Big banks set for bumper annual profits as interest rates peak February 12, 2024 Britain's biggest banks are set to report strong annual profits over the next two weeks despite mounting margin pressure from a likely peak in interest rates.
Two-year mortgage rates have biggest monthly drop since 2022 as Santander is latest to cut February 12, 2024 Average two-year fixed mortgage rates have seen their biggest monthly drop since December 2022, according to a financial information website, despite mounting economic pressure squeezing lenders' margins.
Natwest’s margins in focus as lender gears up for year of big changes February 12, 2024 Natwest looks to shrug off the turmoil of the recent debanking saga and prepares to sell its government-owned shares to the public.
Sunak promises tax cuts and tells doubters he is ‘totally up for the fight’ February 10, 2024 Hard work should be rewarded with tax cuts, Rishi Sunak has said, telling critics who doubt he can turn his party around that he is “totally up for the fight”.
Barclays to snap up Tesco’s banking arm for £600m as retailer looks to unlock value for customers and shareholders February 9, 2024 Barclays has announced that it has agreed with Tesco to acquire the supermarket's retail banking business.
Mortgage arrears rose by a quarter in a year as higher interest rates bite February 8, 2024 According to the latest UK Finance figures, homeowner mortgages in arrears increased seven per cent on the previous quarter.
Victoria Scholar: The economic clouds are parting – for housebuilders, at least February 8, 2024 Victoria Scholar is head of investment at interactive investor and writes a fortnightly notebook for City A.M. In a surprise announcement, Britain’s largest homebuilder Barratt Developments has offered to buy smaller FTSE 250 rival Redrow in a £2.52 billion deal. The announcement skyrocketed shares in Redrow, while Barratt extended its year-to-date declines. The new ‘Barratt [...]
UK housing market: Borrowers weigh up taking the plunge, or waiting for rates to fall further February 7, 2024 After a torrid year, the outlook for the UK’s property market is poised to improve. A number of reports have suggested that house prices will continue to drop, which will hopefully help more would-be-buyers finally get on the housing ladder, even if this negatively impacts those who already have property, and want to see its [...]
House prices rise for fourth month in a row as 2024 starts with a bang February 7, 2024 House prices rose by 1.3 per cent in January, marking the fourth monthly rise in a row, according to the latest reading from Halifax.
UK companies facing second-highest level of financial ‘distress’ in Europe February 5, 2024 UK businesses are facing the second-highest level of “deepening” financial distress in Europe due to inflation and high interest rates.