$1.6 trillion: The shocking amount governments have gained from quantitative easing November 13, 2013 HALF a decade of rock-bottom interest rates and loose monetary policy have delivered an astonishing windfall to governments around the world, dramatic new research released today reveals. By contrast, older savers with significant assets have been hammered, losing out on huge amounts of interest. Younger households, which are net borrowers have benefitted. While contrary to [...]
The short-term outlook for the British economy is very bullish November 13, 2013 IT’S official: even the Bank of England now agrees that the economy is recovering. It has hiked its growth forecast for this year and next (to 1.6 per cent and 2.8 per cent) and has been forced to concede that unemployment is falling far more quickly than it had been expecting. In a drastic dilution [...]
Slip in number of US mortgage applications November 13, 2013 The number of mortgage applications in the US fell last week by 2.8 per cent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 1.8 per cent in the week ending 13 November. Capital Economics has stressed that [...]
What you need to know before the open – 13/11 November 13, 2013 With Asian markets closing lower today, European markets are expected to follow suit, as investors await UK unemployment numbers later this morning. With Mark Carney's report following the data, the focus will be on the Bank of England's forecast for growth and unemployment, along with its plans for a rate hike. European opening calls [...]
Why it’s no time to be complacent about the UK’s inflation problem November 12, 2013 THE SURPRISE fall in the annual inflation rate in October to 2.2 per cent on the consumer price index and 2.6 per cent on the retail price index is obviously welcome news. However, it’s too soon to be complacent. It also reminds us that inflation has been consistently above the Bank of England’s 2 per [...]
Bank capital rules are holding back a credit binge – but also our recovery November 11, 2013 THE RECENT run of better-than-expected economic data and the government’s Help to Buy scheme have sparked talk of a return to credit-fuelled boom and bust. Some have joined renowned monetary policy hawk Andrew Sentance, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, in calling for interest rates to rise sooner rather than [...]
Help to Buy “already delivering” says David Cameron as second phase sees over 2,000 applications November 11, 2013 Help to Buy is gathering momentum. This morning both RBS and Halifax reported strong uptake of its second phase, which was launched a month ago. 2,384 applications have been put in, totalling £365m of new mortgage lending. On average, households have asked to borrow around £155,000 for houses worth about £163,000. The UK average house [...]
UK must build 1.5m new homes November 6, 2013 Think tank calls for huge construction drive over next five years THE NEXT government must commit to build 1.5m homes by 2020 to stem an emerging social and economic crisis, according to a report released today. Westminster think tank Policy Exchange has calculated that the UK desperately needs to build 300,000 houses every year between [...]
Experian shares slump after US health purchase November 6, 2013 EXPERIAN shares fell 6.4 per cent yesterday after the credit-checking group said it plans to spend $850m (£528m) on a US healthcare business, as it revealed subdued growth in the last six months. The firm said Passport Health Communications, which offers admin and credit checks to US healthcare providers, will help it expand in new markets [...]
Help to Buy lifts Persimmon new sales past 3,000 November 6, 2013 HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon said yesterday it has sold over 3,000 homes under the government sponsored Help to Buy scheme, in yet another sign of rising confidence in the housing market. Chief executive Jeff Fairburn said that while 90 per cent of sales were to first-time buyers, growing market confidence was prompting more second and third-time buyers [...]