If you fix your mortgage now pick carefully April 15, 2010 EARLIER this week we learned that mortgage applications climbed back to pre-recession levels last month. Research from mortgage broker Countrywide showed that a growing number of Britons are now choosing fixed products rather than flexible tracker mortgages. Fixed products made up 61 per cent of applications in March – an increase of 4 per cent [...]
Bankers must look hard at pay if they want to win back the public’s support April 14, 2010 JUDGING by public and media sentiment over the past couple of years, the fairground arcade staple of whack-a-mole will at some point be replaced by the sport of whack-a-banker. The credit crunch blame-game does not appear to be dissipating. A particular bone of contention between the banks, politicians and the public is the issue of [...]
Labour manifesto rejects capitalism April 12, 2010 THERE was a time when manifestos were serious, thoughtful pieces of work, the fruit of lengthy policy debates within political parties. Those days are not just long gone but completely forgotten, at least if yesterday’s manifesto from the Labour Party is any guide. Many of its claims collapse as soon as one looks at them [...]
WaMu chased risky clients April 12, 2010 Despite fraud rates of over 58 per cent and 83 per cent at two of Washington Mutual Bank’s biggest loan generating offices in 2005, the bank did nothing to address the problem, according to findings released yesterday by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The loans were made after the bank decided in 2003 to [...]
What the Sound of Music tells us about bubbles April 11, 2010 NOW stay with me on this one – sometimes, insights into the financial markets come from unlikely sources. In my case, I was reminded of the dilemmas now facing policymakers while enjoying a yodel down memory lane, watching The Sound of Music. It was when I reached one particular verse that it came to me: “How [...]
Take control of your pension plan and enjoy your old age April 8, 2010 IT IS estimated that only one in three adults under 30 are putting any money at all into a pension scheme. And little wonder when young people’s primary concerns are paying off debts accumulated in student years, saving up for those 40 per cent mortgage deposits and, truth be told, enjoying life. Retirement seems far [...]
SELLING April 8, 2010 Russell Hunt MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PROPERTY HUNT Q. Dear Russell, with the general election having been called, should I wait to buy a property? A. The election will certainly affect the property market and everybody is currently sitting on the fence awaiting the outcome on 6 May. The impact on the housing market will depend [...]
UK house prices bounce back April 8, 2010 HOUSE prices increased for the eighth time in nine months in March, but experts warns more property being put up for sale could dampen further inflation. The latest house price index shows prices rose by 1.1 per cent during March, partly offsetting February’s 1.6 per cent fall. The rise means prices during the first three [...]
Greenspan defends record April 7, 2010 FORMER Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan came under fire for failing to take measures to prevent the financial crisis yesterday, but defended himself by arguing banks – not regulators – were to blame. In a heated appearance at the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in Washington, Greenspan insisted reckless mortgage lending and the securitisation of home [...]
SEC bolsters rules on loan securitisations April 7, 2010 WALL Street regulators yesterday proposed issuers of mortgage-backed securities and similar instruments disclose more about the underlying loans and keep five per cent of the credit risk in some circumstances, in an effort to avoid a repeat of the financial crisis. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule responds to the debacle involving securities packed [...]