Property’s mixed prospects in 2011 January 26, 2011 PROPERTY price indices suggest house prices are falling again, but what are the prospects for home owners and property investors? UK house prices fell 0.9 per cent in the final three months of 2010 and were down 1.3 per cent between November and December, the Halifax index shows. Some analysts expect them to fall further, [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 16, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES RBS DIRECTOR TO STEP DOWN FROM BOARD One of the last Royal Bank of Scotland directors to remain on the bank’s board from the days of Sir Fred goodwin is poised to step down from his role. Colin Buchan, 56, a former UBS investment banker who until recently was chairman of RBS’s remuneration [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]
Inflation now a real problem for UK December 14, 2010 IN the long-term, we are all dead – or so claimed John Maynard Keynes. True, of course, but only in a meaningless kind of way, as yesterday’s dangerously high UK inflation figures demonstrate. For ages now, the Bank of England has been justifying its failure to meet its inflation target in the short-term by repeatedly [...]
Inflation hits highest level in six months December 14, 2010 ABOVE target inflation rose further in November, jumping higher than economists expected, official data showed yesterday. The news cast further doubt over the Bank of England’s loose policy and monetary stimulus. “Another round of quantitative easing was always a long shot and this will reduce the odds still further,” said economist Andrew Goodwin of the [...]
Banks face a grilling over foreclosures November 14, 2010 BANKS under fire over their foreclosure practices face twin hearings in Congress this week, at which they will come under renewed pressure to find ways to keep borrowers in their homes. The hearings tomorrow and Thursday will include the first appearances by executives from major US lenders like Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase since [...]
Commerzbank November 8, 2010 AFTER losing more than €1bn in the third quarter last year, Commerzbank has limped back into the black this time around, posting net profit of €113m – well below most analysts estimates. But despite disappointing expectations, there are positives among the rubble. Commerzbank avoided posting another loss – as in the case of rival Deutsche [...]
Bad mortgages to cost banks November 5, 2010 The top US banks could face up to $31bn (£19.1bn) in losses from buying back bad mortgages, Standard & Poor’s said in a report yesterday. Large US banks are facing pressure to buy back soured home loans that they packaged into mortgage bonds and sold to investors. The six most exposed firms, including Bank of [...]
Market cools as property prices tumble November 4, 2010 AVERAGE property prices have fallen 1.2 per cent in the last three months, according to the latest Halifax house price index. The closely watched index from the Lloyds Banking Group-owned lender showed house prices rose 1.8 per cent in October which helped to partially reverse the 3.7 per cent decline from the previous month. But [...]
G20 PUTS FX MARKETS IN SHARP FOCUS November 3, 2010 DIRECTOR OF THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTION, ETF SECURITIES CURRENCIES are currently very much in focus. Bizarrely, however, many investors shun direct currency exposure because they view currencies as being more volatile compared to other asset classes. This leads investors to play currencies through their asset allocation decisions rather than trading the foreign exchange markets directly. Indeed [...]