Weak housing loans point to a price slump August 31, 2010 JUST 48,700 mortgages were approved in July, according to data published yesterday by the Bank of England, raising fears that the UK housing market is at best drifting sideways and at worst heading for a double-dip recession. Although the small rise was better than the dip to 46-47,000 that the market had expected, economists were [...]
FTSE gains ground as mining shares are lifted by US data August 31, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares closed up yesterday as miners gained on firmer US economic data which eased investor anxiety on the global economic recovery, while ARM Holdings jumped on renewed takeover talk. The FTSE 100 gained 23.66 points, or 0.5 per cent at 5,225.22, adding to the 0.9 per cent gain on Friday, as UK traders [...]
Bank lending to individuals stays weak August 24, 2010 MORTGAGE lending dropped to a five-month low in July with just 33,700 home loans approved, taking the annual percentage decline to 18.5 per cent, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said yesterday. Tighter lending conditions combined with subdued demand for home loans pushed mortgage approvals down last month. This is despite recent calls for the banks, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 19, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ACCOUNTING ISSUES MAR CONNAUGHT SELL OFF PLANS Accountancy issues at Connaught are expected to have affected more than just the beleaguered property service group’s social housing maintenance division, according to people familiar with the matter. The development may affect the ability of Connaught to sell off parts of its business, which is one [...]
Bank lending to UK businesses remains weak August 19, 2010 NET lending to British businesses fell for the fourth month in a row in June while mortgage approvals slumped to their lowest level in over a year last month, figures from the Bank of England showed yesterday. In its Trends in Lending report, the central bank showed that the net monthly flow of lending to [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS August 19, 2010 LOYALTY DOESN’T ALWAYS PAY Shopping around for a cheaper quote for your car insurance really does pay off, according to research from Which?, the independent product-testing and consumer campaigning champion. It surveyed nearly 2,500 consumers and found that more than a third accepted their original car insurers’ renewal quotes because they “couldn’t be bothered to [...]
Barclays could face prosecution after judge derides £190m settlement offer August 17, 2010 BARCLAYS is nervously awaiting the outcome of a legal case in the US today that could leave the banking group facing criminal charges over payments linked to countries barred from trading with the States. A federal judge, who will decide whether to accept Barclays’ $298m (£190m) offer to settle the case, called the bank’s agreement [...]
Citi blocked in $75m SEC payoff August 16, 2010 Citigroup’s $75m (£48m) settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over its alleged failure to disclose up to $40bn in sub-prime securities has hit an obstacle after a federal judge refused to approve the payment. US district judge Ellen Segal Huvelle said she did not have “sufficient information” to green-light the deal. The SEC [...]
House price fall fuels fear of double-dip July 29, 2010 FEARS of a sustained double-dip in Britain’s property market intensified yesterday after mortgage lender Nationwide reported that house prices fell this month for the first time since February and the Bank of England revealed that mortgage approvals dropped to a four-month low in June. The latest figures from Nationwide showed that house prices fell by [...]
Mortgage approvals dip July 29, 2010 MORTGAGE approvals fell more than expected in June and lending was also weaker than forecast, Bank of England figures showed. The Bank of England said mortgage approvals – a gauge of house prices in the future – numbered 47,643 in June, falling from a downwardly revised 49,461 in May and below forecasts for a reading [...]