Rates risk for repossessions February 10, 2011 REPOSSESSIONS fell by 24 per cent last year, while the number of mortgages in arrears also dropped, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said yesterday. Yet stubbornly high inflation has heightened the risk of a hike in interest rates, which would lead to an upturn in repossessions, the CML said. “As we go through 2011, [...]
The top ten real causes of the crisis February 9, 2011 IN the end, Merlin turned out a damp squib. This is goodish news, because the deal is based on a faulty interpretation of the crisis. Here are the ten most important causes of our problems. 1) Loose, ultra-interventionist monetary policy from central banks that kept stepping in whenever growth slowed or the stock market fell. [...]
Calls for Hypo Real Estate to be wound up February 9, 2011 AILING German lender Hypo Real Estate (HRE) should be wound down, a German expert commission has recommended. “The experts can see only slim chances that a privatisation of HRE would become a success,” said a source with knowledge of a report drafted on behalf of the German government by the expert commission. Due to overcapacity [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS February 9, 2011 42 PER CENT PREFER DOG TO PARTNER It is a sad day for British romance when 42 per cent of British people prefer their dog or cat to their partner. A survey conducted by M&S Pet Insurance shows that when it comes down to the “me or the dog” question, 42 per cent would always [...]
VAT shock yet to be passed to consumers February 8, 2011 INFLATION in UK shops rose to 2.5 per cent in January – from 2.1 per cent in December — despite retailers absorbing much of the hike in VAT, a comprehensive survey revealed today. Even more price pressure could spill through to consumers in the coming months, the British Retail Consortium warned. “Retailers generally took the [...]
Denmark lender fails February 7, 2011 Denmark has been left bearing a £1.72bn bill as Amagerbanken, the country’s eighth-biggest lender, became its tenth bank to be nationalised following the global financial crisis. Amagerbanken said yesterday that it would transfer its assets to Finansiel Stabilitet A/S, the state company that administers failed banks, and administrators would close the bank. Amagerbanken said fourth-quarter [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 2, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LLOYDS DROPS MORTGAGE BROKERS OVER SUSPECTED FRAUD Concerns over suspected fraud have prompted Lloyds Banking Group to cull the list of brokers it allows to sell its mortgages. The UK’s largest mortgage lender has removed some 900 individuals over the past four years from its “approved panel” of brokers, including 300 in the [...]
House prices and mortgage approvals drop in January February 1, 2011 HOUSE prices and mortgage approvals both fell in the first month of 2011 sparking fears of a sluggish year for the property market, according to closely watched data published yesterday. Mortgage lender Nationwide, the first to publish figures for January, indicated that house prices declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.1 per cent last month after [...]
Keep your loan on track January 26, 2011 IT’S a question playing on many homeowners’ minds: with interest rates expected to rise this year, should they fix their mortgage? The Bank of England left the official rate of borrowing unchanged for the 22nd consecutive month recently, but faces a dilemma given slowing economic growth and rising inflation. This week’s disappointing GDP data has [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 16, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES RBS DIRECTOR TO STEP DOWN FROM BOARD One of the last Royal Bank of Scotland directors to remain on the bank’s board from the days of Sir Fred goodwin is poised to step down from his role. Colin Buchan, 56, a former UBS investment banker who until recently was chairman of RBS’s remuneration [...]