013 [...]
BT Sport bags multi-year NBA deal November 28, 2013 BT Sport and the NBA have signed an agreement for exclusive live television coverage of top NBA games in the UK and Ireland. The multi-year agreement begins on 1 December with the Indiana Pacers taking on West Coast rivals the LA Clippers on BT Sport 2. The deal will see up to 200 games shown [...]
Co-op sheds customers in wake of scandal November 28, 2013 The Co-operative Bank announced on Thursday that a combination of recent scandals and the relative ease at which customers are now able to switch banks has led to the bank losing customers. However, the Co-op did not disclose how many customers had left the bank. The self-styled ethical lender admitted that it had suffered "reputational [...]
EUR/USD edges up on higher than expected German inflation November 28, 2013 Germany's consumer price index returned to growth in November, increasing 0.2 per cent, according to a flash estimate. Analysts had expected a 0.1 per cent increase. October saw a decline of 0.2 per cent. Year-on-year, inflation rose 1.3 per cent, after expectations of a 1.2 per cent rise. The EUR/USD edged higher on the news, [...]
Bitcoin breaks new boundaries by slashing cost of remittances November 28, 2013 Bitcoin continues to break new boundaries as Kenyan start-up BitPesa, announced it will be going head-to-head with money transfer services such as Western Union by using the virtual currency Bitcoin to cut transaction costs for remittances. Established providers such as Western Union deduct between $10 (£6) to $17 (£10) from a wire transfer of $200 [...]
Europe’s banks face whopping €280bn capital shortfall in 2014 November 28, 2013 The European banking sector is short to the tune of around €280bn (£233bn) according to a new report by PwC. Banks will need to make up that gap as a result of new regulation next year. The shortfall stems from the combined impact of Basel III capital ratio requirements, leverage ratio requirements, the European Central [...]
BoE warns on rising cyber attack threat November 28, 2013 The Bank of England said this morning that "cyber attack has continued to threaten to disrupt the financial system." Back in March, cabinet office minister Francis Maude said that (cyber) attacks are responsible for "losses to the UK economy running into the billions of pounds." In its Financial Stability Report, the Bank states that over the [...]
Housebuilders take a knock as BoE ends Funding for Lending for mortgages November 28, 2013 Shares in the housebuilding sector have taken a tumble across the board this morning on the news that the Bank of England is ending its Funding for Lending scheme for mortgage providers. At pixel time, Barratt Homes has plummeted 9.6 per cent. Persimmon, the UK's largest home builder, is down over six per cent. Taylor [...]