Analysis: Wilko collapse is the Woolworths of this financial crisis August 10, 2023 The collapse of Woolworths was described as “the first domino of physical retail Armageddon.” Although it might not justify that epithet, the collapse of Wilko shows which way the wind is now blowing.
Arrears continue to rise as higher rates pour pain onto borrowers August 10, 2023 Arrears continued rising in the second quarter as customers struggled with soaring repayment costs, new data shows. According to figures from industry body UK Finance, there were 81,900 homeowner mortgages in arrears of more than 2.5 per cent in the second quarter, seven per cent more than the previous quarter. Within this, 30,940 mortgages were [...]
OneSavings Bank profits slump as customers race to refinance mortgages August 10, 2023 Profit at OneSavings Bank (OSB) Group slumped in the first half of the year as the lender dealt with a £180m hit from changing customer behaviour. Pretax profit at the FTSE-250 listed specialist bank fell 71 per cent to £76.7m from £268.1m in the same period last year. The bank announced a dividend of 10.2p, [...]
Mark Kleinman’s column: WANdisco fiasco, Co-op auction and Chelsea’s misfires August 10, 2023 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man that gets the City talking in his fortnightly City A.M. column. It’s payback time WANdisco? More like WANfiasco. Within weeks of the AIM-listed data software company letting it be known that it was solidifying its ambitions of pursuing a US stock market listing, the [...]
Rents likely to continue rising sharply despite cost of living crisis August 10, 2023 Rents are likely to continue rising sharply despite the cost of living crisis, surveyors are warning. Property professionals’ expectations that rents will rise in the next few months are at the strongest levels seen so far this century, the findings from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) indicate. A net balance of 63 per [...]
Brokers predict ‘mortgage price war’ as lenders including HSBC and Nationwide cut rates again August 9, 2023 Brokers have suggested there could be a “mortgage price war” as lenders continue to reduce rates amid hopes inflation is finally on the way down. Nationwide reduced prices on some of its fixed products by up to 0.55 percentage points while HSBC reduced rates by up to 0.2 percentage points. TSB also lowered rates by [...]
European bank shares fall after shock 40 per cent Italian windfall tax on excess profits August 8, 2023 Shares in European banks fell after the Italian government announced a surprise windfall tax on banks who have seen bumper profits thanks to higher interest rates. Late last night Giorgia Meloni’s populist government agreed to impose a one-off 40 per cent tax on extra-profits, defining extra-profits as when net interest income has grown beyond three [...]
London and south east house prices fall fastest with analysts predicting five per cent crash August 7, 2023 House prices dropped by 0.3 per cent from June to July, the latest data suggests, with London and south east homes falling fastest in value. House prices fell by -2.4 per cent on an annual basis , easing from -2.6 per cent in June, the latest figures from Halifax show. The 0.3 per cent fall [...]
Bank of England lifts interest rates to fresh 15 year high in smaller than feared 14th straight hike August 3, 2023 The Bank of England today hiked the UK’s official interest rate for the 14th time in a row but by a lower degree than some had feared. Members of the nine-strong monetary policy committee (MPC) voted 6-3 in favour of a 25 basis point rise, smaller than the 50 basis point lift some in the [...]
Societe Generale tops forecast, but retail woes put focus on CEO plan August 3, 2023 Societe Generale beat quarterly earnings forecasts on Thursday as the French bank kept costs and provisions down, but a slump at its retail business will turn up pressure on its new CEO as he prepares to unveil his plan. An investor day on Sept. 18 will be a key test for Slawomir Krupa, tasked with [...]