Reposessions are still falling August 12, 2010 THE Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revised down its forecast for the number of borrowers who either fall behind in mortgage payments or lose their homes through repossession this year. The CML now expects 39,000 repossessions and 175,000 mortgages to end the year in arrears of 2.5 per cent or more, down from its [...]
UK stocks sag after gloomy news from Bank of England August 11, 2010 BRITAIN’S top share index fell sharply to a three-week low closing yesterday, with banks and commodity stocks leading a broad-based sell-off after US and UK central banks voiced concerns over the economic recovery. Technology firm Smiths Group, however, topped the list of a handful of gainers, up 3.9 per cent as traders cited break-up hopes [...]
The late-night bank manager is planning a High Street revolution August 8, 2010 THE revolution in High Street banking has begun. That’s the bold claim of Craig Donaldson, chief executive of Metro Bank, the first addition to Britain’s retail banking scene in 100 years. And ground zero is the corner of High Holborn and Southampton Row, where its inaugural branch opened a couple of weeks ago. “The revolution has [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS August 5, 2010 MS LAUNCHES NEW GROWTH PLAN Morgan Stanley this week announced the launch of its FTSE Gilt-Backed Growth Plan 4, which offers investors a fixed return equivalent to 8.5 per cent a year, paid on the first anniversary that the FTSE records flat or positive performance. If this does not happen, then investors still have some [...]
Housebuilder shows profit turnaround August 3, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey swung back into profit over the first half of the year, helped by an improving outlook for the property sector and a determined cost cutting drive. Taylor Wimpey, the second largest homebuilder by volume in the UK, posted a pre-tax profit for the six months to 4 July of £19.6m. That compared [...]
House price fall fuels fear of double-dip July 29, 2010 FEARS of a sustained double-dip in Britain’s property market intensified yesterday after mortgage lender Nationwide reported that house prices fell this month for the first time since February and the Bank of England revealed that mortgage approvals dropped to a four-month low in June. The latest figures from Nationwide showed that house prices fell by [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS July 29, 2010 STAYCATION IS STILL IN FAVOUR Britons are feeling the pinch when it comes to holidays with almost 40 per cent of us actively trying to spend less money on our holidays this year. And of those looking to cut back, more than half have decided not to go abroad to cut costs. A survey by [...]
House price gains set to be wiped out July 18, 2010 ALL the gains seen in property prices over the past six months will be wiped out by the end of the year, thanks to more aggressive pricing and an increase in the number of houses coming on to the market, property website Rightmove will say today. The forecast forms part of its monthly survey of [...]
Our nation of shoppers is not about to quit the habit yet July 14, 2010 SINCE the onset of the recession, the pressure has increased to turn the UK economy into a manufacturing centre of excellence and at the same time become a nation of savers. But has the nation really turned its back on its former favourite pastime, shopping? Well, the hard data would suggest no. According to the [...]
Property prices drop in June July 8, 2010 HOUSE prices in Britain dropped 0.6 per cent in June, the third successive monthly fall, a survey from mortgage lender Halifax has shown. Halifax said the decline was a continuation of a trend since the start of this year and was in line with its view that house prices would be broadly flat over 2010 [...]