If you fix your mortgage now pick carefully April 15, 2010 EARLIER this week we learned that mortgage applications climbed back to pre-recession levels last month. Research from mortgage broker Countrywide showed that a growing number of Britons are now choosing fixed products rather than flexible tracker mortgages. Fixed products made up 61 per cent of applications in March – an increase of 4 per cent [...]
PROPERTY BARONS PAY TRIBUTE TO THEIR SAGE April 13, 2010 IT WAS a hop, a skip and a jump over to the Dorchester yesterday lunchtime for the slap-up annual lunch hosted by Gerald Ronson, the seasoned chief of property group Heron International. Ronson’s list of invitees reads like a who’s who of the upper echelons of property and high finance, including ex-Lloyds chair Sir Victor [...]
CONSERVATIVE MANIFESTO | AT A GLANCE April 13, 2010 Economy • Safeguard Britain’s credit rating with a credible plan to eliminate the bulk of the structural deficit over a Parliament. • Cut wasteful government spending to bring the deficit down and restore stability. • Increase spending on health in real terms every year and honour our commitments on international aid. Financial regulation • Enable [...]
Conservative manifesto takes on big state April 12, 2010 THE Tory manifesto will be unveiled this morning at Battersea Power Station. The 130-page hardback document is titled “An invitation to join the government of Britain”. The key theme will be the stripping back of big government in favour of social mobility and personal responsibility. It will include: • A drop in the headline rate [...]
Hedge funds pile into financials April 11, 2010 Hedge funds are on the verge of becoming net buyers of financial shares for the first time in several years, according to research from Swiss bank UBS. Market strategist Karen Olney said long/short funds were buying into global equities at their fastest pace since 2007, particularly banking shares where they believed fears over tighter regulation [...]
House prices bouncing back April 8, 2010 HOUSE prices increased for the eighth time in nine months in March, but experts warn more property being put up for sale could dampen further price rises. The latest house price index shows prices rose by 1.1 per cent during March, partly offsetting February’s 1.6 per cent fall. The rise means prices during the first [...]
SELLING April 8, 2010 Russell Hunt MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PROPERTY HUNT Q. Dear Russell, with the general election having been called, should I wait to buy a property? A. The election will certainly affect the property market and everybody is currently sitting on the fence awaiting the outcome on 6 May. The impact on the housing market will depend [...]
UK house prices bounce back April 8, 2010 HOUSE prices increased for the eighth time in nine months in March, but experts warns more property being put up for sale could dampen further inflation. The latest house price index shows prices rose by 1.1 per cent during March, partly offsetting February’s 1.6 per cent fall. The rise means prices during the first three [...]
To understand the future of law, look back April 6, 2010 LAW firms are currently experiencing change like never before. In the last two years, many firms have seen their revenues and profits decline for the first time in over a decade. They’ve had to let go many talented lawyers, both at partner level and below. Clients who used to accept above-inflation fee increases each year [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING March 31, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES BARRISTER’S EX-WIFE WINS PAYOUT AFTER 25 YEARS A leading barrister has been ordered to pay his former wife a lump sum of £215,000 – 25 years after they divorced. David Vaughan QC, an expert in European law, had been been paying his former wife Philippa an annual sum of £27,175. But in November [...]