One country gets it on bank reforms June 27, 2011 BELIEVE IT or not but Denmark has emerged as Europe’s pioneering financial reformer. We need to learn from it. Fjordbank Mors, a small lender, has just been allowed to go bust; taxpayers are not having to shell out a penny and the world hasn’t come to an end. Senior bondholders at Fjordbank Mors are taking [...]
House prices drop in June June 27, 2011 House prices in England and Wales have edged lower this month to show their biggest annual fall since October 2009, a monthly survey from property data company Hometrack showed. Average house prices dropped by 0.1 per cent in June, continuing a pattern of modest falls so far this year and taking the year-on-year decline to [...]
Consumers’ borrowing drops and fewer seek remortgaging June 23, 2011 CONSUMERS are borrowing less and repaying more on debts, data from the British Banking Association (BBA) revealed yesterday. Unsecured credit contracted by 1.2 per cent in the year to May, while net credit card borrowing measured a modest £73m in the month – the weakest rate of borrowing on plastic for this year. “Demand for [...]
Russia’s lucrative residential offering June 23, 2011 WITH luxury property developer Yoo launching two new developments in Moscow this year, buying a home in Russia’s booming financial hub looks a more tempting prospect. While the heady days that saw Moscow’s property prices rocket 110 per cent in value are behind us, the more mature market for homes in Moscow is still intriguing. [...]
Why interest rates won’t be going up June 22, 2011 IF you owe a lot of money to your bank, it’s time to rejoice. There is now almost no chance of interest rates going up this year. The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee voted 7-2 to keep rates on hold; and given the arguments and worries about growth expressed by the majority of the [...]
Calls for more UK housing as prices hold up June 20, 2011 BRITAIN needs more houses to avoid shortages in the near future, a group of economists is expected to announce tonight. Even if net migration levelled out, the UK would still require more housing, the Centre for Economic Performance will state at a lecture in London. “Unfairly perhaps, migrants will nevertheless get a lot of blame,” [...]
Chancellor right that banks must be allowed to fail June 15, 2011 IT is a shame that much of the City will be focused on the crisis in Greece and its repercussions on global markets this morning, for there were some surprisingly good ideas on banking regulation at Mansion House last night. There was a clear shift in attitude on display: the chancellor’s pronouncements were by far the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 15, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES CQS SHUTS FUND BUILT ON SUBPRIME TO NEWCOMERS CQS, the London-based credit hedge fund that is one of the biggest of its kind globally, is preparing to shut to new investors its asset-backed securities fund – known for its successful bets in the US subprime mortgage market. The move marks a further step [...]
Qantas cuts spending and drops orders June 15, 2011 AUSTRALIA’S Qantas Airways will slash spending by A$700m (£459m) and plans to cancel aircraft orders as it battles waning demand, soaring fuel costs and investor displeasure, with its shares trading near multi-year lows. Qantas, which suffered a blow to its reputation after an Airbus A380 accident last year forced it to ground its flagship aircraft, [...]
Inflation hits the poor and pensioners June 13, 2011 INFLATION is harming the UK’s poor and pensioners more severely than people on higher incomes, research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) revealed today. The figures compound worries about further hikes in household energy prices, which will see those on lower incomes holding back on heating their homes, the report warned. Domestic fuel costs [...]