UK housing soars back to pre-financial crash prices October 15, 2013 THE PRICE of an average house in the UK steamed past its previous nominal peak during August, reaching record levels again, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures revealed yesterday. The announcement came as Martin Weale, a member of the Bank of England’s rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC), voiced his concern over the recent [...]
Q and A: Royal Mail share sale: what’s next for the postal service? October 14, 2013 Q What’s happening today? I thought Royal Mail was already listed. A Shares were allocated to investors last Friday and conditional trading began the same day. But the formal float process is only completed today, meaning buyers actually come into possession of shares listed on the stock market. Q Does this mean I can finally [...]
Santander joins mortgage plan as prices rocket October 10, 2013 SANTANDER became the sixth bank to join the Help to Buy scheme, yesterday promising to offer mortgages with a government guarantee in the New Year. But the announcement came as new data revealed the housing market is already growing strongly, adding to fears that the guarantee scheme could promote a bubble in some areas. House [...]
A village in the heart of London October 10, 2013 It’s a tale of two towns with Clapham, but this new property in the Old Town allows residents to sample the best of both worlds CLAPHAM is the Dr Jekyll of south London districts. By day, it’s as genteel as you like. Well-to-do mothers crowd the streets, sipping good quality coffee while gently rocking babies [...]
Lenders fear bubble if UK does not get more houses October 8, 2013 MORTGAGE lenders yesterday warned house building levels are still dangerously low, as the government’s new Help to Buy scheme launched with the backing of five banks, including HSBC. The scheme gives a government guarantee to buyers with a small deposit saved up, making banks more willing to lend and increasing the range of mortgages on [...]
Brand Index: Help to Buy comes as Brits cheer up about the economy October 8, 2013 THIS week, banks including RBS, NatWest and Halifax will begin taking applications for 95 per cent mortgages under phase two of the government’s controversial Help to Buy scheme. The initiative is intended to help buyers who cannot afford a hefty deposit onto the property ladder, but critics say it could lead to another housing bubble. [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 08 October 2013 October 7, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Hedge fund DE Shaw limits investors One of the most profitable hedge funds has closed its doors to new clients, calling time on the industry’s ability to square vast inflows of money with the promise of market-beating returns. DE Shaw’s move means that of the largest six, only Man Group and Och-Ziff, are [...]
It could be worse for Carney October 7, 2013 WHILE Bank of England governor Mark Carney faces problems convincing markets to accept his forward guidance scheme, new historical evidence suggests he may be getting off lightly. Newly released diary pages from Margaret Thatcher’s economic adviser Alan Walters claim that Bank governor Gordon Richardson “got a boll***ing” for raising the benchmark interest rate while she [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 7 October 2013 October 7, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Temasek bids for Repsol gas stake Temasek and Sinopec have both approached Repsol over buying its €4.7bn stake in Gas Natural as the Spanish oil company seeks to raise cash to increase its investment in oil exploration. Repsol, which is working with Deutsche Bank and Citigroup to find a buyer for the domestic [...]
Letters to the Editor – 04/10 – Business growth, Stamp duty, Best of Twitter October 3, 2013 Business growth [Re: Cameron needs growth gazelles to bring life to his land of opportunity, yesterday] The Prime Minister’s gazelles will find it difficult to leap with elephants in the room. Indeed, our recent research looked in depth at certain features of over 250 companies – around 54 per cent with no serious financial issues and [...]