FTSE 100 Live: Stocks to slump despite US claims of ‘good foundations’ for Iran deal; Tech-sell off hits Asia
Allied Irish loss soars to €10.4bn April 12, 2011 Allied Irish Banks’ full-year loss more than quadrupled to €10.4bn (£9.2bn) in 2010 and the lender said on Tuesday it would axe over 2,000 jobs as it seeks to re-invent itself as a locally-focussed bank. A former stock market darling with international ambitions, AIB has been effectively nationalised and saved from collapse by emergency ECB [...]
London house prices record another jump April 11, 2011 HOUSE prices in London have increased for the second straight month, as the capital continues to defy the housing market slump afflicting the rest of the UK. In London a positive balance of 21 per cent of chartered surveyors reported rising house prices in March, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) revealed today. In [...]
DEFAULT ZONE April 7, 2011 FRESH worries about the viability of the euro surfaced yesterday as the ECB became the first major central bank to hike interest rates from historic lows, raising the base rate from one to 1.25 per cent. The Institute of Directors (IoD) said that a euro break-up is “probably the number one macroeconomic risk to the [...]
FACT CHECKER April 7, 2011 “IS SPAIN next?” seemed to be the question on every economist’s lips this week even before Portugal bowed to the inevitable. A Spanish bailout would swamp the current €440bn bailout fund and could take the single currency with it. But there are good reasons to think that the debt contagion will stop short of Madrid. [...]
Banks said to be petrified by ICB report April 7, 2011 EXECUTIVES at Barclays are preparing for a “disaster” scenario when the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) releases its interim report on Monday, which could involve an ultra hard-line ring-fencing of bank functions. Banks are said to be “petrified” that the report could signal a major industry overhaul. In pre-briefings this week, analysts have been told [...]
CITY VIEWS: SHOULD THE BANK OF ENGLAND RAISE INTEREST RATES TOMORROW? April 5, 2011 ANTHONY JEFFERYS | AXA INSURANCE “Yes I think it should start to increase Bank rate. Mainly because inflationary pressures are too heavy at the moment, and the rise in oil prices means an interest rate increase is all but inevitable at some stage.” OLIVER STAPLE | HORN & CO “As someone with a mortgage, I [...]
Record drop in mortgage debt at end of 2010 April 4, 2011 BRITONS are no longer withdrawing equity from their houses to fuel consumer spending, official data suggests. Outstanding mortgage debt plummeted by £7bn in the final three months of last year — a record fall in debt — the Bank of England revealed yesterday. The figure sharply contrasts with levels of mortgage debt prior to the [...]
ECB should hike rates – but don’t forget Spain April 3, 2011 It is all but certain that the ECB will raise rates this week. It has been itching to do so for some time. Now that the moment has arrived what will the move actually mean for the Eurozone and the global economy? The simple answer is probably not very much. The move has been well [...]
Shock rise in mortgage defaults in 2011 March 31, 2011 MORTGAGE defaults have unexpectedly shot up in the first three months of the year, the Bank of England revealed yesterday. A positive balance of 11.5 per cent of respondents to the Bank’s credit conditions survey reported a rise in defaults on secured loans to households. Worse, even more – a positive balance of 14.3 per [...]
PAINFUL TRANSITION FOR HOUSING MARKET March 31, 2011 BRITAIN’S housing market is undergoing a “painful transition” in adapting to weaker credit conditions, Bank of England rate-setter David Miles said yesterday. Demand for housing is lagging following the end of “unsustainable” levels of mortgage debt availability, Miles said. Speaking at the Home Builders Federation conference, Miles said that first-time buyers would adapt to save [...]