After the Bank of England held interest rates at 0.5 per cent, should it soon consider a rise? November 8, 2012 YES Andrew Sentence Monetary policy has reached its limits in supporting growth via more stimulus. The challenge now is to adjust to the “new normal” – a world which has been forged by the financial crisis and the rapid growth of emerging market economies. As part of this adjustment, we need to gradually return interest [...]
US mortgage applications slump despite more relaxed loan terms October 31, 2012 US CREDIT conditions on bank loans eased in the three months to October, data showed yesterday, but this improvement was not enough to boost demand for mortgages, according to separate statistics. Banks are dropping both standards and terms, the Federal Reserve said, driven by fierce competition from other banks as well as non-bank lenders. US [...]
Goldman to swing to profit October 14, 2012 US BANKS are expected to report strong revenue figures this week, in part thanks to the boost to the mortgage market from the Federal Reserve’s latest round of money printing. Goldman Sachs will report its third quarter results tomorrow, and is expected to turn 2011’s third quarter loss of $393m (£245m) into a solid profit [...]
Nationwide to scrap interest-only loans October 4, 2012 ONE of the UK’s biggest mortgage lenders yesterday said it would withdraw interest-only mortgages to future homeowners from next week, in a further sign of the squeeze on higher risk lending. Nationwide Building Society, the third biggest mortgage lender in the country, wrote to brokers yesterday saying it would stop offering the mortgage on 11 [...]
Wall St soars as Fed pledges fresh stimulus September 13, 2012 US stocks and crude oil prices rose and the dollar weakened yesterday as investors bet the Federal Reserve’s fresh dose of monetary stimulus would improve economic growth. The US central bank initiated another aggressive stimulus programme, saying it will buy $40bn of mortgage-backed debt per month until the outlook for jobs improves substantially as long [...]
Lloyds joins SME loan price war September 10, 2012 CHEAP funds from the government filtered through to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) yesterday as Lloyds became the latest bank to cut borrowing costs. It comes a day after RBS announced a similar move to cut rates for manufacturing firms, while several leading banks cut mortgage rates last month. The Bank of England is [...]
These politicians are wrong – a tax on wealth would be bad for Britain September 9, 2012 A NUMBER of leading political figures – including Nick Clegg, Vince Cable and Ed Balls – have recently voiced their support for a new wealth tax. It is easy to see why this idea is attractive to politicians. In the UK, personal wealth totals around £7 trillion – around 5 times GDP – even after [...]
Grazie, Mario September 6, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) is gearing up to spend billions of euros on supporting troubled governments, ECB boss Mario Draghi announced yesterday, sending markets soaring. As long as indebted governments ask the official bailout mechanisms for help and put in place strong plans to get their finances back on track, the ECB will consider [...]
Moody’s chops 3CIF’s rating on bailout fear August 28, 2012 MORTGAGE lender Caisse Centrale du Credit Immobilier de France (3CIF) yesterday saw its long-term debt rating slashed from A1 to Baa1 by ratings agency Moody’s, as it continues to seek a buyer. The troubled institution cannot access capital markets, and in July announced plans to sell itself. But its long-term future is far from assured [...]
New lending plan gets off to a shaky start August 1, 2012 THE GOVERNMENT’S latest plan to give banks cheap funds in an effort to boost lending to firms and households received a cautious welcome from banks when it opened yesterday. Majority taxpayer-owned RBS accessed the “Funding for Lending” scheme (FLS) immediately, and cut mortgage and corporate loan interest rates by up to 1.6 percentage points. Lloyds, [...]