What lies ahead for London’s property market? May 5, 2023 All eyes remained on London’s housing market this week as a flurry of reports signalled a return to a stable property market in the capital, but analysts have warned that the storm may not be fully weathered yet… As reports by Rightmove showed on Friday morning, first time buyers in the capital continue to be [...]
Mortgage rates ‘significantly’ increase – but what does it mean for the housing market? May 4, 2023 The number of mortgages being approved leaped in March in another signal that the outlook for the housing market is beginning to recover. Figures released today by the Bank of England showed that mortgage approvals for house purchases rose “significantly” to 52,000 in March from 44,100 in February. Lucian Cook, head of residential research at [...]
BNP Paribas first-quarter revenue beats expectations as trading outperforms May 3, 2023 BNP Paribas’s first-quarter sales beat market expectations as trading business at the eurozone’s biggest bank outperformed most of its peers, while it started to reap the benefits from rising interest rates. BNP’s quarterly profit more than doubled in the first quarter from a year earlier, bolstered by gains from its much-anticipated sale of its U.S. [...]
Lloyds profits swell by nearly 50 per cent as bank boosted by interest rate rises but guidance remains unchanged May 3, 2023 Lloyds first quarter profits rose 46 per cent as the bank became the latest UK lender to see its bottom line boosted by a hike in interest rates. The lender’s pre-tax profits came in at £2.3bn compared to £1.5bn the same quarter last year. Charlie Nunn, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group said: “The group [...]
Banks cannot behave like start ups using a business model based on short term profits May 3, 2023 Banks are betting on short-term profits, and this is leading to their collapse. If we don't want to lose our small players, like we did with SVB, we need to recapitalise banks, writes Hugo Llewelyn
London house prices: First-time buyers need household income of nearly £100k to buy May 3, 2023 Londoners’ desire to get on the property ladder has helped fuel the housing market in the capital, despite households now needing an extra £12k in income to be able to afford their own place. Figures released by Zoopla, show that in April house price growth in London rose by 0.5 per cent, as demand and [...]
UK factories shed workers as higher costs and weaker spending pound finances May 2, 2023 British factories are shedding workers after being pounded by soaring costs and weaker spending from customers, according to a closely-watched survey. S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) final purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the UK manufacturing sector came in at 47.8 points last month, above an earlier reading of 46.6 [...]
House prices rise for the first time in seven months but analysts still expect a rough ride May 2, 2023 The housing market showed “tentative” signs of recovery in April as the price of homes rose 0.5 per cent during the month, however prices remain four per cent below their August 2022 peak. The Nationwide house price index showed that the annual rate of house price growth improved to -2.7 per cent from -3.1 per [...]
Recession knife-edge: Consumer spending on credit at £1.3bn as house prices continue to slide May 2, 2023 Britain’s better than expected economic performance since the turn of the year is poised to have lured consumers into splashing the cash on their credit cards, new numbers out this week are tipped to show. Families are tipped by markets to have borrowed £1.3bn in March, which would signal spending in the UK is holding [...]
Co-op Bank buoyed by interest rate rises as takeover speculation continues April 28, 2023 The Co-operative Bank has reported a jump in income as the latest lender to be boosted by higher interest rates which have pushed up the cost of borrowing. The company said its net interest income – the difference between what a bank charges for loans and pays for savings – surged by a fifth to [...]