Investec sell-off helps company focus on future May 21, 2015 ANGLO-South African finance group Investec yesterday said it was in the best shape for a decade, after clearing the decks of old businesses and boosting performance at its money management arms. The company, listed in London and Johannesburg, said the reduction of its UK and Irish mortgage business and banking venture in Australia was helping [...]
Co-op Bank says it is on track to meet Bank of England targets May 20, 2015 The Co-operative Bank said in a first-quarter trading statement yesterday that its turnaround plan is on track. The bank is undergoing changes to de-risk its balance sheet and meet revised deleveraging targets as set by regulators after the Bank of England stress tests last year. The bank completed a £1.5bn residential mortgage securitisation earlier this [...]
UK house prices: Scotland’s growth at its highest since 2007 as prices accelerate May 19, 2015 The UK’s house price growth rose to 9.6 per cent for the year to March, with Scotland the east of England and London driving the rise. The figures The 9.6 per cent rise in the UK for the year to March was 1.2 percentage points higher than the 7.4 per cent recorded in February. The [...]
UK house prices: What effect does the unemployment rate have on the cost of a home? May 17, 2015 Average house prices in the twenty local authorities with the highest rate of unemployment have risen by just £4,100 since 2009, while low unemployment areas have risen by an average of £65,000, according to analysis from Lloyds. The figures The raw numbers translate to increases of 25 per cent for the areas with the lowest [...]
London house prices no longer steepest risers May 14, 2015 HOUSE prices in the rest of the south-east and in East Anglia are now growing faster than those in London, according to figures out today from LSL Property Services. Prices in London were 6.8 per cent higher in the three months to April than in the same period of 2014. By contrast those in the rest [...]
UK house prices: Are low deposit mortgages propping up the housing market? May 14, 2015 The number of people buying houses with low-value deposits has risen by 7.3 per cent in the last year, according to data analysis by chartered surveyors e.surv. The figures Lending to borrowers who have only small deposits (15 per cent or less of the property’s value) accounted for 16.3 per cent of house purchases in April, [...]
What will the new government do to build more affordable homes? May 13, 2015 Housing charity Shelter says 250,000 new homes need to be built in England each year to keep up with population increases. But current housebuilding rates are nowhere near those levels. According to the department for communities and local government, just under 120,000 homes were completed last year. On the campaign trail, the Conservatives made a [...]
Sweden set to loosen monetary policy again as deflation strikes May 12, 2015 Prices fell again in Sweden in April despite policymakers’ attempts to banish deflation through very loose monetary policy, official figures showed yesterday. Consumer prices fell 0.2 per cent on the year, sliding after two months of positive inflation numbers. Policymakers at the Riksbank held interest rates at minus 0.25 per cent at their April meeting, [...]
Investec Comment: Why the future is bright for SME finance May 10, 2015 NO ONE needs to be told that it’s been a difficult few years for small businesses seeking finance, and economic recovery has done little to change this picture. The Bank of England’s latest Trends in Lending report found that the annual rate of growth in the stock of lending to small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) [...]
UK house prices: Growth slows for the first time in 2015 May 8, 2015 UK house price growth has fallen on a three-month basis for the first time in 2015, according to Halifax. The figures For the three months to April 2015, house prices in the UK grew 2.2 per cent, lower than the last three months, when it was 2.6 per cent. On a monthly basis prices rose [...]