Dexia saved as fire sale of assets begins October 10, 2011 A FIRE SALE of Dexia assets was underway last night after France, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed to spend €90bn (£78.45bn) on a bailout for the crippled bank’s ailing bonds unit. The break-up of the group will see Dexia Bank Belgium, the largely retail division, sold to Belgium for €4bn. Dexia is also seeking backing from [...]
Euro deal on hold as Dexia is saved October 9, 2011 NEGOTIATIONS between the Eurozone’s biggest economies appeared to have stalled yesterday as France and Germany refused to detail how they will recapitalise the region’s teetering banks. A highly anticipated meeting yesterday resulted in a bland statement by German chancellor Angela Merkel that politicians “are determined to do the necessary to secure the recapitalisation”, which the [...]
House prices decline again in September October 6, 2011 VOLATILITY continued in the housing market, with September’s price falls reversing gains seen in June and July, the Halifax index revealed yesterday. Prices are down 0.5 per cent compared with August and 2.3 per cent over the last 12 months, the seasonally adjusted figures show. The rate of decline has slowed from its peak of [...]
Fixed mortgages sink to their cheapest rates for 45 months October 6, 2011 MORTGAGE rates on high loan-to-value deals have sunk to their lowest point since January 2008. Loans worth 90 per cent of the value of the acquired property are available at an average of 5.39 per cent on a fixed two year rate, the website Moneyfacts has claimed. The average rate has tumbled from 6.05 per [...]
House prices down in September October 6, 2011 House prices unexpectedly fell 0.5 per cent in September and were 2.3 per cent lower in the three months to September compared with a year ago, a survey by mortgage lender Halifax showed. Analysts had expected a rise of 0.2 per cent on the month, for a three-month annual fall of 2.1 per cent. September’s [...]
Mistakes to avoid if you move abroad October 5, 2011 MANY people choose to leave the UK to escape, temporarily or permanently, the gloomy weather and the even gloomier tax regime. Sadly, there is a mountain of bureaucracy to wade through before setting sail for warmer climes. “It is important to differentiate between moving overseas for a short period of time and expatriating indefinitely,” says [...]
Mortgage approvals up September 29, 2011 The number of new mortgages approved, but not yet lent, for home buyers in August rose to its highest level since December 2009, according to figures from the Bank of England. It said 52,410 mortgages were approved last month. That was nearly three thousand more than in July, and the highest number since December 2009. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 26, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BP PROPOSES FOURTH PIPELINE ROUTE TO BRING AZERBAIJAN GAS TO EUROPE BP is planning a pipeline stretching 1,300 km across three countries to bring gas from Azerbaijan to Europe. The scheme is a new entrant in the highly charged competition to construct a supply route to the Caspian basin and reduce Europe’s dependence [...]
SBI launches buy to let mortgages in UK September 21, 2011 STATE Bank of India is entering the British buy-to-let mortgage market as part of a push to increase the size of its retail division. The lender, which is majority owned by the Indian government, has just begun offering sums of between £50,000 and £1.5m to professional landlords and people who own second homes. It plans [...]
Only facing up to your debt problems will stop the stress September 21, 2011 DON’T look so frightened,” Tracy Finn tells me. We are sat in the big Queen Street branch of HSBC in the City. It’s 10am on Wednesday morning, and I’m only about a year late for this meeting. “I help dozens of people with their personal debt every month,” she assures me. “Most of them earning [...]