Wells Fargo profits up despite steeper rates January 14, 2014 THE END of super-cheap mortgages hit Wells Fargo’s revenues in the final quarter of last year, the US bank has said, as higher rates meant fewer customers remortgaging. The Federal Reserve’s tapering has started to impact on mortgage interest rates, as it slowly removes its stimulus as the economy grows. However, Wells Fargo cut staff [...]
Best of the Brokers for 14 January 2014 January 13, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BAE SYSTEMS UBS analysts are upbeat on BAE, highlighting it as their favourite pick from the European aerospace and defence sector. They have a “buy” rating on the stock and hiked their target price from 475p to 510p, citing a likely Saudi price [...]
Fall in homes for sale boosts prices further January 13, 2014 LONDON’S house prices jumped again in October, according to data out today from Hometrack, as supply of homes dropped but demand kept on rising. Nationally prices increased by 0.5 per cent in the month, with London leading the way at 0.8 per cent. That means that over the last 12 months London’s prices have risen [...]
Business lending to boom as UK recovery takes hold January 12, 2014 LENDING is set to rise in every area of the economy, analysts at EY forecast today, as the recovery finally gives banks the confidence to supply more credit. No other European country’s bankers have so much confidence, the study found, underlining the strength of the recovery in Britain. Firms of all sizes and sectors in [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 13 January 2014 January 12, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Treasury debt pledge on Scotland The UK Treasury will today assume full responsibility for Britain’s £1.2 trillion debt stock in the event of Scottish independence, in an attempt to head off market jitters ahead of September’s referendum. Danny Alexander, Treasury chief secretary, fears gilt investors could start demanding a risk premium in the [...]
A recovery built on bricks and mortar January 12, 2014 Bovis chief executive David Ritchie tells Elizabeth Fournier why he’s not concerned about a new UK housing bubble THE LAST 12 months have been good ones for Britain’s housebuilders. After a financial crisis that saw billions wiped off the sector as credit dried up and house prices crashed, 2013 saw a return to form as [...]
Young Britons hit hardest by housing crisis January 10, 2014 PR consultancy MRM has released a report investigating the attitudes of "Generation Austerity," aged 20-29. Their results set today's young people radically apart from the rest of the population, in their attitudes to personal finance. When asked what is the most important thing for you to save for right now, 37 per cent of generation [...]
Surge in small deposits caused by 2013 house market recovery January 9, 2014 THE NUMBER of home loans with a low deposit has surged by 60 per cent over the last year, as the number of mortgage loans heads back to pre-crisis levels. According to chartered surveyors E.surv, there were 9,038 house purchases with a deposit that is worth less than 15 per cent of the value of [...]
Carney could scrap Help to Buy next year January 8, 2014 GEORGE Osborne’s flagship Help to Buy mortgage scheme could be shot down by Mark Carney in the coming 18 months, top bank analysts said yesterday, as the booming housing market gathers pace. The chancellor wants the scheme, which supports house buyers with small deposits, to last for three years. But if the housing market overheats [...]
Our panel votes to hold rates as economy firms January 8, 2014 AS 2014 gets underway, our shadow monetary policy committee votes to keep interest rates and QE unchanged in January. Two members voted for a rate hike again this month, as official statistics responses to business surveys continue to reinforce the view that the UK economic recovery was strengthening as 2013 rolled to an end. Most [...]