Poor data is a threat to UK’s green shoots June 18, 2009 A HOST of poor data released yesterday cast doubt over the prospects of Britain’s fragile economic recovery. The figures caused the pound to slip to a one-week low against the euro and gilt yields to edge higher. Retail sales fell unexpectedly in May by 0.6 per cent after an upbeat April thanks to a late [...]
SUSTAINABLE BANKING IS WAY FORWARD June 17, 2009 MOORAD CHOUDRYHEAD OF TREASURY, EUROPE ARAB BANK THE financial crash of 2007-2008 was caused by the interaction of several different factors, some of which had been building for years. Since then markets have entered a period of restructuring that reflects the realities of the crash: key to this is an awareness that much of the [...]
Brits expect a rise in prices June 11, 2009 THERE were further signs yesterday that Britain’s recession was at an end with data showing improvement in the housing market and rising inflation expectations for the coming year. Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed mortgage approvals rising 16 per cent in April to 35,600, indicating more life in the housing market. But [...]
ONE IN TEN HIT BY NEGATIVE EQUITY June 11, 2009 MORE than one in 10 British homeowners have been plunged into negative equity, with their property now worth less than the value of their mortgages, the Bank of England will warn today. Writing in its latest Quarterly Bulletin, the Bank’s analysts said that the collapse in prices since the peak of the housing market in [...]
Don’t expect miracles in housing market June 11, 2009 IT is beginning to look as if house prices won’t be falling much further. This won’t be of any use to the one in ten Brits that have already been plunged into negative equity, however; and even if the market reaches bottom this year, it will struggle in 2010. We must hope, for the sake [...]
Rock appeal gathers pace June 10, 2009 INVESTORS in nationalised lender Northern Rock yesterday launched a legal bid to overturn a High Court decision which they claim will leave them with “derisory” compensation. Institutional investors RAB Capital, SRM Global and a collective of private shareholders numbering more than 200,000, who are backed by the UK Shareholders Association, say the government’s compensation scheme [...]
Lending for home loans rises in April June 2, 2009 MORTGAGE approvals for house purchase rose in April for the third consecutive month, according to data released yesterday by the Bank of England, providing further evidence that housing market activity was recovering. But approvals remained at a level that suggests further house price falls are still ahead. The Bank of England said that the number [...]
FSA fees to rise as City watchdog bares its teeth June 2, 2009 THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) expects the fees it levies on regulated companies this year to rise by 35.8 per cent to £435.5m, just under its initial prediction of £437.7m. The increase is targeted at arming the City watchdog with sufficient resources to heighten its level of supervision, after it was accused of failing to [...]
B&B suffers on loan losses June 1, 2009 BRADFORD and Bingley will lose up to £700m on mortgage defaults this year and expects an increase in the rate of loan losses, its chief executive Richard Pym said yesterday. Pym said the number of borrowers more than three months behind on their mortgage had grown from the 4.6 per cent figure it announced in [...]
Nationwide in 69 per cent profit fall on protection fees May 27, 2009 NATIONWIDE, Britain’s largest building society, reported a 69 per cent drop in full-year pre-tax profits yesterday, blaming the decline on the costs of the government’s deposit protection scheme for savers. The mortgage provider and lender offered little sign of optimism in its outlook, warning of further loan loss provisions to come.The group said it was [...]