Experts worry funding is not raising lending September 1, 2013 BANK lending to businesses and households edged up in July, raising hopes that the flow of credit is at last improving on the back of initiatives like the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS). However, analysts have warned that the FLS’s impact is negligible so far. “The scheme has succeeded only in ensuring credit flows tread [...]
Wall St The Week Ahead: US awaits wave of new statistics September 1, 2013 WALL Street is braced for a wave of economic reports this week, including the August jobs report, which might prove decisive in finding whether the economy is strong enough for the Federal Reserve to dial back its bond purchases in mid-September. However, The US market is closed today for Labor Day. Anxiety about the Fed [...]
House prices continue to rise on Help to Buy scheme August 30, 2013 House prices are up again in August, by 0.6 per cent. That's in line with analyst predictions, and slightly lower than last month's 0.9 per cent growth (release). Nationwide's figures are provided on a seasonally adjusted basis, while nominal average house prices have actually dropped slightly, down from £170,825 to £170,514. £311 isn't a discount [...]
Carney tears up King’s rulebook August 28, 2013 BANK lending is in line for a £90bn boost after Mark Carney yesterday agreed to let the safest institutions divert resources away from regulatory liquidity buffers and into business and household credit. It comes after business secretary Vince Cable called the Bank of England the “capital Taliban,” claiming regulators’ tough capital requirements were hitting [...]
Governor stands firm on plan for UK interest rates August 28, 2013 INTEREST rates could stay at rock bottom even after unemployment falls below seven per cent, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said yesterday. In a bid to convince sceptical markets he really is serious about keeping rates down for the next three years, Carney said he would look for a wide range of evidence that [...]
US pending home sales suffer biggest monthly fall this year August 28, 2013 US pending home sales fell by more than expected in July, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The pending home sales index fell by 1.3 per cent from the month before to 109.5 – the biggest fall this year. This follows a 0.4 per cent drop in the month to June. [...]
US mortgage applications continue to fall August 28, 2013 Mortgage applications in the US fell by 2.5 per cent last week from the week before, according to survey data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). This follows a 4.6 per cent fall the week before. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased by 12 basis points to 4.8 per cent in [...]
London Week Ahead: Mark versus market in first public speech August 26, 2013 BANK of England governor Mark Carney’s keynote lunch speech to business leaders in Nottingham tomorrow has already been dubbed “Mark versus Market” – with market watchers dubious about Carney’s claims for long-term low interest rates. Rob Wood, economist at Berenberg Bank, said: “Growing momentum in the economy, rapidly rising house prices, and wide disagreements on [...]
Transparency over the true cost of investment is more vital than ever August 26, 2013 MARK Carney has been lauded by homeowners for giving forward projections on interest rates, now set to deliver record low mortgage bills for the forseeable future. Yet after four years of 0.5 per cent interest rates, many will see forward guidance as the final nail in the coffin for cash-based savings. There is already strong [...]
Property bond issues reach four-year high August 22, 2013 BONDS backed by commercial property in Europe have hit their highest level of issuance since 2009, rating agency Standard & Poor’s said yesterday. Issues of commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS) in the six months to June topped €5.4bn (£4.6bn), more than the €3.2bn issued last year. “Cautious optimism prevails in the European CMBS primary market,” [...]