OBR financial report and government fiscal plan to be delivered on 31 October October 10, 2022 The UK’s spending and borrowing watchdog’s assessment of the government’s tax cutting splurge will be released on 31 October, chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced today. In a letter to Tory MP and chair of the treasury select committee, Mel Stride, Kwarteng said he has decided to bring the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecasts forward from [...]
Construction firms clear backlogs before downturn hits October 6, 2022 Construction firms are clearing a huge backlog of work, but the sector is on course to shrivel in the coming months as it is whacked by soaring interest rates, a closely watched survey published today. S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the construction industry swung [...]
Home owners at risk of house price crash with London properties facing record value drop of £93k October 5, 2022 Should the market decline at the same rate as the 2008 financial crisis, as predicted by some analysts last week, it could wipe almost £54,000 from the value of the average property in Britain, according to new data shared with City A.M. this morning. The research shows that the average house price across Britain fell by [...]
Truss and Kwarteng mini-budget to ‘deepen’ UK recession October 4, 2022 Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s decision to slash taxes and ramp up borrowing without costing their plans will make the looming UK recession worse, City economists predicted today. Soaring mortgage rates driven by lenders passing on higher market yields pushed up by a lack of confidence in prime minister Liz Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s [...]
Kwarteng’s ‘mini budget’ sends mortgage bills soaring £1,500 October 4, 2022 The government’s mini budget has sent the average mortgage borrower’s bill soaring by £1,500 a year, new figures have shown, in a hike that has been dubbed a ‘Kwarteng premium’ by some brokers.
Letters: Mind your credit score October 4, 2022 [Re: Don’t penalise cash-strapped Brits, FCA warns insurers, 29 September] As interest rates soar, the FCA’s call to lenders to offer borrowers solutions is a stark reminder that consumers’ needs must remain front and centre. Against skyrocketing living costs and a mortgage industry in turmoil, our research shows half of lenders are still using outdated [...]
Explain decision to pull mortgage products, FCA warns lenders October 2, 2022 The chief of the City watchdog has fired a warning shot at lenders after banks pulled mortgage products from the market in droves this week amid extreme market volatility.
Banks and housebuilders bear brunt of market chaos September 29, 2022 Wild swings in UK debt markets and concern over borrowers’ capacity to pay costlier mortgages have whacked London-listed housebuilders and banks this week. Britain’s biggest property developers have been among the hardest hit listed companies during this week’s market sell-off. FTSE 100-listed construction firms Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments have shed more than 20 per [...]
Ex Bank of England governor Mark Carney: Government ‘undermining’ financial institutions September 29, 2022 Sir Mark Carney, the former Bank of England Governor, has said the government’s mini-budget tax cuts are “working at some cross-purposes” with monetary policy. The economic accused Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng of “undercutting” financial institutions, after last week’s mini-budget sent markets into turmoil, and the pound plummeting. Speaking to the BBC, his comments came [...]
House prices may tumble a fifth if Bank of England hikes rates steeply, economists warn September 27, 2022 House prices could tumble as much as 21 per cent if the Bank of England is forced to hike interest rates steeply in response to the government’s tax and borrowing splurge fuelling inflation, City economists have warned. Mortgage affordability – the ratio of a home purchase loan to the size of the borrower’s income – [...]