Gross mortgage lending springs back in March April 20, 2011 MORTGAGE lending bounced back in March from the previous month but is still two per cent lower than a year ago, data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed yesterday. Evidence of a seasonal recovery for the UK’s housing sector is emerging, as gross mortgage lending rose 21 per cent from £9.3bn in February [...]
New man is from the Leahy mould April 19, 2011 THE son of a Tesco store manager in the Wirral, Philip Clarke has moved into the hot seat 36 years after he did his first shelf-stacking shift for the supermarket as a schoolboy. Like his predecessor Sir Terry Leahy, who also grew up in Liverpool, he has been one of the backbones of the company [...]
Boost for US housing as permits for new units rise April 19, 2011 US HOME building and permits for future construction rebounded strongly last month from February’s weather-depressed levels, but analysts warned a glut of housing on the market will make further gains difficult. The Commerce Department announced a 11.2 per cent monthly jump in the annualised number of permits for new housing units. New housing starts in [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 18, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES UKRAINE’S RICHEST MAN SNAPS UP A WINDOW ON HYDE PARK FOR £136M Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man, has bought the UK’s most expensive flat at the One Hyde Park residential development in London’s Knightsbridge. Akhmetov was behind the purchase of the penthouse, which sold for £136.6m. The identities of buyers at One Hyde [...]
Levene waits for Lloyds sale April 13, 2011 PLANS to sell off more Lloyds Bank branches than the 600 already agreed could cause unhelpful delays to the launch of new banks, Lord Levene told City A.M. yesterday. Levene, who chairs new high street bank NBNK, said it would be “very keen” to bid for a bigger package of Lloyds assets if they were [...]
Prices soar, but don’t sell the family silver any time soon April 11, 2011 LAST week saw silver break the $40 a troy ounce barrier for the first time since 1980. Though contracts for difference (CFD) traders may be getting wide eyed about the potential for $50 silver prices, they should be cautious about setting their sights too high. In common with gold, flight into silver is primarily driven [...]
KROENKE CLOSES IN April 11, 2011 IT’S ALMOST four years to the day that American businessman Stan Kroenke first took a financial interest in Arsenal, but only now are the club’s supporters fully aware of his intentions with confirmation of a takeover bid set to be announced today. Kroenke, 63, first became involved with the north London club back in 2007 [...]
House prices continue to drop in the first-quarter April 6, 2011 THE cost of housing fell by 0.6 per cent during the first-quarter of 2011, marking the property market’s fourth consecutive quarterly decrease in prices, it was yesterday revealed. Research by the Halifax House Price Index showed an average reduction of 2.9 per cent for the first three months of 2011 in comparison to the same [...]
PAINFUL TRANSITION FOR HOUSING MARKET March 31, 2011 BRITAIN’S housing market is undergoing a “painful transition” in adapting to weaker credit conditions, Bank of England rate-setter David Miles said yesterday. Demand for housing is lagging following the end of “unsustainable” levels of mortgage debt availability, Miles said. Speaking at the Home Builders Federation conference, Miles said that first-time buyers would adapt to save [...]
SELLING March 31, 2011 Martin Bikhit MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PRIME CENTRAL LONDON ESTATE AGENCY KAY & CO. Q. I have had three agents value my home. Two were around the same level but one was much higher. What shall I do? A. It is always very tempting to go for the highest valuation. However, it might not be the [...]