Persimmon in strong start to 2012 April 19, 2012 British housebuilder Persimmon said it had made a good start to 2012 with both visitor levels and orders up on last year, boosted in part by a new government mortgage scheme. The group, which in February cheered shareholders with a promise to return 1.9 billion pounds of surplus cash to them over the next decade, [...]
Tax dash boosts home buying April 16, 2012 February saw a sharp rise in the number of first-time buyers, according to figures out yesterday from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), as the stamp duty holiday’s end date in March drew closer. A total of 14,100 loans worth £1.7bn were taken out by first-time buyers in the month, up eight per cent by [...]
Demand for banks to give early warning of interest rate rises April 15, 2012 BANKS will this week come under fresh political pressure to give customers greater notice of hikes in interest rates. Labour will tomorrow table an amendment to the Financial Services Bill after customers of Halifax were given a minimum of only 14 days’ notice of an increase in the standard variable rate, despite the record low [...]
House buyers suffer as credit conditions batter mortgages April 12, 2012 TIGHTER credit conditions are starting to impact on lending to home-buyers, according to chartered surveyors’ figures published today. Loans for home purchase dropped to 43,450 in March – an 11 per cent drop on February and the lowest since December 2010, e.serv’s mortgage monitor revealed. First-time buyers particularly suffered, with loans for homes under £125,000 [...]
Miners and banks dent FTSE April 4, 2012 The FTSE 100 was dragged back by weaker mining stocks after minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s March meeting revealed that it is not planning any more monetary stimulus. Federal Reserve policymakers have backed away from the need to pump more money into the system as the US economy gradually improves, minutes of the central [...]
House prices in unexpected March rise April 4, 2012 House prices rose 2.2 percent in March, confounding forecasts for a 0.3 per cent dip, data from mortgage lender Halifax showed on Wednesday. House prices nudged down 0.6 percent in the three months to March compared with a year ago – the smallest fall on this measure since October 2010. That took the average price [...]
Co-operative Bank hikes its mortgage rate April 2, 2012 THE Co-operative Bank has become the latest UK bank to raise its standard variable mortgage rate (SVR) by half a percentage point in the face of higher costs. The rate will go up from 4.24 per cent to 4.74 per cent on 1 May – raising mortgages an average £15 per month for around 54,000 [...]
Irish Life & Permanent losses widen April 2, 2012 Irish Life & Permanent’s banking arm reported a wider full-year loss due to soaring impairment charges ahead of a split from the group’s life division and a government decision on whether it can remain as a standalone lender. Once lauded as the only Irish lender to avoid a state bailout due to its lack of [...]
Give your finances a spring clean: A guide to tidying up all the mess April 1, 2012 SAVINGS Tom Stevenson, investment director, Fidelity WITH a new tax year approaching, the sun shining and a string of bank holidays ahead, spring is certainly in the air. Now is the perfect time for you to take control of your savings. The first step of any spring clean should be ensuring that your money is [...]
FTSE 100 dragged lower as fears of fresh slump weigh on bank shares March 29, 2012 HEIGHTENED worries over global economic growth, after more disappointing data from America and the UK, dragged Britain’s leading shares lower yesterday, with energy and banking stocks taking the biggest hit. The FTSE 100 index closed down 66.96 points or 1.2 per cent at 5,742.03, extending its falls into a third straight session and reaching a [...]