US mortgage requests jump February 6, 2013 US MORTGAGE applications climbed in the last week of January, despite increasing interest rates, data showed yesterday. Seasonally-adjusted loan application volumes increased 3.4 per cent in the week ending 1 February, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. Unadjusted mortgage applications were some 16 per cent higher that week than during the same seven days a year [...]
House prices edge down in January February 6, 2013 UK house prices inched down 0.2 per cent in January following rises in November and December, according to the latest Halifax house price index. On an annual basis, house values rose by 1.3 per cent, marking the first rise in 27 months, according to the lender. “Market activity has also improved with sales in 2012 [...]
S&P agency faces suit over ratings February 4, 2013 RATINGS giant Standard & Poor’s yesterday said it faced a civil lawsuit from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) over grades it gave prior to the credit crunch. Shares in McGraw-Hill, S&P’s parent company, collapsed 13.8 per cent to hit $50.30, their worst fall since the October 1987 crash. Shares in rival Moody’s also fell [...]
US stocks slide as downgrades pull back gains February 4, 2013 US stocks slid yesterday, giving the S&P 500 its worst day since November, as renewed worries about the Eurozone crisis caused the market to pull back from recent gains. Shares of McGraw-Hill shed 13.8 per cent to $50.30, their worst daily percentage decline since the October 1987 market crash, after news the US Justice Department [...]
The retail funding myth – why the investment banks aren’t to blame February 4, 2013 BANKS used retail deposits to gamble on the investment banking casino!” That is the common perception of the cause behind the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The popular belief is that retail deposits, instead of being used to fund “safe” traditional retail lending like mortgages, were used to fund high-risk derivatives trading on the international capital markets. [...]
Carney getting ready for tough MPs’ questions February 3, 2013 INCOMING Bank of England governor Mark Carney will face a grilling from MPs on Thursday as an influential backbench committee makes the most of its first ever chance to question an incoming governor. Carney is set to take up the role this summer just as the Bank receives huge new powers over finance firms. That [...]
Santander sees UK growth but bad Spanish loans dent profits January 31, 2013 BANKING giant Santander claimed it has now moved beyond the Spanish housing crash, setting it up for solid growth in the coming years. Profits plunged 59 per cent to €2.205bn (£1.9bn) for 2012, in large part due to bad loan provisions of €6.14bn. But the bank’s UK arm reported gains, seeing post-tax profits rise four [...]
UK house prices back in black at end of January January 31, 2013 HOUSE prices swung back into growth in January, according to Nationwide’s latest house price index. Prices grew 0.5 per cent over the first month of 2013, the data showed, so that the index was back to almost exactly the same level as during January 2012. This marks the first time in 11 months the annual [...]
Customers have no incentive to punish mis-selling banks January 31, 2013 BANKS are embroiled in another “mis-selling” scandal, but we can be sure that customer behaviour won’t be affected. Few people will switch bank as a result. Regulation means we are indifferent to how our banks behave. Why? Because we know banks will always be fined for their faults, and we know we’ll always be compensated. [...]
UK house prices tick up in January January 31, 2013 UK house prices edged up in January, boosted by the Funding for Lending scheme, mortgage lender Nationwide said this morning. According to the lender, house values ticked up 0.5 per cent in January, although values were flat year on year, avoiding a decline for the first time since February. The typical UK home is now [...]