Watchdog says stability rules will hit growth January 14, 2013 RAISING capital requirements for bank lending will promote financial stability but will also increase the cost of credit and hit the economy in the short run, the Bank of England acknowledged yesterday. Its policy document explaining how the Financial Policy Committee will try to identify and deal with financial bubbles also said the powers could [...]
Great value mortgages are making their way to market January 13, 2013 A BLEAK wider economic picture has made the mortgage market difficult in recent years. Nonetheless, mortgage lending is set to expand by 8.3 per cent in 2013, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). And since the Funding for Lending credit easing scheme was introduced last summer, there has been an increase in the [...]
Best of the Brokers January 9, 2013 JOHN WOOD GROUP Goldman Sachs upgraded the oil and gas services company to “buy” from “neutral” and raised the target price by 28p to 940p yesterday, following “recent underperformance”. According to the analyst, the company contains a lucrative combination of relatively low risk, growth and high cash flow. John Wood is likely to benefit from [...]
Banks hammered by $20bn mortgage bill January 7, 2013 US BANKS were hit with compensation payments and settlement costs of almost $20bn (£12.4bn) yesterday as regulators and the industry moved to end long-running rows over the toxic debt and aggressive repossessions of the credit crunch era. Ten banks will have to pay a total of $8.5bn in compensation and mortgage assistance to customers who [...]
Markets lap up easing of bank liquidity rules January 7, 2013 BANK shares jumped yesterday after regulators eased incoming liquidity rules, giving banks more time to build up their buffers as well as letting lenders use a wider range of instruments. The aim of the rules is to make sure banks have a buffer of liquid assets big enough to match outflows of cash in a [...]
US stocks drop on anticipated poor earnings January 7, 2013 US stocks lost ground yesterday, as investors drew back from recent gains that lifted the S&P 500 to a five-year high, in anticipation of sluggish growth in corporate profits. Shares of financial companies dipped after a group of major US banks agreed to pay a total of $8.5bn (£5.3bn) to end a government inquiry into [...]
We need an export-led revolution to save the UK economy January 3, 2013 HAPPY New Year, dear readers. Let me begin my first column of 2013 with a plea to economists, policy-makers, commentators, politicians, financiers, business folk and everyone else who wants more growth and jobs. Please, please, spend less of your time obsessing about fresh ways to subsidise mortgages, pump prime the economy with more quantitative easing [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 2, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES BofA raises lending after years of cuts Bank of America is ramping up mortgage and corporate lending after two years of focusing on capital levels and cost-cutting. Chief executive Brian Moynihan said the company should overtake JPMorgan Chase in direct-to-consumer mortgage lending in the next six months and he had directed bankers to [...]
London house prices up £28k through 2012 December 20, 2012 HOUSE prices across the UK crept up through 2012, according to data out yesterday from property website Zoopla, with London leaping further ahead. Mortgage lending increased again in November, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed, with the first signs that the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) may be having an effect. Home purchase loans [...]
Rate-riggers to face trial in USA December 19, 2012 SWISS bank UBS was yesterday hit with almost £1bn of fines for Libor fixing around the globe – a fine three times larger than the penalty paid by British bank Barclays in June. And the US authorities announced two former traders, including one Briton, have been charged with conspiracy and face extradition. Dozens of traders [...]