Yorkshire and Clydesdale Banks deliver “sound” quarter February 8, 2011 Yorkshire and Clydesdale Banks are on track to deliver £10bn of new lending to business and mortgage customers by October, its owner said today. Trading in the three months to the end of December was “sound and resilient” although “subdued demand for credit and low interest rates continue to restrict balance sheet and income growth”, [...]
For some, it’s a borrower’s market February 2, 2011 FANCY a new car, luxury holiday or that longed-for loft conversion but don’t have the cash? This could be the moment for you to bag a bargain. As businesses struggle amid the economic downturn, they are offering some very good deals, at least to certain clients. With care, you may be able to net an [...]
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 [...]
UK subprime mortgages vulnerable to shocks January 31, 2011 REPOSSESSIONS could begin to grow again in the UK due to a stubborn core of subprime mortgage-holders who are still falling behind on their payments, according to research by Standard and Poor’s. Despite an overall improvement among subprime mortgage-holders, those with the lowest credit ratings, accounting for around £7bn’s worth of mortgages overall, show little [...]
FED HAS DONE A GOOD JOB ON US EQUITIES January 31, 2011 THE Federal Reserve has so far done an excellent job of goosing US equities through its ongoing asset purchase programme. As Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has intimated, boosting stock prices is now one of the Reserve’s aims, on top of its officially mandated dual role of ensuring price stability and full employment. So investors were [...]
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 [...]
Cameron needs to listen to business January 24, 2011 GOOD on Sir Richard Lambert, the usually mild-mannered outgoing boss of the CBI, for taking the government to task over its abject lack of pro-growth policies. It is a shame he didn’t say as much in such strongly worded terms a few months ago, but better late than never. Crucially, the CBI doesn’t object to [...]
Inflated expectations are driving up sterling January 18, 2011 INFLATION is the curious way in which, over time, the same amount of money buys progressively less stuff. So it was strange to see yesterday that, as a result of higher than expected inflation in Britain, the value of sterling hit its highest level in two months. Against the dollar, the pound rose by about [...]
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 [...]
Bovis warns over weak mortgage volumes January 14, 2011 Bovis Homes expects full-year profit to come ahead of estimates on higher selling prices and plans to restart dividends, but the housebuilder warned of a subdued year ahead. “Mortgage approval volumes remain weak, with mortgage providers requiring high levels of deposit, particularly from first time buyers,” the company said in a statement. British homebuilders are [...]