EU extends ABN Amro probe February 8, 2010 EUROPEAN regulators yesterday extended an in-depth investigation into state aid granted to nationalised Dutch banks ABN Amro and Fortis Bank Nederland and temporarily approved a €6.9bn (£6bn) recapitalisation to finance their merger. The European Commission, competition watchdog of the 27-country European Union, said it would assess the combined effect of all the aid and the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 8, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph MANDELSON ATTACKS US AND EUROPE The full scale of world tension between governments over the way to deal with the banking crisis has been revealed today after Peter Mandelson, the business secretary, said that neither America nor the European Union had shown global leadership on the issue. As the G7 [...]
Q&A: BUYING February 4, 2010 Q.Dear Camilla, I am thinking about selling my home this year. But is it the right time given that there is both economic and political uncertainty at the moment? A.There has been a lot of positive press about property prices in recent weeks, which should support the UK housing market. For example, mortgage lender Nationwide [...]
Housing market rebound starts to run out of steam February 4, 2010 HOUSE PRICES continued to rise in January but the pace of growth fell to its slowest level in six months, mortgage lender Halifax said yesterday, reiterating its view that UK property prices would remain flat in 2010. The monthly survey showed that house prices rose 0.6 per cent on the month in January, taking the [...]
UK gives Santander a boost February 4, 2010 The UK operations of Spanish banking giant Santander saw full-year profits leap 30 per cent in 2009 as the group grew its share of the mortgage market and signed up more than expected new customers to its bank accounts. Pre-tax profits hit £1.54bn for the year to 31 December with new acquisitions Bradford & Bingley [...]
Santander sees UK profits surge February 3, 2010 THE UK operations of Spanish banking giant Santander saw full-year profits leap 30 per cent in 2009 as the group grew its share of the mortgage market and signed up more than expected new customers to its bank accounts. Pre-tax profits hit £1.54bn for the year to 31 December with new acquisitions Bradford & Bingley [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 3, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES AXA PUTS SPOTLESS UP FOR SALE Spotless, the French maker of laundry and cleaning products, could become the latest “pass-the-parcel” deal between private equity groups, after Axa Private Equity put it up for sale with a €600m-€700m price tag. A recent recovery in debt markets has encouraged private equity groups to become more [...]
Santander see UK profits surge February 3, 2010 THE UK operations of Spanish banking giant Santander saw full-year profits leap 55 per cent in 2009 as the group grew its share of the mortgage market and signed up more than expected new customers to its bank accounts. Pre-tax profits hit £1.54bn for the year to 31 December with new acquisitions Bradford & Bingley [...]
First-time buyers benefit from falling deposits February 2, 2010 FIRST time buyers have been given a boost after new figures showed that the availability of mortgages is on the rise. The number of deals is up 20 per cent compared to the start of the year, according to financial information service Moneyfacts. The increased has been driven by the thawing of the mortgage market [...]
Sherry and mince pies leave people £52m deeper in debt February 1, 2010 BRITISH consumers embarked on a festive spending splurge in December, running up credit card debts and using their overdrafts. Overall borrowing outstripped the amount being paid back for the first time since June, according to the Bank of England. Credit card use was the main force driving unsecured consumer leverage up by £52m over Christmas [...]