Houses prices set to remain flat during 2013 December 6, 2012 HOUSE prices are set to remain flat in 2013, Halifax bank said yesterday, as weak economic growth and pressure on household finances continues to constrain demand. It also announced that the price of an average UK home rose by one per cent month-on-month to £160,879 in November. “We expect continuing broad stability in house prices nationally [...]
Why Britain’s housing market has escaped the disasters of the 1990s November 22, 2012 DESPITE economic woes, the British housing market is holding up reasonably well. According to the Office for National Statistics, house prices in September were 1.7 per cent higher than a year earlier in nominal terms, and only 2.5 per cent down on their 2008 peak. Of course, there are qualifications. Higher prices are mainly confined [...]
Mortgage loans see Funding for Lending boost November 20, 2012 MORTGAGE lending climbed to an 11-month high in October, according to data out yesterday, as the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) entered its third full month of activity. Gross mortgage loans hit £12.9bn in October, data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed, up 13.3 per cent on September, and up 4.2 per cent [...]
Babies born today can expect a long expensive future November 15, 2012 BRITAIN faces many challenges, but none more daunting than our ageing society and the financial challenges it will create for future generations. There were 807,766 live births in the UK in the past year, and the Office of National Statistics (ONS) predicts that one in three will live to be 100 years old. Today there [...]
Official data shows house prices slid into decline in September November 13, 2012 HOUSE PRICES started to slide going into September, ending a six-month run of unbroken expansion, official data revealed yesterday. The UK’s average house price slipped 0.2 per cent between August and September, the data from the Office for National Statistics showed, as even London’s housing market came under pressure. London house prices dived some 1.2 [...]
Making Mr Nice: Don’t cry all the way to the bank October 21, 2012 THE girl was clearly nervous as her job interview got underway. I asked her why Australia had such a high inflation rate and I was incredulous at her answer: “I believe it is mostly ‘imported inflation’”. I pulled a face. “Imported inflation? How could that be possible when our biggest trading partner, Japan, has a [...]
Inflation falls to lowest level in almost three years October 16, 2012 Consumer price inflation fell to 2.2 per cent in September, the lowest level since November 2009. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics said this morning that the rate of inflation fell from 2.5 per cent in August, largely due to the effects from September 2011’s utility bill rises dropping off. The ONS said [...]
Fresh wave of volatility may strike the euro October 9, 2012 C ONCERNS about Europe’s economic slowdown have put a halt to the euro’s surge upwards. Since summer lows, the single currency has risen against the dollar, recently testing the $1.30 level. But it has failed to convincingly stay above this level. In its biannual world economic outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised its forecast [...]
EU banking report raises prospect of bailout divisions October 2, 2012 THE EU’s Expert Advisory Group, chaired by Erkki Liikanen, reported yesterday on whether to legally separate retail from investment banking – as considered by the Vickers Commission and discussed at the weekend by Ed Miliband. The Liikanen Report proposes five things. First, although the report suggests investment banking could be done within the same banking [...]
London housing market booms driving average prices upwards August 29, 2012 LONDON proved yet again to be the driving force behind a continued house price recovery in July, Land Registry data showed yesterday. With prices up 2.7 per cent in July, the London market was behind the overall 0.8 per cent increase seen across England and Wales. Downward pressure came from slipping prices in the north [...]