Inflation expectations surge to highest ever level, poll reveals January 23, 2011 INFLATION expectations have soared to a record high this month, as rising prices add to the squeeze on household spending, a survey said today. With 89 per cent of respondents expecting the cost of their purchases to rise this year, the Markit household finance index dropped to its lowest level since April 2009. “The recent [...]
FAITH IN QE2 LIMITS FALLS IN EQUITIES November 15, 2010 CFD MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT RECENTLY, investors have got used to their expectations being met. Republican victories in the mid-terms led investors to expect a more business-friendly environment. The Fed’s latest QE announcement was in line with estimates, while a thumping gain in non-farm payrolls has raised hopes that unemployment may have turned a corner. With [...]
US house sales surge in September as prices fall October 25, 2010 HOUSE sales in the US soared 10 per cent in September as buyers capitalised on low prices and a rising number of foreclosures, figures released yesterday showed. Sales jumped by 4.53m from August to September the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said. Despite the recover, sales remained almost 20 per cent lower than a year [...]
Retail sales hit by tax and inflation October 21, 2010 THERE is a simple reason why retail sales are beginning to fall, and it has very little to do with the Comprehensive Spending review. A triple whammy of limited pay rises, elevated inflation and tax increases have conspired to impoverish most of the public over the past year, a development that has been barely picked [...]
Austerity means cheaper mortgages September 9, 2010 SO the Bank of England, entirely unsurprisingly, kept its base rate unchanged yesterday, as advocated by almost all economists. I, together with a tiny number of dissidents, thought rates should go up, to send a signal to the markets that extreme measures were no longer required and that it was time to start readjusting to [...]
Worst quarter for stocks since 2008 June 30, 2010 THE stock market closed out a painful second quarter yesterday and left investors with heavy losses and far more doubts about the economy than they had just months ago. Stocks had their worst quarterly performance since the financial crisis. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index, considered by many professional investors to be the best measure [...]
Choosing the right lender is crucial in a tough market June 3, 2010 HOUSES are selling like hotcakes thanks to fierce competition among buyers. The latest monthly survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed that houses are shifting quicker than new ones could come on to the market, despite the number of new sellers increasing. Even the dreaded gazumping is back. In such a market, [...]
Santander in £426m profit April 29, 2010 SANTANDER, the eurozone’s largest bank, grew its UK profits by more than 15 per cent in the first quarter as it bit off a greater market share in mortgage lending. The Spanish giant yesterday said trading profits were £426m in the three months to March. In a challenge to Britain’s high street players, Santander expanded [...]
Redrow on way to profit April 26, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Redrow expects to return to profitability in the second half of 2010 as market conditions continue to improve. The FTSE 250 group says it has been “encouraged” by sales activity since the start of the calendar year. It is likely to legally complete more than 2,500 homes this year with sales rates per outlet [...]
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 [...]