FTSE shored up by strong blue chip results May 2, 2012 The FTSE 100 was flat in early trading as better than expected US manufacturing figures were offset by the bleak picture in the Eurozone. US manufacturing expanded at its fastest pace for 10 months fuelling confidence in the recovery of the world’s largest economy. However, the Eurozone’s manufacturing sector slipped further into decline last month, [...]
Double dip set to push house prices lower April 29, 2012 House prices slowed to a crawl this month and will slump again through the second half of 2012, a new report warns today. The double dip recession is dragging down demand and consumer confidence is draining out of the market, according to Hometrack, just as supply is starting to pick up. Prices rose just 0.1 [...]
FTSE slumps as fresh fears over the Eurozone return to global markets April 23, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares surrendered almost all of last week’s gains yesterday, led lower by commodity stocks and banks, as political uncertainty and disappointing economic data revived investor concerns over the Eurozone debt situation. The mood was darkened by data showing the Eurozone’s business slump deepened at a far faster pace than expected in April, suggesting [...]
Fundamentals remain for gold to resume its bull run April 23, 2012 With the US balance sheet more than doubling, it is not gold and other commodities that are expensive but cash that is cheap GOLD has been struggling to make any real breakthroughs of late, stuck below the psychological $1,700 an ounce level since the beginning of March. On the New York Mercentile Exchange, Comex gold [...]
The importance of separating politics and currency markets April 17, 2012 AS THE European turmoil continues, why isn’t the euro falling to pieces before our eyes? With Eurozone policy makers blundering from one crisis to the next – at best covering up the cracks in the fiscal superstructure, at worst knocking out a supporting wall – you might be forgiven for expecting the euro to have [...]
UK inflation rises April 17, 2012 British inflation ticked up in March, driven by higher food and clothing prices and reinforcing expectations the Bank of England will not inject more stimulus into the economy next month. The Bank of England and the government have been hoping that falling price pressures will ease the squeeze on Britons’ budgets and boost consumer spending. [...]
Tax dash boosts home buying April 16, 2012 February saw a sharp rise in the number of first-time buyers, according to figures out yesterday from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), as the stamp duty holiday’s end date in March drew closer. A total of 14,100 loans worth £1.7bn were taken out by first-time buyers in the month, up eight per cent by [...]
Vickers report morphs from a fudge to a whitewash April 12, 2012 JUST six months after the publication of the Independent Commission on Banking’s final report, Sir John Vickers’ recommendations on boosting competitiveness are falling on deaf ears. Initially, Vickers recommended in his interim report that Lloyds be made to sell “substantially” more than the 632 branches it is being forced to put on the block to [...]
House buyers suffer as credit conditions batter mortgages April 12, 2012 TIGHTER credit conditions are starting to impact on lending to home-buyers, according to chartered surveyors’ figures published today. Loans for home purchase dropped to 43,450 in March – an 11 per cent drop on February and the lowest since December 2010, e.serv’s mortgage monitor revealed. First-time buyers particularly suffered, with loans for homes under £125,000 [...]
The pain in Spain has put its banks back on the rack April 12, 2012 WITH a sense of inevitability the spotlight has landed on Spain. Though the headlines proclaimed that the Eurozone crisis has returned with a vengeance, the truth is it never left. Spain is not Greece, but, many of the market fears surrounding the economy are still both well-founded and expected. There are three major causes of [...]