Lack of stock propels house prices higher October 6, 2009 HOUSE prices in Britain experienced their first quarterly rise in two years in the three months to September, which saw the value of a UK home rise 2.8 per cent over the period, Halifax said yesterday in its monthly survey, citing increased demand and a shortage of properties for sale. Data from the mortgage lender [...]
RBS closes the door on new credit cards October 5, 2009 ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) has closed its credit card business to new customers in a bid to prevent a rise in bad debts. The lender, which is 70 per cent owned by the taxpayer, will limit new credit cards to existing banking customers, meaning that anyone who wants an RBS or NatWest credit card [...]
Banks to lend more but output suffers October 1, 2009 UK LENDERS are to make mortgage loans more easily available, according to Bank of England research. The Bank’s Credit Conditions Survey said availability of mortgages had decreased in the third quarter due to a deterioration in wholesale funding markets. But it said lenders expect more home loans to be offered in the final quarter as [...]
The US is down, but it is far from out September 30, 2009 THERE is nothing better for the soul than a visit to New York. London is the greatest City on earth; but the Big Apple comes a close second. America has suffered even more badly than Britain from the crisis: a greater number of homes have been repossessed, millions have lost their jobs and vast wealth [...]
CIT nears deal on $10bn new credit line to stave off demise September 29, 2009 CIT Group, the stricken US lending giant, is negotiating a new credit facility in a key step in its continuing fight against bankruptcy. CIT is understood to be nearing a deal on new financing worth as much as $10bn (£6.3bn), which could help it pay off debt obligations. But it continues the fight to renegotiate [...]
Barclays eyes Standard Life Bank division September 28, 2009 BARCLAYS is eyeing a bid for the banking operations of insurance titan Standard Life, sources close to the situation said yesterday. The insurer is understood to have put its Standard Life Bank unit up for sale at a price of between £200m and £300m and people familiar with Barclays’ plans said that the business would [...]
Sandler joins Pearl as chair September 24, 2009 PEARL, the insurer founded by pubs-to-pizza entrepreneur Hugh Osmond, has confirmed Northern Rock head Ron Sandler is joining as chairman. The group has taken on Sandler ahead of its planned secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange in the fourth quarter. Sandler was put in charge of failed mortgage lender Northern Rock after it became [...]
Credit Suisse keeps talent September 20, 2009 CREDIT Suisse has been able to hold on to key talent and has accumulated a war chest it could use to make acquisitions, the chief executive of the Swiss bank Brady Dougan said yesterday. Dougan, whose bank rode out the sub-prime mortgage crisis without having to resort to state aid, said the bank had been [...]
Lack of supply lifts house prices as mortgage lending increases September 14, 2009 HOUSE prices rose in August for the first time in two years, new data from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)showed yesterday, providing further evidence that activity in the housing market is improving. The seasonally-adjusted net balance of surveyors reporting rising rather than falling prices over the quarter to August turned positive with a [...]
Take a punt on the market outlook for bricks and mortar September 13, 2009 A YEAR ago, many housing market observers were predicting doom. Prices would keep falling well into 2010, they said. The market could take years to pick up. But how wrong they were. Just as we have seen in the stock market, things have turned round much more quickly than almost anybody thought. Mortgage lender Halifax [...]