New ways to raise funds for your MBA October 12, 2011 FUNDING an MBA can be a tricky thing. Many schools offer grants and scholarships, often sponsored by businesses or donors, and some lucky students’ fees are paid by their businesses. But for many, stumping up the cash for those three little letters involves dealing with banks. As we all know, banks are not exactly keen [...]
House prices decline again in September October 6, 2011 VOLATILITY continued in the housing market, with September’s price falls reversing gains seen in June and July, the Halifax index revealed yesterday. Prices are down 0.5 per cent compared with August and 2.3 per cent over the last 12 months, the seasonally adjusted figures show. The rate of decline has slowed from its peak of [...]
House prices down in September October 6, 2011 House prices unexpectedly fell 0.5 per cent in September and were 2.3 per cent lower in the three months to September compared with a year ago, a survey by mortgage lender Halifax showed. Analysts had expected a rise of 0.2 per cent on the month, for a three-month annual fall of 2.1 per cent. September’s [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 28, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES PLANS REVEALED FOR US-STYLE PLEA BARGAINS The UK plans to introduce US-style corporate plea bargains that could result in fines totalling hundreds of millions of pounds, according to the Solicitor General. “You have to have a cost-benefit analysis. If I can produce a system which has all the benefits [of the US] and [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 26, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BP PROPOSES FOURTH PIPELINE ROUTE TO BRING AZERBAIJAN GAS TO EUROPE BP is planning a pipeline stretching 1,300 km across three countries to bring gas from Azerbaijan to Europe. The scheme is a new entrant in the highly charged competition to construct a supply route to the Caspian basin and reduce Europe’s dependence [...]
US new home sales fall to six-month low September 26, 2011 New single-family home sales in the US fell to a six-month low in August in a sign the crippled housing market will not provide much support for the flagging economy any time soon. The US Commerce Department said sales slipped 2.3 per cent to a seasonally adjusted 295,000-unit annual rate. The reading was in line [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WILL CONFIDENCE BOUNCE BACK SOON? September 25, 2011 SAMUEL TOMBS | CAPITAL ECON “No – conditions may be deteriorating further. We expect figures from surveys like the CBI’s Distributive Trades Survey, which comes out in the UK tomorrow, to maintain the gloomy tone. And while August’s household borrowing figures, released this Thursday, may reveal a rise in mortgage approvals, we predict a fall [...]
How Washington created sub-prime September 4, 2011 AMERICANS love lawsuits. It’s the way they do business. But the news that the authorities supervising the US housing agencies are suing 17 banks over the sub-prime crisis was unintentionally hilarious. To see why, recall that the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (Freddie Mac) – government sponsored [...]
Pathetic markets want Bernanke to save them August 22, 2011 IT was heady stuff. The price of gold smashed through the $1,900 level in after-hours trading last night, as investors worried about instability and inflation piled into the precious metal. It was not just gold: equities also rose yesterday. Libya helped, of course, but there was one much more powerful reason why stock markets gained ground: [...]
Ireland eyes mortgage debt restructuring August 22, 2011 The Irish government is likely bring in legislation to restructure mortgage debts for thousands of troubled loanholders as it does not have the resources to fund a significant debt forgiveness programme, a junior minister has said. Ireland’s ruling coalition has promised to examine ways to ease the burden on mortgage holders struggling to cope with [...]