Businesses need to stop looking for a public pat on the back and gold stars July 13, 2023 Businesses must realise that just bragging about how good they are is not a great communication strategy. They won't win a gold star for just doing their job, writes Simon Neville
FTSE 100 close: Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds all surge after Bank of England gives clean bill of health to lenders July 12, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 was yanked higher today by Britain’s biggest banks surging after being given a clean bill of health by the Bank of England this morning. The capital’s premier index notched one of its best days in weeks, surging 1.83 per cent to 7,416.10 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is [...]
Winkworth shares tumble as estate agent issues profit warning amid mortgage slump July 12, 2023 Winkworth shares tumbled 14 per cent this morning after the estate chain issued a profit warning due to soaring interest rates and a fresh slump in mortgage approvals. The company which has over 90 branches across the UK said that the sales market proved more challenging in the second quarter of the year, as rate [...]
Nearly one million UK homeowners to have £500 a month eaten up by higher mortgage payments July 12, 2023 UK homeowners are poised to hand over a bigger chunk of their income to their lenders every month after they roll on to a new mortgage with a much higher interest rate, the Bank of England has warned today. By the end of 2026, around 1m families will be paying an at least additional £500 [...]
Bank of England says UK’s big banks passed stress test and are ‘resilient’ to rising rates July 12, 2023 The UK’s largest lenders passed the Bank of England’s stress tests with flying colours, even as concerns grow around the health of the mortgage market. In its latest stress test, the Bank of England concluded that banks were “resilient”, enabling them to withstand persistently higher inflation and a deep global recession. “The UK banking system [...]
Mortgage rates: Banks warn of more ‘financial difficulty’ – but arrears increase will be small July 11, 2023 Leading bankers have said that an increasing number of customers will face financial difficulties as mortgage rates rise, but remained confident that both consumers and lenders could withstand the pressure. Bradley Fordham, mortgage director at Santander, said that with rates at six per cent, the average increase in monthly payments for customers coming off a [...]
Mortgage rates climb to 15-year high following surprisingly strong wage growth July 11, 2023 The typical rate available on a two-year fixed mortgage has climbed to a 15-year high, surpassing the levels seen last Autumn in the wake of the disastrous mini-budget. According to Moneyfacts, the average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate hit 6.66 per cent, marginally higher than the 6.65 per cent seen last October. This was the [...]
House prices: Buyers playing ‘wait and see’ on purchases rattles confidence July 10, 2023 Property portal On The Market has warned of a challenging outlook for the year ahead as aggressive rate rises have led buyers to “wait and see” on house purchases whilst the market remains unsettled. The estate agent, which operates similar to Rightmove and Zoopla, told investors this morning that stubborn inflation and the high cost [...]
Barratt Developments share price in focus following Bank of England rate rise July 10, 2023 The market will turn its focus to Barratt Developments’ trading update next Thursday to see how soaring mortgage rates and a tumultuous period for the property sector is impacting UK house building companies. The housebuilder’s shares have fallen by around a tenth over the past 12 months and more than half from their pre-pandemic levels, [...]
OneSavings Bank shares plunge by nearly a quarter after £180m hit from ‘step change’ in customer behaviour July 7, 2023 Shares in OneSavings Bank (OSB) plummeted this morning after the lender revealed it would take a hit of up to £180m from a “step change” in customer behaviour. In a statement released after market close last night, the FTSE 250-listed bank said customers in a certain part of the loan book were choosing to refinance [...]