Mortgage approvals and consumer credit weak June 29, 2011 Mortgage approvals ticked up only slightly and consumer credit growth remained weak in May, Bank of England figures showed , highlighting the soft outlook for consumer spending ahead. The Bank said mortgage approvals numbered 45,940 in May, up from 45,447 in April. Analysts had forecast a reading of 46,100. The figures are likely to reinforce [...]
STRICTLY BUSINESS BRIEF ENDS VINCE CABLE’S DANCING DREAM June 28, 2011 THERE is something bothering business secretary Vince Cable – and it’s not the separation of retail and investment banking, the Greek debt crisis or even waging war on Rupert Murdoch. No – Cable is concerned his demanding day job could mean he never fulfils his dream of returning to Strictly Come Dancing for a full [...]
House prices dip 0.4pc in May June 28, 2011 House prices in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in May, data from the official Land Registry showed. Average residential property prices were 2.2 per cent lower than a year ago at £161,823, the Land Registry said. The only region in England and Wales to buck the downward trend was London which saw [...]
Consumers’ borrowing drops and fewer seek remortgaging June 23, 2011 CONSUMERS are borrowing less and repaying more on debts, data from the British Banking Association (BBA) revealed yesterday. Unsecured credit contracted by 1.2 per cent in the year to May, while net credit card borrowing measured a modest £73m in the month – the weakest rate of borrowing on plastic for this year. “Demand for [...]
JP Morgan pays out on fraud probe June 21, 2011 BANKING giant JP Morgan has agreed to pay $153.6m (£94.6m) to the US regulators to resolve an investigation into the selling of risky mortgages at the height of the financial crisis, though it has not admitted liability. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Wall Street’s watchdog, had filed civil fraud charges against the bank for [...]
House prices drop sharply in April despite mortgage approvals pick up June 14, 2011 HOUSE prices plummeted by 1.1 per cent from March to April, government figures revealed yesterday. Yet a separate survey showed an increase in approved mortgages for the month, providing some sign of rising activity in the market. The monthly drop in April’s prices largely offset the 1.2 per cent jump recorded in March, according to [...]
Virgin Money recruits an old hand as chair June 14, 2011 JONATHAN Agnew, the former chairman of Nationwide Building Society, is set to become the new chairman of Virgin Money, as soon as his appointment is approved by the FSA. Agnew (pictured) will take over the leadership of a company that has been without a figurehead for the last year since the death of its chief executive [...]
STORM CLOUDS GATHER OVER THE ECONOMY June 2, 2011 ■ Slowest US and UK factory activity since September 2009 ■ Inflation pressures start to feed through into British wages ■ Yields on 10-year US government bonds fall to three per cent STORM clouds gathered over the global economy yesterday, as a raft of gloomy data poured doubt on the strength of the UK and world [...]
Economic shocks sent FTSE back below the 6,000 mark June 1, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index dropped back yesterday as below-par US economic pointers and weak UK manufacturing and housing data intensified investor concerns about the strength of the global economy. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 61.38 points, or one per cent, at 5,928.61, reversing sharply in the afternoon after briefly pushing back [...]
House prices in first rise since January May 31, 2011 House prices in England and Wales rose by 0.8 per cent in April, the first monthly increase since January and the biggest rise since January 2010, data from the official Land Registry showed. However, average residential property prices were still 1.3 per cent lower than a year ago at £163,083 the Land Registry said. House [...]