Letters to the Editor – 25/06 – Mansion taxes, Best of Twitter June 24, 2014 Mansion taxes [Re: Balls unveils mansion tax and promises to hit the rich hardest, yesterday] While I agree that the purchaser of the £140m flat in Westminster ought to pay more tax than the inhabitants of an average-value property in the area, I disagree with the arguments put forth by Ed Balls regarding his mansion [...]
Mortgage approvals fall on introduction of tighter lending rules June 24, 2014 Mortgage approval rates showed an overall drop in the month of May, according to new data. Figures from the British Bankers' Association show that the combined figure of loans for purchase, for remortgage and other secured lending, was down both on last month and on May of last year. The fall is a relatively small [...]
House lending steady in June after new rules June 19, 2014 MORTGAGE lending held steady in June, with a new set of mortgage regulations helping to cool off the rapid growth of housing credit, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). During May, £16.5bn was issued in credit, only £8m less than was approved in April. Lending is still up 12 per cent on May [...]
House prices rise five times faster than expected June 5, 2014 House prices rose by 3.9 per cent in May, according to data from Halifax. Analysts had been expecting prices to rise by just 0.7 per cent this month. IHS Global Insight's Howard Archer says the increase "is a real bolt from the blue and at face value unsettling for policymakers." Values in the three months [...]
UK industry and lending point to broader growth June 2, 2014 DATA released yesterday indicated a broad-based UK recovery, with British manufacturers growing apace, as figures on the housing market suggest recent regulatory changes have dampened a concerning upswing in mortgage lending. Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) announced a figure of 57 for their purchasing managers’ index (PMI) in May, the [...]
London Report: Chinese factory figures see FTSE shares edge up June 2, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index inched higher yesterday as upbeat Chinese factory data lifted mining stocks and as homebuilders shrugged off worse-than-expected mortgage approval figures in the UK. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 0.3 per cent, or 19.59 points, at 6,864.10 points. Mining stocks across Europe, including London-listed Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, rose [...]
Mortgage approvals fall to July 2013 low June 2, 2014 Mortgages have seen another fall, dropping to 62,918 in April, from 66,563 in March, according to new figures from the Bank of England. That compares with an average of 70,132 over the previous six months. We had a good idea that we'd see that third monthly decline today. Timelier measures from the BBA saw mortgage [...]
What you need to know before the open June 2, 2014 European markets are expected to receive a boost this morning after postive Chinese manufacturing data lifted Asian markets Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA, a part-owner of Noway's largest offshore oil discovery in the last several decades, may move after agreeing to buy Marathon Oil Corp.’s local unit for $2.7bn. European equities rose 1.9 percent in May [...]
London Report: UK data to show economy is on path to recovery June 2, 2014 ECONOMIC indicators out this week are expected to show the UK recovery continuing at a healthy pace. PMI survey data for services, manufacturing and construction are likely to show strong growth throughout May. Blerina Uruci, of Barclays, expects services PMI to hit 60 in May, up from 58.7 and well above the 50 figure which [...]
Use of Help to Buy scheme picks up pace May 29, 2014 INTEREST in chancellor George Osborne’s controversial Help to Buy scheme is accelerating among buyers, even amid warnings that it is doing nothing to boost the UK’s supply of homes. Up to March, 7,313 applications for the mortgage guarantee part of the scheme had been approved. Demand was much stronger in the later months of the [...]