FTSE 100 hoping for festive cheer to follow European Central Bank’s Mario Draghi – London Report December 6, 2015 Following widespread market disappointment last week after the European Central Bank came in at below expectations with its interest rates and monetary easing policy, this week the big macro-economic numbers to look out for are coming from China We’ll get the country’s trade balance and then consumer price inflation figures tomorrow. Back here in Britain [...]
Bank of England to keep interest rates at record lows this Thursday as more economists say rates won’t go up next year December 6, 2015 The Bank of England is widely expected with keep its base rate on hold rate this week, with more economists viewing 2017 as the more plausible option for the first interest rate hike since the financial crisis. The Bank’s monetary policy committee voted eight to one last month to keep the rate which it deals with [...]
Bank of England approves 19 insurers’ solvency II models for capital ratios ahead of EU 2016 rules, including Aviva, Prudential and Lloyds of London December 6, 2015 Several of Britain's biggest insurance firms, including Aviva, Prudential and Lloyds of London have been given the thumbs up by the Bank of England for new rules governing how much capital they should hold. The Solvency II capital rules which come into force across the EU from the start of next year, mean insurers are able [...]
Cumbria, Appleby and Keswick flooding: UK weather warnings issued as Storm Desmond hits December 5, 2015 Parts of the UK were plunged into chaos today as Storm Desmond swept across the country, bringing heavy rain, gale force winds and flooding. There have been 26 severe flood warnings, indicating a danger to life, issued by the Environment Agency. Read more: Insurers already ready for bad weather and Storm Desmond And the Met Office issued its highest red warning for [...]
European central bank boss Mario Draghi says “no limit” to policy tools December 5, 2015 European Central Bank (ECB) boss Mario Draghi has said that there's "no limit" to the arsenal of tools it can deploy to fight stubbornly low inflation and slow growth. Draghi, in prepared remarks to an audience in New York, said: "We will secure the return of inflation to 2 percent without undue delay, because we are currently deploying [...]
Countdown to Christmas, Syria vote and Star Wars economics: Here’s what got us talking this week December 4, 2015 A ray of sunshine after the gloomiest November in 86 years: this was the week in which the Bank of England declared the end of the financial crisis. Even banks aren’t stressed any more… What got us talking this week 1. Festive fun Only 20 more sleeps until the big day, and don’t we know [...]
House price growth to slow across the country in 2016 December 3, 2015 ANNUAL house price growth nationally is expected to slow to between 4 per cent and 6 per cent by the end of 2016, according to economists at the Halifax. The slowdown is being blamed on the increasing difficulty in getting on the housing ladder, as well as the looming prospect of an interest rate rise [...]
UK banks lend £700m to small businesses using government’s funding for lending scheme December 3, 2015 UK banks lent £700m to small businesses between July and September using the government’s funding for lending scheme (FLS), new figures from the Bank of England showed yesterday. The FLS, which was launched in 2012 to incentivise extra lending, was extended by two years to 2018 this week. Lending to small firms contracted in 2014, leading to criticism of FLS, [...]
Crowdfunding platform Funding Circle is the third biggest lender for small businesses in the UK behind only RBS and Lloyds December 3, 2015 Proving the power of crowdfunding, the third biggest lender to UK small businesses isn't a bank or building society but peer-to-peer lending platform Funding Circle. In the three months from July to September, RBS lent £290m to SMEs, Lloyds lent £275m, and Funding Circle came third, having lent £91.5m, ahead of Aldermore, Yorkshire Building Society and Shawbrook. In [...]
The Bank of England’s stress tests are over – but rather than breathe a sigh of relief, it’s time to start preparing for tougher tests December 3, 2015 It’s only the second year of the Bank of England’s annual concurrent stress test, but already it’s become one of the most significant events in financial services. The results of this year’s test, released on 1 December, confirmed the progress that the UK’s seven largest banking institutions have made in building their capital positions – [...]