What you need to know before the open – 30/10 October 30, 2013 US equity markets saw another record close yesterday, and the German DAX continues to break records, too. European stocks were marginally behind. Asian markets closed up today. Yesterday, the ECB's Ewald Nowotny ruled out the prospect of further rate easing in Europe in the near future. ETX Capital #morningcall FTSE +19, DAX +20, CAC [...]
UK mortgage approvals hit a five-year peak October 29, 2013 BRITISH lenders approved the most mortgages in over five years last month as borrowing costs sank to their lowest in a decade, central bank data showed yesterday, setting the stage for further house price rises. Business lending also picked up – though only for larger firms – but the figures did little to dispel concerns [...]
Rising fuel costs: The real trigger behind the 2008 subprime crisis October 29, 2013 FIVE years on, and academics and journalists are still attempting to explain the US subprime loan crisis that, in September 2008, caused the collapse of Lehman Brothers and apparently triggered the global economic crisis. But an important factor in understanding what happened is missing: energy prices. In November to December 1998, a barrel of oil [...]
Firming house prices fuel bubble concerns as London sees a 9.3 per cent jump October 28, 2013 London's house prices jumped up 9.3 per cent year-on-year in September, with prices in England and Wales up 1.5 per cent since August, according to the Land Registry's house price index. The release follows Hometrack's October data earlier today, which documented that national prices increased by 0.5 per cent, whilst London rose by 0.8 per [...]
Fall in homes for sale boosts prices further October 28, 2013 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 [...]
GDP grows at fastest pace in three years, but is it sustainable? October 25, 2013 Despite latest GDP estimates showing the fastest pace of growth in over three years, analysts are questioning whether such a pace can be sustained.The UK saw GDP rise 0.8 per cent this morning, but this is still 2.5 per cent behind its pre-crisis peak, and means we have some catching up to do with the [...]
London Barometer October 24, 2013 DIRECTOR, DOUGLAS & GORDON PRIME central (PC) and prime south west (PSW) London continue to be polar opposites; buyers are not paying asking prices in PC but are driving prices up in PSW. With stock levels down 35 per cent on last year, it’s telling that purchases in PC often follow a price reduction; this [...]
London Report: Bank falls stop FTSE’s nine-day winning streak October 23, 2013 THE UK’S benchmark equity index fell yesterday to end a nine-session winning streak, as a drop in heavyweight banking shares dragged the stock market down from five-month highs. Nevertheless, several traders felt any pullback would be relatively short-lived and saw the UK stock market rallying into the end of 2013. The benchmark FTSE 100 index [...]
The UK economic growth surge exposes the real evidence on bank lending October 23, 2013 WHEN Charlie Bean, deputy governor at the Bank of England, gave his speech this week on the UK’s economic outlook, he admitted that the Old Lady was surprised with what was happening. The Bank’s analysis showed that the “recent run of UK data has been unusually strong relative to market expectations”. There are “at last [...]
Regulator chief Martin Wheatley says that reform means challenges will give way to fairness October 23, 2013 Chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Martin Wheatley will speak tonight about lessons learnt and challenges ahead for the financial world, highlighting the importance of fairness and cultural reform in preventing future crises. The regulator will say that there is no room for complacency, despite an improving situation: “poor conduct is still a [...]