FTSE 100 close: Powell interest rate warning drags London index into the red March 7, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 was muted today as investors sweat over whether Fed chair Jerome Powell’s warning that US interest rates will stay higher for longer means other central banks will follow suit. The capital’s premier index closed 0.13 per cent lower at 7,919.49 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned [...]
London house prices fall but still almost double national average according to Halifax property index March 7, 2023 London house prices have fallen by almost one per cent from January, but property in the capital still costs £240,000 more than the national average. Halifax’s latest house price index for February showed the rate of annual national growth slowed across the UK, with the average property now sitting at £285,476. In the capital however, [...]
Nottingham Building Society says soaring lending ‘aided by higher interest income’ boosted profits March 3, 2023 The historic Nottingham Building Society reported strong pre-tax profits driven by a surge in mortgage lending last year. Founded in 1849, the building society this morning announced group pre-tax profits of £18.9m, with underlying pre-tax profit of £15.2m. Despite the downturn in the housing market in wake of the disastrous mini budget, it said in [...]
Savings accounts: Banks under fire as MPs demand to know why interest rate rises have not been passed on to savers March 1, 2023 MPs have asked further questions of banks’ savings rate as pressure increases on the UK’s major high street lenders to pass on higher interest rates to consumers. In a letter to the heads of four of the UK’s largest banks, chair of the Treasury Committee Harriet Baldwin asked banks why their savings rates remain lower [...]
‘Shame on them’: Skipton Group boss slams banks for not passing on rate hikes to savers March 1, 2023 Skipton Group today criticised rival high street lenders for failing to pass on higher interest rates to savers. Britain’s banks have seen their income boosted by the Bank of England’s attempt to stave off inflation with a succession of ten straight interest rate hikes. The base rate now stands at four per cent – the [...]
House price growth plummets to lowest level in a decade as confidence and costs see off buyers March 1, 2023 House price growth has plummeted to its lowest in more than a decade as a cocktail of high borrowing costs, inflation and low confidence has deterred buyers. Properties dropped in value by -1.1 per cent year on year in February, according to Nationwide’s House Price Index, down from 1.1 per cent the previous month. This [...]
Santander shares soar five per cent as lender bets on Europe to boost pay-outs and ‘ambitious’ profit targets February 28, 2023 Santander plans to return half its profits to shareholders after announcing “ambitious” profitability targets for the next three years. The Spanish banking giant said it was betting on customer growth and higher interest rates in Europe to boost its revenue. Santander has previously relied on its Latin American presence to offset the tough conditions experienced [...]
We didn’t know it, but it was 2015 not 2008 that changed the housing market forever February 23, 2023 2015 was the year when the "demand and supply" argument in housing was won and lost. Supply won the argument, because in order to build more, we have to drive more affordability first, writes Giles Mackay
FTSE 100 close: Wall Street sell off spreads to London pushing premier index further away from 8,000 point mark February 22, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 was drawn into a sell off on Wall Street last night, pushing it further below the 8,000 point threshold today. The capital’s premier index fell 0.59 to 7,930.64 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, slid 0.82 per cent to [...]
Co-op front runner in race to buy Sainsbury’s Bank’s £650m loan book, according to reports February 21, 2023 The Co-operative Bank has tabled an offer for Sainsbury’s Bank’s £650m loan portfolio being, according to reports by Sky News. The Co-operative bank is among a number of parties understood to have tabled a bid for the supermarket bank’s loan book . An insider cited by Sky News said the Co-operative “appeared to be the [...]