Mortgage approvals rise May 30, 2012 UK mortgage approvals for house purchase and mortgage lending were at their highest since January last month, but Britons repaid their credit card bills at the fastest rate in more than five years, Bank data showed on Wednesday. The central bank said mortgage approvals numbered 51,823 in April, up from 51,067 in March. Analysts had [...]
Europe’s shared currency shouldn’t entail Germany bankrolling a debt union May 22, 2012 GEORGE Osborne and François Hollande want Angela Merkel to support Eurobonds. These would pool debt issuance among Eurozone governments, allowing them all to fund their spending at the same borrowing rate. The more creditworthy Eurozone governments would thereby subsidise the spending of the less creditworthy. Merkel thinks that subsidising the spending of profligate governments is [...]
Mortgage loans plummet as tax break expires May 21, 2012 MORTGAGE lending plunged in April after the stamp duty holiday expired, industry data showed yesterday, while economists warned the underlying state of the housing market is weakening. Gross mortgage lending slumped from £12.6bn in March to £10.2bn in April – a 19 per cent fall to an 11-month low, according to data from the Council [...]
Squeeze on UK consumers is getting deeper May 20, 2012 LOW WAGE rises and high inflation increased the pressure on consumers in April and May, two reports showed today, threatening to keep the economy in the doldrums. Lloyds’ figures show spending power fell 0.9 per cent in April as incomes fell 1.6 per cent once inflation is taken into account. As a result, consumers have [...]
How to get on the housing ladder May 20, 2012 THERE is no doubt about it. It’s tough out there for first time buyers. But stricter lending criteria don’t necessarily mean it’s impossible to get on the housing ladder. However, you must know the basics so you can build your decision on strong foundations. DO THE MATHS Incentives matter. It was recently confirmed by the [...]
House prices in the capital are detached by location May 20, 2012 London’s property market is outperforming but some boroughs are well off the pace LONDON Neither London, nor England and Wales, have returned to their 2008 peaks – but London is close. From March 2009, prices have grown 16 per cent in London compared to 6 per cent in England and Wales as a whole. However, [...]
Santander’s AA mortgage deal shows appetite for securitisation May 17, 2012 BANKING group Santander UK said yesterday it had raised £2.25bn through a residential mortgage-backed securitisation deal. The first AA-rated issuance by a UK institution since before the financial crisis was announced came just hours before the branch had its credit rating slashed by Moody’s. Nonetheless, the UK arm of the Spanish bank has raised £5.25bn [...]
Like avian flu Eurozone contagion could be on us before we know it May 17, 2012 ON THURSDAY we finally saw what contagion could look like. After large deposit withdrawals from Greek lenders earlier this week, Spanish newspapers reported that one of Spain’s banks was facing similar problems, although it later denied this. Contagion was only meant to happen when Greece actually left – or was kicked out – of the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 15, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES EU to push for binding investor pay votes Shareholders in Europe’s listed companies will be given a binding vote on pay while those who invest in banks will gain powers to set a cap on bonus levels, under plans being drawn up by senior EU officials. The initiative from Michel Barnier, the EU’s [...]
NAB’s British business drags down profits May 10, 2012 NATIONAL Australia Bank (NAB), the country’s top lender by assets, yesterday posted record first half earnings as higher trading, fee income and a rising share of the mortgage market countered losses in its UK operations. While NAB and rivals ANZ and Westpac have reported strong headline numbers for the half-year, all saw margins squeezed as [...]