£3bn mortgage support fund branded ‘terrible economics and bad politics’ after Lib Dem calls June 16, 2023 Calls for a £3bn mortgage protection fund have been branded “terrible economics and bad politics” as lenders continue to raise rates. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for the multi-billion pound fund to be set up to offer help to families at risk of losing their homes, as repossession fears spiral. But Tim Pitt, [...]
Bank of England survey finds public has all time low confidence in its ability to tackle inflation June 16, 2023 Public confidence in the Bank of England’s ability to tackle inflation has plummeted according to a fresh survey by… the Bank of England. The central Bank issued its quarterly poll of public attitudes to tackling inflation as speculation grows that it will hoist interest rates to 5.75 basis points next week, amid out-of-control inflation. Asked [...]
Wall Street: Stocks up as US winning streak kicks into a higher gear June 16, 2023 US stocks swept higher on Thursday, revving the longest rally for Wall Street in a year and a half into a higher gear. The S&P 500 rallied 1.2 per cent to reach heights untouched since April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 428 points, or 1.3 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite rose 1.1 [...]
Natwest boss: We’re managing loan book ‘very very closely’ as rates spike June 15, 2023 Natwest boss Dame Alison Rose said the bank was seeing “no material signs of distress” in its loan book despite the impact of rising interest rates. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs financial conference, Rose said: “We have seen no increase in defaults or impairments and the same on the business side… What we’ve actually seen [...]
More lenders expected to hike mortgage rates following HSBC, brokers warn June 15, 2023 More and more lenders are set to increase rates on mortgages, brokers have warned, as the fallout from the Bank of England’s rate rise continues to devastate homeowners. The fresh blow to the housing sector comes as HSBC pushed mortgage rates up for the second time in one week in an unprecedented move for the [...]
UK economy swings back to growth but spectre of recession looms amid interest rate fears June 14, 2023 Britain’s economy swung back to growth in spring, but the recent turmoil in the mortgage market and the prospect of the Bank of England hiking interest rates aggressively has put the risk of a recession back on the table. Official figures out today from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed gross domestic product – [...]
PMQs sketch: All the fun of the fair for Sunak and Starmer June 14, 2023 In the wake of Boris Johnson’s seemingly endless headline generating abilities being demonstrated again this week, it’s unsurprising Keir Starmer launched into what should have been a brutal takedown of a government fiddling while Frome (oh no, that’s already gone independent…) Stoke-on-Trent – majority of just 670 – burns. It’s just a shame the criticism [...]
Mortgage commitments plummet to pandemic levels as rate hike jitters spook housing market June 13, 2023 The number of new mortgage commitments has fallen to the lowest levels since the Covid pandemic as speculation the Bank of England’s will keep on hiking interest rates rattles the market. As the central bank raised interest rates for the 12th consecutive time during the quarter, in a bid to cool inflation, the number of [...]
Bank of England to hoist interest rates to 5.75 per cent as experts warn UK inflation is out of control June 13, 2023 The Bank of England will have to hike interest rates to their highest level since July 2007, the eve of the financial crisis, in a sign that markets think the UK has the worst inflation problem in the rich world. Traders ratcheted up bets on how high Bank Governor Andrew Bailey and the rest of [...]
FTSE 100 close: Miners lift London’s premier index despite high wage growth sending rate fears spiralling June 13, 2023 Commodity giants lifted London’s main indexes on Tuesday despite concerns that the Bank of England will have to hike rates higher and faster on the back of the latest labour market figures. The capital’s premier index climbed 0.3 per cent to 7,594.78 points, although the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with [...]