Mortgage loans jump back after September dip December 12, 2012 MORTGAGE lending bounced back strongly in October, according to industry figures released yesterday, yet analysts remain unconvinced that the government’s Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) is delivering a sea change in the housing market. The total number of loans for house purchase climbed 13.8 per cent to 49,500, data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders [...]
Analysts fear watchdog is too optimistic on UK growth December 12, 2012 OFFICIAL growth and inflation forecasts are too optimistic, because the independent body responsible is afraid of spooking markets with a gloomy outlook, a top economist warned yesterday. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was set up to monitor the economy to judge how likely the chancellor is to hit his debt and deficit targets. It [...]
Top Bank of England economist warns over UK’s sticky inflation December 12, 2012 THE BANK of England’s chief economist, Spencer Dale, warned yesterday that inflation could continue to stick above target, tightening the squeeze on UK households’ budgets. Stubbornly high inflation has been prompted by unavoidable yet “painful adjustments” in the economy such as sterling’s depreciation and higher VAT, while tumbling productivity has also hit the economy, Dale [...]
L&G says fiscal cliff dilemma can be solved December 12, 2012 CONGRESS and President Obama will be able to reach agreement on the bulk of the fiscal cliff – the $600bn (£371.7bn) in automatic tax rises and spending cuts due in January – making the consolidation into more of a molehill, Legal & General analysts suggested yesterday. The Republican-held House of Representatives and the executive branch [...]
Firms demand more pensions transparency December 12, 2012 TRANSPARENCY in pension fees is the best way to help firms and staff make the best choices on how they save, business groups told MPs yesterday. And they rejected a cap on charges in the Work and Pensions Select Committee hearing on pensions auto-enrolment. “There may come a time when a cap on auto-enrolment charges [...]
Who’s switching jobs December 12, 2012 Westhouse Securities Finlay Thompson has been appointed specialist oil and gas salesman on the stockbroker’s institutional sales desk. He has 18 years’ experience in the industry, and has previously held roles at ABN Amro, Credit Lyonnais, Natixis and others. Quadrangle Phil Rance has been appointed corporate development director at the consultancy firm. He was previously [...]
Best of the Brokers December 12, 2012 TULLOW OIL Credit Suisse has cut the oil firm from “outperform” to “neutral” and has a new target price of £14.80. The broker sees a subdued end to the year for Tullow, with few opportunities on the horizon until the spring. OXFORD CATALYSTS Peel Hunt has lowered its rating from “hold” to “buy” and has [...]
FTSE surges to nine-month high on hopes of further stimulus from Fed December 12, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index closed at a new nine-month high yesterday, led by an energy sector buoyed by hopes that the US Federal Reserve would continue to provide stimulus for the world’s biggest economy. Oil & Gas and basic materials, which rise and fall with optimism over the economic outlook, combined to added over 13 [...]
Wall St flat as fiscal cliff fears remain high December 12, 2012 US stocks ended nearly flat yesterday, giving up most of the day’s gains after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated that monetary policy won’t be enough to offset damage from the “fiscal cliff.” His comments followed the Federal Reserve’s announcement of a new stimulus plan, which briefly pushed the S&P 500 to a seven-week high. The [...]
European banking union will be no friend of vibrant financial services December 12, 2012 WOLFGANG Schäuble, the German finance minister, recently said that “we can only achieve political union if we have a crisis”. His idea is to exploit the Eurozone’s sovereign debt problems to confer additional powers on the EU. And his most recent project is the “single supervisory mechanism” – otherwise known as banking union. EU finance [...]
