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 [...]
US mortgage lending rebounds May 9, 2012 US mortgage applications jumped 1.7 per cent last week, industry data showed yesterday, after a 0.1 per cent rise the week before. The Mortgage Bankers’ Association (MBA) data showed a 1.3 per cent rise in refinancing activity, in part boosted by low borrowing costs. Interest rates on 30-year fixed loans fell to 4.01 per cent [...]
Mass lay-offs push HSBC cost savings to $2bn May 8, 2012 HSBC beat expectations after cracking down on its cost base in the first quarter of this year, laying off thousands to bring its overall job cuts to 14,000 while keeping its revenues steady. Excluding the effect of an accounting loss on its debt, the bank’s underlying pre-tax profits rose from $5.5bn in early 2011 to [...]
Raise our low interest rates now or this ticking time bomb will explode May 7, 2012 DESPITE the UK slipping back into “official” recession, the Bank of England should begin to start raising interest rates. The policy rate it controls has been historically low for several years, and is significantly below where it would be if it were allowed to reflect demand and supply. Almost all commentators claim to accept that [...]
BUY May 3, 2012 DIRECTOR OF ESTATE AGENT, DOUGLAS & GORDON Q.All my friends keep telling me that if I wait, prices will fall. It does seem that in my area, North Kensington, some properties are coming down in price. Should I wait? A.Over the last 10 years, flats in the area you mention have gone up on average [...]