London markets jump ahead of expected big US Federal Reserve rate rise July 27, 2022 London markets shrugged off bets on the US Federal Reserve hiking rate steeply later today to jump during opening exchanges. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index added 0.43 per cent to reach 7,337.93 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, increased 0.07 per [...]
Homeowners on edge as inflation and interest rates rise: What is next for UK mortgage rates? July 26, 2022 Many people up and down the country will be feeling the financial strain of the cost-of-living crisis, and this’ll only add more pressure on the monthly budgets of millions of UK mortgage homeowners and of those currently looking to buy. With the Bank of England’s base rates having risen to 1.25 per cent in June [...]
US Federal Reserve to back up monster rate hike with another 75 basis point move July 25, 2022 The US Federal Reserve will back up its monster rate rise last month with another big 75 basis point hike this week as it chases down scorching inflation across the pond. That’s according to Wall Street analysts, who think Fed chair Jerome Powell and the rest of the federal open market committee (FOMC) will need [...]
Exclusive: Pensioners should get stamp duty break if they downsize home, house-buyers’ group says July 25, 2022 To ease the housing crisis, pensioners may be pushed into downsizing their homes and getting a tax break on stamp duty in return. The National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) said the incentive would free up supply of housing and cool house prices, while also redoing the need for equity release. This comes after the [...]
Week ahead: Banks to report amid high inflation and interest rate fears July 25, 2022 Customer behaviour and cost control are set to be top of the in-tray for the major banks as they update investors over the next week. Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest are all set to update the markets in a bumper week for the sector. Although priorities will vary slightly, there will be significant focus on whether [...]
City bombshell: Hundreds of angry Northern Rock clients sue TSB Bank for £800m after being trapped in high-interest mortgages July 18, 2022 City A.M. was told this morning that TSB Bank is facing a legal action worth up to £800m, brought by customers who claim they were locked into mortgages with ‘excessively high’ interest rates. Today, six years to the day since TSB bought £3.3bn mortgages from Northern Rock, approximately 200 homeowners whose mortgages have been administered [...]
Return of loan loss reserves crimp JP Morgan profits July 14, 2022 Swelling reserves set aside to deal with a historic inflation surge raising the risk of US consumers defaulting on their debts has eroded investment banking giant JP Morgan’s profits, the firm announced today. Net income dropped 28 per cent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, driven by a $428m (£360m) [...]
The investment trust sector and the Four Horsemen – a review of Q2 22 July 13, 2022 Conquest and War – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing conflict between the two countries; Famine – at the very least the increased threat of global food shortages as supplies from Ukraine, the ‘bread basket of Europe’, increasingly become weaponised; Death – despite the roll-out of vaccines, Covid-19 continues to mutate and take lives [...]
UK house prices hit average of £294,845 in largest growth spurt since 2004 July 7, 2022 House prices leaped in June in the largest increase of monthly growth since 2004, hitting an average of £294,845 after months of declining growth. Climbing ever-closer to the £300,000 mark, house prices jumped 1.8 per cent in June, after climbing one per cent in May, when the average cost of a home was £289,099, according [...]
PMI: House building shrinks for first time since beginning of pandemic July 6, 2022 A slowdown in the UK economy triggered by the cost of living crisis has led to house building stalling, a closely watched survey published today reveals. Activity in the UK house building sector dropped for the first time since May 2020, when the country was in the teeth of the most onerous pandemic restrictions, according [...]