Markets engulfed by turmoil July 2, 2008 The FTSE 100 is now facing a critical point as it teeters dangerously close to plummeting below its March 17th low, a leading strategist warned yesterday. “It is now at a critical point. If it retests these lows then it could go a good deal lower to the 5000 level. This would mark a 50 [...]
City warns: economy to slow further July 2, 2008 The UK economy, already in its weakest state since the early 1990s recession, is set to slow further, top City economists warned yesterday as the UK was hit by a triple whammy of bad economic news. Data released yesterday revealed that the manufacturing sector contracted at its fastest rate in seven years last month, the [...]
UK mortgages crash July 1, 2008 House prices were yesterday forecast to plummet even further as mortgage approvals hit their lowest level since records began and below the level of the 1990s recession. Data from the Bank of England showed that mortgage approvals for house purchases had plummeted to 42,000 in May from 58,000 in April. Mortgage approvals have now dropped [...]
Growth fears as oil surges to fresh peak July 1, 2008 Motorists and business to be hit as oil hits a new record of $143 a barrel in New York Crude oil prices rose to a record high of over $143 per barrel yesterday due to tensions in the Middle East, stoking fears that the global economy is being throttled by a double whammy of sky [...]
Interest rate fears as gas prices surge July 1, 2008 Centrica hikes prices by record 35 per cent in move that will further squeeze consumers British Gas owner Centrica said yesterday it would raise gas prices by a record 35 per cent and electricity prices by 9 per cent as it passes on rising energy costs to householders. The country’s largest energy supplier, with 16m [...]
Hopes for rate cut dashed as house prices begin recovery November 2, 2005 The odds on the Bank of England cutting interest rates for the second time in four months lengthened yesterday after the release of a raft of better than expected economic data. The latest snapshot of the housing market by leading lender Nationwide showed prices jumped 1.3 per cent, the fastest rate in 15 months, bringing [...]
Mortgage approvals at a year high November 1, 2005 Bank of England data released yesterday sent out mixed messages, with mortgage approvals at their highest level in more than a year, but unsecured lending slowing down. Bank figures showed that house purchase approvals rose to 107,000 in September, up marginally from 106,000 in August. This puts mortgage approvals at their highest level since June [...]
60,000 expected to go bankrupt in 2005 October 31, 2005 Personal bankruptcies are rocketing. Figures from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) this week are expected to show that more people are being declared insolvent now than at the height of the 1992 recession. Capital Economics has forecast that there were 14,700 bankruptcies in the last quarter, 45 per cent more than in the [...]
Economy ready to bounce back October 31, 2005 The economy looks set to rebound strongly with growth exceeding 3 per cent by April 2006, according to a study from accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward, writes Helen Power. This is in line with Chancellor Gordon Brown’s forecasts which have until now been dismissed as over-optimistic. Brown has said that GDP will grow by between [...]
Global growth to slow, says WTO October 28, 2005 A report by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has warned that the world faces a long-term trend of lower growth. Although global goods trade is predicted to grow slightly more than usual next year, the organisation’s director director general Pascal Lamy has warned that the world badly needs the successful resolution of the Doha world [...]