House sales up 23% on last year February 21, 2012 There were 64,000 UK property sales in January, up 23 per cent compared the same month last year, according to figures from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Sales numbers endured the traditional post-Christmas dip, falling from 86,000 in December. But the January figures are the highest since 2008. Yesterday the Council of Mortgage lenders said [...]
Mortgage lending up by 10% February 20, 2012 Gross mortgage lending hit £10.5bn in January, up 10 per cent compared to the same month last year, according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Lending fell by 14 per cent from £12.2bn from December but was still substantially up on figures from January 2011. CML chief economist Bob Pannell said he [...]
Finances still tight despite inflation dip February 20, 2012 BRITONS’ spending power has continued to fall at the start of 2012, according to a fresh survey, despite a slowdown in inflation. Spending power was 0.9 per cent lower in January than a year earlier, in real terms, research by Lloyds TSB has revealed this morning. This is the equivalent of £100 less to spend [...]
Why free money has very real costs February 8, 2012 LOW interest rates are great, high interest rates are bad – that, at least, seems to be the general message from politicians and the media, who almost invariably welcome easy money and decry rate hikes. The problem is that the public doesn’t agree – not a bit, in fact. The latest YouGov research on the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 8, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES BROKERS SUSPENDED IN LIBOR INQUIRY More than a dozen traders and brokers in London and Asia have been fired, suspended or put on leave by their employers as a multinational probe into alleged manipulation of crucial global lending rates accelerates. Regulators have been investigating US and European banks that help set interbank lending [...]
End of QE will push up bond yields February 7, 2012 THE EXTRA £50bn of quantitative easing (QE) widely expected to be announced tomorrow could be the last, according to analysts at RBC Capital Markets – removing the support the Bank of England has given the gilt market. If next week’s inflation report shows inflation on track to hit its target in the medium term, it [...]
House prices set to stagnate February 6, 2012 HOUSE prices rose in January, defying the trend of recent months, Halifax said yesterday, as it warned that values are set to stagnate this year. Average prices increased 0.6 per cent to £160,907, though they fell 0.9 per cent over the quarter and are down 1.8 per cent since January 2011. “Low interest rates have [...]
House prices in slim rise February 6, 2012 House prices rose by 0.6 per cent in January figures from mortgage lender Halifax showed helping to recover some lost ground. House prices fell by 1.8 per cent in the three months to January compared with a year ago, taking the average price of a home to 160,907 pounds. “The continuing very low level of [...]
Why the debate has gone all wrong February 5, 2012 PART of the problem in Britain today is that public debate is taking place in a fact-less vacuum. People have no interest in what is really happening to investment bankers’ pay and prefer to ignore the regulatory revolution across all of finance, including banking, fund management, private equity, trading, accountancy and insurance. Take pay: as [...]
Hopeful house buyers put off by low supply February 5, 2012 A SHORTAGE of suitable housing is preventing potential first-time buyers from stepping onto the property ladder, according to data released this morning. Asked to name their biggest concern about buying a home, the second most common response among potential buyers was the difficulty of finding a property. “In the final quarter of 2011, the numbers [...]