The UK’s largest housebuilder says the road to recovery will be long December 19, 2010 PERSIMMON chief executive Mike Farley is not looking for a magic bullet. The boss of the country’s largest housebuilder is clear that the sector has endured its worst slump since World War Two and faces at least a two-year road to recovery. The industry tends to listen when Farley speaks. Not just because he runs [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS December 16, 2010 NEW SHARE BROKING FIRM LAUNCHED Rivington Street Holding yesterday launched its execution-only share broking service, promising to cut the cost of share dealing for private investors. Created by Barry Jenkins and Brian Gould, JPJshare.com will charge from £4.75 per trade for those making more than 15 trades a month and £5.75 for less frequent users. [...]
Inflation now a real problem for UK December 14, 2010 IN the long-term, we are all dead – or so claimed John Maynard Keynes. True, of course, but only in a meaningless kind of way, as yesterday’s dangerously high UK inflation figures demonstrate. For ages now, the Bank of England has been justifying its failure to meet its inflation target in the short-term by repeatedly [...]
Inflation hits highest level in six months December 14, 2010 ABOVE target inflation rose further in November, jumping higher than economists expected, official data showed yesterday. The news cast further doubt over the Bank of England’s loose policy and monetary stimulus. “Another round of quantitative easing was always a long shot and this will reduce the odds still further,” said economist Andrew Goodwin of the [...]
Homeowners relaxed about negative equity December 14, 2010 IN the latest YouGov SixthSense Mortgages Report, mortgage holders were asked to estimate the current value of their household and cost of their mortgage. Ninety-one per cent who were able to give these figures were in positive equity with nearly one in ten recording a no equity or negative equity score. This data is in [...]
Property prices fall 3pc December 13, 2010 ASKING prices for homes in England and Wales have fallen three per cent over the past month to stand just 0.4 per cent higher than a year ago, due to economic uncertainty and low mortgage approvals, according to property website Rightmove. December’s fall follows a 3.2 per cent decline in November, with further drops possible [...]
500,000 households in negative equity December 12, 2010 CLOSE to half a million British households could be facing negative equity, according to survey released today by the Bank of England. Between four and five per cent of mortgage holders owe more than the value of their properties, it was revealed in the Bank’s final quarterly bulletin of this year. There are 11.4m mortgages in [...]
Tight credit holding back UK recovery December 12, 2010 LENDING remains too low and is “holding back the economic recovery,” the Bank of England said today. The news comes after the Bank reported that mortgage approvals fell for six successive months to October. Tight credit conditions continue to hold back recovery in the housing market, analysts say. Yet banks are ahead of schedule in [...]
Mitigate your currency risk December 9, 2010 THE ONGOING Eurozone sovereign debt crisis might have been disastrous for most Europeans, but for some Brits, it must have provided welcome relief. Thanks to European worries, the pound has rallied by nearly 6 per cent against the euro in little more than a month. For many pensioners living abroad on sterling denominated pensions, or holiday [...]
Why switching accounts must be made less of a challenge December 8, 2010 Current accounts play a cornerstone role in retail banking and yet are a major barrier to greater competition in the sector. All too often customers say it is just too much hassle to change. As a result, inertia rules. Switching rates on current accounts are as low as six per cent, compared to 20 per [...]