WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 8, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES BROKERS SUSPENDED IN LIBOR INQUIRY More than a dozen traders and brokers in London and Asia have been fired, suspended or put on leave by their employers as a multinational probe into alleged manipulation of crucial global lending rates accelerates. Regulators have been investigating US and European banks that help set interbank lending [...]
FTSE dips as Greece D-Day arrives February 6, 2012 The FTSE 100 slipped as the deadline for Greece to accept a new bailout or face a default which could trigger financial shockwaves across the globe arrived. Greece must tell the European Union by the end of today whether it accepts the stringent terms of a new bailout deal amid reports of divisions within the [...]
House prices in slim rise February 6, 2012 House prices rose by 0.6 per cent in January figures from mortgage lender Halifax showed helping to recover some lost ground. House prices fell by 1.8 per cent in the three months to January compared with a year ago, taking the average price of a home to 160,907 pounds. “The continuing very low level of [...]
Hopeful house buyers put off by low supply February 5, 2012 A SHORTAGE of suitable housing is preventing potential first-time buyers from stepping onto the property ladder, according to data released this morning. Asked to name their biggest concern about buying a home, the second most common response among potential buyers was the difficulty of finding a property. “In the final quarter of 2011, the numbers [...]
Santander takes €1.7bn property hit January 31, 2012 A MASSIVE write-down on its Spanish property portfolio wiped out Santander’s profits in the fourth quarter of last year, the bank revealed in full-year results yesterday. The lender was forced to make a net provision of €1.67bn due to the plunging value of its assets, mostly in Spanish real estate. That took its bottom line [...]
US mortgage deal closer January 23, 2012 US STATE and federal officials are nearing a deal with the nation’s five largest mortgage lenders to settle claims of foreclosure that drove people out of their homes. Democratic state attorneys general and Obama administration officials met yesterday in Chicago to discuss the terms of the settlement. People familiar with the talks have said Bank [...]
Mortgage lending edges up January 23, 2012 MORTGAGE lending rose at the end of last year compared to 12 months earlier, yet levels remain relatively deflated. Gross mortgage lending in quarter four of 2011 reached £37.2bn – up on £33.6bn in the final quarter of 2010. Yet total loans are significantly lower than before the credit crunch. Gross mortgage lending last year [...]
House loans grow despite grim economy January 16, 2012 THE HOUSING market showed signs of life in November with sales and remortgages both rising, data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed yesterday. Growth is expected to continue in the months before March, after which first-time buyers will no longer benefit from stamp duty exemption. Overall lending for house purchase rose four per [...]
Crunch easing for euro banks January 11, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) has succeeded in kick-starting bank funding markets, prompting a rush to issue debt that has reached levels not seen since before the latest credit crunch took hold. Funding costs for banks on the continent have plunged to their lowest level since April on the back of a flood of new [...]
VIRGIN: THE TOP TEAM January 9, 2012 CHAIRMAN SIR DAVID CLEMENTI City grandee David Clementi is a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, a role he held until 2002. He has also been chairman of FTSE 100 insurer Prudential and chief executive of private bank Kleinwort Benson. CHIEF EXECUTIVE JAYNE-ANNE GADHIA Jayne-Anne Gadhia has worked at a range of RBS and Virgin [...]