House prices fall for third consecutive month October 28, 2010 House prices fell for the third month in four in October, figures from Nationwide have shown. The average price of a property fell 0.7 per cent this month after a flat reading in September. That was almost twice the drop economists had expected and meant the three-month on three-month rate of decline accelerated to 1.5 [...]
Dudley: Fed has no “magic wand” October 26, 2010 The US Federal Reserve cannot “wave a magic wand” to fix the economy overnight, but it can provide “essential” support, a top Fed policymaker. Indeed, support will likely be warranted unless economic conditions improve, William Dudley, president of the New York Fed and a permanent voter on the Fed’s policy-setting panel, said in a speech [...]
UK Mortgage approvals at ten-year low October 25, 2010 MORTGAGE lending fell to its lowest level in a decade in September, the latest figures from the British Banker’s Association (BBA) showed yesterday confirming earlier figures produced by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) last week. Gross mortgage lending stood at £8bn last month, 10.8 per cent lower than a year earlier. The number of [...]
US house sales surge in September as prices fall October 25, 2010 HOUSE sales in the US soared 10 per cent in September as buyers capitalised on low prices and a rising number of foreclosures, figures released yesterday showed. Sales jumped by 4.53m from August to September the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said. Despite the recover, sales remained almost 20 per cent lower than a year [...]
Retail sales hit by tax and inflation October 21, 2010 THERE is a simple reason why retail sales are beginning to fall, and it has very little to do with the Comprehensive Spending review. A triple whammy of limited pay rises, elevated inflation and tax increases have conspired to impoverish most of the public over the past year, a development that has been barely picked [...]
PROPERTY NEWS October 21, 2010 HOME BUYERS GO GREEN It appears that Britons’ global conscience is alive and well. A new survey commissioned in advance of Energy Saving Week (25-31 Oct) says that over half of people are attracted to a new home because of its energy efficiency. Well, ok, maybe there is a little bit of self-interest there: the [...]
Home Retail hit as shoppers cut back October 20, 2010 Home Retail posted an expected 23 per cent fall in first-half profit as cash-strapped low-income shoppers trimmed their spending. The firm, which owns Argos and DIY business Homebase, said it made an underlying pre-tax profit of £95m in the six months to 28 August. That was in line with company guidance of a 20-25 per [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS October 14, 2010 THIRD OF ADULTS WITHOUT SAFETY NET Almost a third of adults have less than £249 set aside as a financial safety net and 19 per cent have no savings at all to fall back on, according to new research from HSBC. This is equivalent to just five days average take home pay while the recommended [...]
Don’t rejoice too soon about US QE2 October 12, 2010 IT now looks as if the US will embark on another round of quantitative easing (QE), sooner rather than later. Last night’s minutes could hardly have been any clearer. While an important minority of Fed decision-makers remains opposed, or (sensibly) wants to wait for additional information, “many participants” think that unless growth accelerates, unemployment fall [...]
New claims for US jobless benefits hit a three-month low as economy picks up October 7, 2010 New US claims for jobless benefits hit a near three-month low last week, suggesting some let up in the labour market’s distress but likely not enough to keep the Federal Reserve from easing monetary policy further. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 11,000 to 445,000, the lowest since 10 July, the Labour Department said [...]