US Fed slows balance sheet reduction and holds dovish line on interest rates March 20, 2019 The Federal Reserve tonight announced that it will hold interest rates and predicted no hikes this year in a dovish decision amid stronger economic headwinds than previously anticipated. In line with market expectations the Fed also said it would slow the reduction of its holdings of US Treasury bonds, built up following its programme of quantitative [...]
UK house price growth hits six-year low as experts warn of ‘Brexit downward spiral’ March 20, 2019 London house prices fell 1.6 per cent in the year to January, official data revealed today, as experts warned a mix of Brexit uncertainty and the death of buy to let are hurting the value of homes. The sharp price drop in the capital's housing market meant overall UK house prices rose just 1.7 per [...]
How the arrival of the World Wide Web has changed the mortgage market March 12, 2019 In 1989, the Swiss physics laboratory, CERN, was buzzing with information but it had one big problem: ideas, data and knowledge held by the lab was stored across incompatible computers. A young scientist, Tim Berners-Lee, envisioned creating a unifying structure for sharing information across its computer systems. He wrote a proposal for a linked information [...]
Lending rises for remortgages but falls for UK house buyers at end of 2018 March 12, 2019 Mortgage lending was up for remortgaging and down for house purchasing in Britain in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to a year earlier, new statistics by the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have shown. The proportion of high loan-to-income (LTI) loans, those greater than four times the value of annual income [...]
LK Bennett collapses into administration March 7, 2019 Upmarket women’s footwear retailer LK Bennett has collapsed into administration, in the latest sign of industry trouble on the high street. Some 500 jobs across 39 stores are now at risk at the high end firm, which has appointed accountancy firm EY as administrators. In a statement this afternoon, EY said: "A sale process for the [...]
If Kylie Jenner can be an entrepreneurial superstar, so can the rest of Generation Z March 7, 2019 Generation Z are the most entrepreneurial age group, according to recent research. While we all thought that millennials were the trailblazers in terms of entrepreneurship, today’s 16-24-year-olds knock them out of the park. And they are 20 per cent more likely to want to start a business than their parents. What’s even more interesting is the [...]
UK house prices: Experts cast doubt on ‘volatile’ Halifax price hike figures March 7, 2019 House prices rose almost three per cent at the start of 2019 compared to the same period last year, new figures revealed today. Annual house price growth hit 2.8 per cent in the three months to February compared to the corresponding time in 2018, Halifax’s house price index said today – much higher than the [...]
IFISA investments in local businesses mean you can support your community in exchange for attractive returns March 6, 2019 There is an old saying that goes: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” Originally taken from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the line is about the risks of lending or borrowing money from your friends, because you might lose both the money and the friendship. Over time, the saying has morphed into a piece of general financial [...]
Remortgaging in London hits decade high as homeowners capitalise on competitive deals February 27, 2019 Remortgaging in London has reached a decade-high and the number of first-time buyers also rose at the end of last year, according to UK Finance data. The number of new homeowner remortgages in the capital rose to 60,400 in 2018 – a 6.2 per cent increase on 2017 and the highest annual figure since 2008, [...]
Funds and investment trusts for all the family February 26, 2019 by Jemma Jackson from interactive investor. As the current tax year approaches an end, interactive investor selects some great funds for your ISA. Whilst reviewing or selecting an ISA portfolio might seem like a solo pursuit (the clue is in the name – Individual Savings Account), it doesn't have to be. interactive investor explains why [...]