Appetite for borrowing stays low as mortgage market remains in slump February 23, 2011 BRITAIN’S slump in mortgage lending continued in January, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) revealed yesterday. Mortgage approvals for house purchases stuck at 28,932 for the month – virtually unchanged from December’s figure of 28,907, which was close to a two-year low. Mortgage approvals tumbled 20.9 per cent year-on-year, to less than half the average monthly [...]
Soaring cost of living hits households February 20, 2011 HOUSEHOLD finances have taken a massive hit this month, according to a Markit index which saw inflation surge to an all time survey high. The cost of living measure showed 85 per cent of households reporting a rise in prices, Markit revealed today. Mortgage holders were particularly downbeat, as price pressures increase the chance of [...]
Why I don’t believe rates should be going up February 20, 2011 The Bank of England releases its latest minutes this week and so the great rate debate continues. Will anybody have joined Andrew Sentance and Martin Weale in voting to hike? Many argue raising domestic rates can’t curb imported inflation but Sentance points out it might strengthen sterling, which would help. In practice, every currency analyst [...]
Inflation hits 27-month high February 15, 2011 INFLATION reached its highest rate since November 2008 last month, as escalating price pressures and tax hikes continue to hammer households suffering from sluggish wage growth and rising unemployment. While inflation on the consumer price index (CPI) climbed 0.3 per cent to four per cent, the tax and price index (TPI) – which includes the [...]
Rates risk for repossessions February 10, 2011 REPOSSESSIONS fell by 24 per cent last year, while the number of mortgages in arrears also dropped, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said yesterday. Yet stubbornly high inflation has heightened the risk of a hike in interest rates, which would lead to an upturn in repossessions, the CML said. “As we go through 2011, [...]
What the other papers say this morning February 8, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BRUSSELS URGED TO END BIG FOUR DOMINANCE Four international accountancy networks have taken the unusual step of jointly calling for changes to the audit market in Europe and arguing that regulatory intervention is needed to dilute the power of the profession’s biggest operators. BDO International, RSM International and Grant Thornton International, the world’s [...]
VAT shock yet to be passed to consumers February 8, 2011 INFLATION in UK shops rose to 2.5 per cent in January – from 2.1 per cent in December — despite retailers absorbing much of the hike in VAT, a comprehensive survey revealed today. Even more price pressure could spill through to consumers in the coming months, the British Retail Consortium warned. “Retailers generally took the [...]
More profit warnings to come in 2011 February 6, 2011 THE number of profit warnings is due to rise this year after sliding to a record low in 2010, according to analysis by UBS. Analysts at the bank emphasised that profit warnings are already on the rise, with January seeing as many warnings as the whole of the fourth quarter in 2010. Last year saw just 196 [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 2, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LLOYDS DROPS MORTGAGE BROKERS OVER SUSPECTED FRAUD Concerns over suspected fraud have prompted Lloyds Banking Group to cull the list of brokers it allows to sell its mortgages. The UK’s largest mortgage lender has removed some 900 individuals over the past four years from its “approved panel” of brokers, including 300 in the [...]
House prices drop in January January 27, 2011 House prices in England and Wales fell for a seventh month in a row in January, dropping 2.2 per cent from a year earlier, property data firm Hometrack said. The monthly survey of more than 5,000 estate agents and surveyors showed prices slipped 0.5 per cent on the month, slightly more than December’s 0.4 per [...]