Mortgage approvals up for first-time buyers as market moves away from large deposits November 15, 2018 The market share of first-time buyers and small deposit borrowers increased in October as young buyers take advantage of low rates and slowing house price growth. A total of 67,011 mortgages were approved last month, an increase of 2.7 per cent since September and 3.5 per cent above levels in the same month last year. [...]
London house prices: Homes in the capital lose value despite the UK’s resilient property market November 14, 2018 London house prices fell 0.3 per cent in the year to September, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released today. Growth in the capital lagged far behind the UK-wide average, which was 3.5 per cent, a small increase from 3.1 per cent last month. The growth puts the average house price across the country [...]
Business has spoken: The UK cannot afford a no-deal Brexit November 13, 2018 We thoughts that we were heading towards the final furlong – at long last, a Brexit deal – after an interminable period which has seen runners and riders fall and many a twist and turn along the way since the public voted to leave the EU in June 2016. Then the minister Jo Johnson resigned, [...]
Take note of Ada Lovelace and the gender leadership gap November 13, 2018 Who was Ada Lovelace? She could soon be the face of the Bank of England’s new £50 note. Lovelace – the world’s first computer programmer and collaborator with the celebrated inventor Charles Babbage – is just one of the many women who have historically been under-recognised for their great achievements. The British public is keenly [...]
Is central bank independence even a thing? November 13, 2018 Parents often find it tough to let go of the control they have on their children’s lives, no matter how old they are. While children usually tend to wriggle out of these constraints, the constant jostling between two often opposing opinions is a worldwide phenomenon. And such is the relationship between the government and the [...]
Brexit deal remains most likely outcome, says the Bank of England November 12, 2018 The Bank of England predicted today that a deal remains the most likely Brexit outcome, despite ongoing uncertainty around UK and EU negotiations. “I still think it’s the most likely outcome, but obviously over time, every day there are headlines – positive, negative – which will send the currency in particular one direction or the [...]
War games: Bank of England to test financial services sector’s resilience to cyber attacks November 9, 2018 The Bank of England will today test the financial industry's ability to withstand a major cyber attack on the UK. Leading banks will be among around 40 firms that will partake in the exercise, aimed at ensuring firms are able to meet certain recovery requirements in the wake of a cyber-attack. "This exercise forms a [...]
The tech revolution could be a catastrophic setback for civilisation November 8, 2018 Social earthquakes are looming fast from the emerging wave of automation and the tech revolution. We’ve all seen the headlines about artificial intelligence (AI), the rise of the robots, self-driving cars, and leaps forward in machine learning. But does society realise what is coming? Will it prepare itself? Can the scale and speed of change [...]
Bank of England slaps rare personal fines on Japanese bankers for failing to disclose ban November 7, 2018 THE BANK of England has fined a Japanese banker for not disclosing that he was about to be banned from activities in the US. Akira Kamiya, former chair of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities’ (MUFG) EMEA division, was charged £22,700 by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) for not disclosing he was personally investigated when the bank was [...]
Ex-CEO returns to troubled stockbroker Cenkos 18 months after he left November 5, 2018 Former chief executive of City stockbroker Cenkos Securities, Jim Durkin, has returned to the company just 18 months after stepping down. Shares were up by two per cent after the announcement that Durkin, who stepped down in May after five years in the role and was replaced by former Bank of England economist Anthony Hotson, [...]