Barclays agrees to pay $2bn in civil penalties to settle US mortgage misselling claims March 29, 2018 Barclays has agreed to pay $2bn £1.4bn) in civil penalties to resolve claims for fraud in the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities, the US Department of Justice said today. The US had alleged that Barclays caused “billions of dollars in losses to investors” by selling the deals in the lead up to the financial crisis. [...]
Small respite for household finances won’t last long March 21, 2018 The fall in Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) in February took a few people by surprise given it had hovered around 3 per cent since November. While a drop had been expected, CPI had not been expected to fall by as much as 0.3 per cent which in economic terms is substantial. While CPI remains above [...]
The lessons of the financial crisis have not been learned March 19, 2018 Last week, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned that household debt levels are very close to their 2008 peak and, more worryingly, that many households have borrowed so much that they may be out of their depth. "There are a significant number of households that are in so deep that the slightest sign of rough [...]
Why the younger generation can’t afford to buy their own homes in London March 16, 2018 In my 35 years as a property lawyer, I have seen a sea-change in the balance between ownership and renting. When I first cut my legal teeth, the Rent Act 1977 provided security for tenants and controlled rents below true market rate. As a result, there was little incentive for a prospective landlord to add [...]
Last Week in the City: Trump signs order for tariffs March 9, 2018 This week US President Donald Trump signed off on new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, Trinity Mirror revealed plans to rebrand, and the European Central Bank took a further step towards ending stimulus measures. The FTSE 100 rose 1.9 per cent over the week by mid-session on Friday. Economics China will pursue annual growth [...]
Big fish: The seven largest types of institutional investors March 7, 2018 Say whatever you want about the world, but there’s never been a better time to be an end investor. Many things investment professionals fear — fee compression, automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain — benefit clients through higher account balances and lower fees. Asset owners are the largest of those clients. Though they are frequently [...]
Is inflation a bigger concern than bond markets? March 2, 2018 Rising bond yields have been cited as the reason behind the sell-off in the equity markets but should investors be just as concerned about a spike in inflation? The 10-year US Treasury yield has been moving ever closer to 3 per cent, a level that could start to concern some equity market investors. While the [...]
UK mortgage lending rose in January February 26, 2018 Mortgage lending jumped in January as buyers raced to get ahead of looming interest rate rises – but mortgages for house purchase fell sharply. Borrowers took out mortgages worth £21.9bn in January, up 9.8 per cent on the same month the year before, according to data from UK Finance. However, while the number of people [...]
Open Banking could provide a £1bn boost to the UK economy, says Cebr and Truspilot research, as banks are forced to compete February 26, 2018 The UK’s new Open Banking initiative could provide a £1bn boost to the country’s economy, research indicates. Since customers can now make their financial data available to third parties such as challenger banks, this should increase competition in the marketplace according to a new study from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) and [...]
Bank of England’s deputy dove Sir Dave Ramsden says faster rate hikes are coming February 25, 2018 One of the Bank of England’s most dovish rate-setters has decided that signs of firmer wage growth mean interest rates need to rise more quickly, according to comments reported today. Sir Dave Ramsden, the Bank’s deputy governor, said that “relative to where I was, I see the case for rates rising somewhat sooner rather than [...]