Ill-designed European Union risks fixed-rate mortgage lending in the UK August 20, 2015 Fixed rate mortgages are massively popular with consumers, 68 per cent of all mortgage products from building societies in the first half of 2015 were fixed rate. With the narrative from the Bank of England hinting that the base rate will start to rise later this year or early 2016, the drive from the public [...]
Commodity chaos hammers the FTSE following Glencore share price slump August 20, 2015 Shares in Glencore tumbled nearly 10 per cent to a record low The FTSE 100 sank to its lowest level since January yesterday after mining behemoth Glencore failed to reassure investors with its response to a global slump in the price of metals. Shares in Glencore tumbled nearly 10 per cent to a [...]
Pension Insurance Corporation prospers despite fall in new business August 20, 2015 Pension Insurance Corporation yesterday said profits rose during the first half of the year despite a fall in the amount of new business. The company, chaired by Sir Mark Weinberg and led by ex-Goldman Sachs exec Tracy Blackwell, buys the stocks and bonds of final salary pension schemes and takes over responsibility of pensioner payments, [...]
London City Airport expansion plans stay grounded following Mayor Boris Johnson’s U-turn August 20, 2015 The battle for London City Airport is heating up. Less than a month has passed since its owners Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Oaktree Capital put the site to the east of the capital up for sale with a price tag of around £2bn. But already two heavyweight bidders have emerged, including one of the [...]
Federal Reserve is “approaching” rate hike: Members say they need more evidence of wage growth first August 19, 2015 Minutes from the Federal Reserve's July policy meeting offered no indication that the central bank intends to raise interest rates in September. Read more: Hiking rates in September could be an error of historic proportions by the US Fed With uncertainty remaining over wage growth and inflation, the officials “generally agreed” that more information [...]
Twitter’s share price is diving… again August 19, 2015 Twitter shares have taken another dive after recovering moderately from an all-time low in recent weeks. Shares are down by nearly four per cent to $27.18 per share in morning US trading, their second lowest intraday price after hitting an all-time low almost a fortnight ago. Shares touched $26.87 on 7 August and closed at $27.04 [...]
FTSE 100 closes at its lowest level in seven months August 19, 2015 Today, the FTSE 100 closed at 6,403 – its lowest value in over seven months. The last time it fell below this was 14 January, when it finished the day at 6,388. Read more: FTSE 100 gives up gains for the year Mining companies suffered the most, with shares in Rio Tinto, Anglo American [...]
Over three quarters of UK households anticipate the Bank of England to increase interest rates in the next 12 months August 19, 2015 Over three quarters of UK households expect the Bank of England (BoE) to raise the interest rate in the next 12 months, according to the Markit Household Finance Index. The August survey indicated UK households are continuing to bring forward expectations regarding the next interest rate rise by the Bank of England. Read more: Super [...]
Glencore share price falls to record low as profits plunge amid commodities rout August 19, 2015 The figures Glencore reported a net loss of $676m (£431m) in the first half of 2014, thanks to tumbling commodity prices. That's down 139 per cent from a $1.72bn profit during the same period a year earlier. The company said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – another measure of profitability – fell [...]
Lost cost airline Norwegian will offer £179 flights from London to Boston August 19, 2015 If the price of travel to the States was putting you off, fret no more. You will soon be able to travel to the city of the Boston Celtics and sitcom Cheers for just £179. Norwegian, a low cost airline, will be offering four flights a week from Gatwick to Boston from May 2016, the [...]