Recovery may be start of boom bust cycle says Berenberg November 1, 2013 The UK recovery is showing disturbing signs of mirroring the pre-crash economy, fuelled by consumer spending and easy credit, according to a Berenberg research note. The bank draws attention to the worryingly low savings rates in the UK which are being further depleted, giving some temporary boost to the economy. A similar situation prevailed in [...]
Credit doubles as Britons go on a debt binge October 31, 2013 London leads a boom in house prices that threatens to spiral out of control CONSUMER credit is rising twice as fast as previously thought, the Bank of England admitted yesterday, raising new concerns over a bubble in lending. The borrowing splurge means households borrowed an extra £864m on credit cards and via other unsecured loans [...]
Sorry to be a party-pooper, but this is the wrong kind of growth October 31, 2013 EVEN the Bank of England sometimes makes mistakes. It was forced to correct its most recent data on consumer borrowing yesterday, in a development that confirmed what many of us feared all along: credit is beginning to surge dangerously. Yes, the economy has rebounded; but in many ways we are seeing the wrong kind of [...]
Nine banks hit with fresh Libor rigging lawsuit October 31, 2013 FANNIE Mae sued nine of the world’s largest banks yesterday, accusing them of colluding to manipulate interest rates and seeking more than $800m (£499m) in damages. In a complaint filed in the US District Court in Manhattan, the government-controlled mortgage company accused the banks of conspiring for years to suppress Libor, or the London Interbank [...]
Consumer lending in September was more than double what was reported October 31, 2013 A correction to Bank of England data has shown that unsecured lending in September was over double what was reported. Consumers borrowed money at the fastest rate since early 2008 in the three months to September, revised data from the Bank of England showed today. The news intensifies concerns that the UK's recovery is reliant [...]
Fed sticks with stimulus level as US deficit eases October 30, 2013 THE US Federal Reserve revealed a relatively bearish outlook over the country’s economy last night as it confirmed that it would stick to its massive $85bn (£53bn) a month stimulus programme. Yet there was some rosier news in a separate data release by the US Treasury department, which said that the state’s deficit has been [...]
UK house prices could rise 10 per cent next year on easy money October 30, 2013 HOUSE prices across Britain could rise by more than 10 per cent next year as the economy recovers and banks ramp up mortgage lending, analysts at UBS Wealth Management predicted yesterday. Banks have cleaned up their balance sheets since the crisis, the analysts said, meaning they are free to increase lending again. And with super-low interest [...]
US mortgage applications jump over six per cent in one week as rates drop October 30, 2013 Mortgage applications have risen by 6.4 per cent in the week to 25 October according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The MBA's 30 year fixed mortgage rate fell from 4.39 per cent to 4.33 per cent. Lower rates = more mortgages #simples — World First (@World_First) October 30, 2013
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 [...]