US data shows housing uptick October 4, 2010 Pending sales of previously owned US homes rose to a four-month high in August, implying the housing market was regaining some stability after recent steep declines following the end of a home-buyer tax credit. Another report yesterday showed new orders received by domestic factories fell 0.5 per cent in August as demand for transportation equipment [...]
Tesco plan to sell mortgages delayed by FSA October 3, 2010 TESCO’S plans to sell mortgages in Britain could face a delay because it has yet to receive approval from the country’s financial services watchdog. “The FSA (Financial Services Authority) is just being careful. It is a new process and it is very difficult,” a Tesco spokesman said. He declined to comment on a report in [...]
How the euro caused Ireland’s crisis September 30, 2010 THERE is one aspect of the Irish crisis that everybody appears to have forgotten about. Yet it goes a long way towards explaining Ireland’s problems. It is, quite simply, its membership of the dysfunctional single currency, an institution which it should never have joined. For years, sensible economists had been warning that the euro’s one-size-fits-all [...]
Criteria for loans gets tougher September 30, 2010 SMALL businesses had more access to credit in the last quarter than any time this year but many companies remained wary of taking on debt, the Bank of England said yesterday. A survey by the Bank showed that demand for loans tailed off in smaller companies in the three months to the start of September. [...]
The crunch has made foreign dream homes far more affordable September 30, 2010 TOUGH economic times have opened the door for a new generation of property investment. Tumbling prices in both the UK and abroad have actually made this investment option more accessible than it was prior to the credit crunch. Nick Clark, managing director of the Property Investment Show, says: “House prices in England and Wales suffered [...]
Bank stocks drag on flat FTSE 100 September 29, 2010 WEAK banks dragged Britain’s top share index lower yesterday on persistent concerns over European debt, while drug stocks were also under pressure, offsetting strength from BP. The FTSE 100 closed down 9.17 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 5,569.27, having quickly surrendered an opening push above 5,600. Banks were the main drag on blue-chip sentiment, [...]
US property sales stabilising… September 23, 2010 SALES of existing homes in the US rose last month following a big correction in July, a new report said yesterday. The National Association of Realtors (NAR), the US trade body representing estate agents, said existing-home sales increased 7.6 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13m in August from an upwardly revised [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS September 23, 2010 LONDONERS WORRY ABOUT DEBT… R3, an insolvency trade body, has conducted research showing that 40 per cent of adults in the UK are anxious about their personal debt levels. Londoners are most affected: 49 per cent admitted being concerned. Nationwide, credit card debt is the source of the greatest worry at 51 per cent, followed [...]
US house prices at 6-year low September 22, 2010 US HOUSE prices fell 0.5 per cent in July to their lowest level in six years, official figures showed yesterday, heaping further woes on homeowners as the end of government-backed tax credits aimed at first time buyers began to bite. The US government had offered first time buyers a tax credit of $8,000 (£5,106) to [...]
Banks now dominating the mortgage market as building societies lose share September 21, 2010 Banks are dominating the mortgage market, findings by Datamonitor reveal. Outstanding mortgage balances grew by £145.6bn for banks while building societies saw balances shrink by more than £18bn. Datamonitor’s study of Competitive Dynamics in the UK Mortgage Market 2010 shows that the top six banks increased their share of gross lending to 85 per cent. [...]