UK mortgage loans at a 20 month peak January 4, 2010 UK MORTGAGE approvals rose in November to their highest level since March 2008 as confidence trickles back into the property market, Bank of England figures showed yesterday. Loan approvals numbered 60,518 over the month, rising from an upwardly-revised 57,718 in October and more than double the record low of 27,162 set in November 2008. The [...]
Debt repayments rise again January 4, 2010 NET consumer credit fell by £400m in November as cash-strapped consumers continued in their attempts to improve their financial stability in the ongoing uncertain economic environment. November’s fall in consumer credit marks the fifth net repayment in as many months, including the record £600m of debt that was paid down in October. Credit card lending [...]
Bank’s QE programme boosts UK money supply January 4, 2010 THE BANK of England’s benchmark gauge of the money supply rose in November at its fastest monthly pace since April, in another sign that credit conditions in the UK economy are beginning to ease. M4, money supply excluding intermediate other financial corporations, rose by 0.9 per cent month-on-month, though it fell 2.2 per cent over [...]
Factories hard at work as strong order books buoy global manufacturing data January 4, 2010 MANUFACTURING activity in the world’s largest economies jumped in December, underpinning the tentative signs of recovery from the financial crisis, data showed yesterday. The US manufacturing index grew for a fifth consecutive month to 55.9, beating forecasts of 54.3 and hitting its highest level since April 2006. Meanwhile, factory activity in the UK expanded at [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK ECONOMIC PROSPECTS FOR 2010 ARE BETTER THAN THEY WERE IN 2009? January 4, 2010 ANDY APPELBAUM | DIAGONAL CONSULTING “I hope they don’t raise interest rates too quickly this year because my mortgage would cost more. I think levels of unemployment are going to stay about the same, but I think we’re through the worst of the recession.” BEVERLEY GALLEY | SMBCE “I’m quite optimistic. I think the market [...]
Bank buyers circle as Rock splits off unit January 4, 2010 THE race to snap up the good assets of Northern Rock heated up yesterday, with Virgin Money and National Australia Bank (NAB) emerging as the frontrunners. Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner NAB is understood to have held meetings with potential advisers including Lazard, Citigroup, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley ahead of a potential bid for [...]
Irish minister battles cancer January 4, 2010 IRISH finance minister Brian Lenihan will continue to implement his fiscal reform programme but will not perform non-essential tasks for months as he undergoes therapy for cancer, he said yesterday. Lenihan, who has won praise from investors for halting Ireland’s steep budget deficit rise by presenting three budgets in just over a year, is understood [...]
Workers poised to change jobs January 4, 2010 A THIRD of UK workers would quit their current jobs for a new employer, according to research for business advisers PricewaterhouseCoopers. The survey found 33 per cent of workers feel they were not valued by their employers during the recession. Of those respondents who said they did feel appreciated in the downturn, 41 per cent [...]
M Stanley in top M&A spot January 4, 2010 INVESTMENT bank Morgan Stanley beat rival Goldman Sachs to the top spot in the mergers and acquisitions deal value stakes during a tough year, a survey showed. Morgan Stanley advised on deals worth $585.9bn (£363.4bn), compared with Goldman’s $548.6bn, according to the data group Mergermarket’s Global M&A Round-Up for 2009. Goldman topped the table in [...]
Sportech bags £91m funding January 4, 2010 GAMING group Sportech is targeting international expansion of its football pools business after tying up a new £91m funding deal. Sportech’s chief executive Ian Penrose said it is hoping to take the pools into Asia or elsewhere overseas, either on its own or with partners. The company has just renegotiated lending facilities with Lloyds Banking [...]
