Housing market activity picked up in August following July’s dip October 12, 2016 Lending for house purchases increased 11 per cent in August as confidence started to return to the UK housing market. Homeowners borrowed £12.2bn in August, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), up 14 per cent month-on-month and up 11 per cent year-on-year. Read more: This is how sterling's unstoppable slide will affect UK [...]
This is how sterling’s unstoppable slide will affect UK house prices October 12, 2016 After a freak six per cent fall when markets opened in Asia last week, sterling is in free fall. The fall obviously has implications for people going abroad – but what about people here at home? We asked the experts what the flash crash will do to UK house prices. Read more: This is how the [...]
Banks’ profitability to be hit by Brexit fears over risky assets October 11, 2016 Market volatility will sap the efforts of Europe's biggest banks to offload their riskiest assets, and continue to drag on their profitability, a new study has warned. Moody's said this morning that the five largest investment banks – Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, RBS and UBS – will have to accept discount prices for so-called [...]
Digital doors officially open at Atom Bank October 6, 2016 Brits who wish to give mobile banking a whirl have another option on the table from today, as Atom Bank has officially opened to all customers. The bank, which is built exclusively for mobile, initially launched in "invitation only" mode but the app could only be used by those who had expressed interest previously and [...]
The new centre ground: The full text of Theresa May’s Conservative Party conference speech October 5, 2016 In the speech which closed the Conservative Party conference, Theresa May spoke of a country in transition, and new opportunities. The full 7,600 words is below – although if you'd rather a cut-down version, her best quotes are here – or you can read how businesses reacted. The new centre ground: May's speech in full When [...]
Philip Hammond is wrong to assume an infrastructure splurge will boost growth October 3, 2016 Mention the name Philip Hammond in Westminster, and invariably someone will describe him as “a safe pair of hands”. The man who has been chancellor for three months had been largely inconspicuous in his role prior to yesterday’s conference speech. But after almost two decades of a Treasury dominated by micro-managers and tinkerers, primarily in [...]
Investors could be missing out on thousands by following the advice of the Bank of England’s chief economist October 3, 2016 Property might be the investment of choice for the Bank of England's chief economist but research by a leading investment platform suggests that shares are the best option when saving for retirement. At the end of August, Andy Haldane was lambasted by pension experts for advocating his choice to invest in property rather than in a pension scheme. [...]
Philip Hammond unveils £5bn housebuilding stimulus package October 3, 2016 Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced a £5bn stimulus package for housebuilders, including a £3bn fund to help build 25,000 homes during this parliament. The fund will give loans to small and medium sized housebuilders and those using innovative building methods such as offsite construction. It will also provide funding for infrastructure. Read more: London has fallen out [...]
Deutsche Bank’s woes signal the fall of the House of Merkel October 3, 2016 “And the deep and dank tarn closed silently over the fragments of the House of Usher.” – Edgar Allan Poe With mighty Deutsche Bank, the largest lender in Germany and symbol of the country’s economic might, in dire straits, Germans are belatedly waking up to the nightmarish reality that the supposedly masterly inactivity of their wildly [...]
Landlords threaten to hike rents after tax changes kick in October 1, 2016 Landlords have claimed they will be forced to raise rents as a result of the government's string of tax changes and crackdowns on the buy to let sector. A new survey also revealed private sector landlords will not be able to invest as much in improving their properties as a result of the extra charges [...]