Australia keeps rates on hold February 2, 2010 Australia’s central bank shocked markets by skipping an interest rate rise yesterday, citing the impact of higher mortgage rates at home while noting tighter policy in China and concerns over sovereign debt abroad. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to keep its key cash rate at 3.75 per cent confounded expectations of a rise to [...]
BP’s fall takes fuel out of oil stocks but FTSE rises higher February 2, 2010 Britain’s top shares closed higher for the third straight session yesterday as miners and banks extended the previous day’s gains but BP dragged energy stocks lower with fourth-quarter results that missed expectations. The FTSE 100 was up 35.90 points, or 0.7 per cent at 5,283.31, after closing 1.1 per cent higher on Monday. Miners added [...]
Think-tank: the price of homes to jump 20pc January 31, 2010 HOUSE prices are set to rise by a fifth in the next four years as mortgage availability improves and interest rates stay low, although 2011 is expected to be tough, a survey showed. Average prices should grow more than six per cent in 2010 before slowing next year and then rising again in 2012 and [...]
THE TIPSTER January 31, 2010 FRIDAY’S upbeat house price data from the Nationwide was well received by home owners, but it might only last for the short-term. Whether the upward trend in home values can be sustained for any length of time is clearly open to debate. The prospect of rising interest rates threatens to squash demand as mortgage repayments [...]
There’s money to be made in London bricks and mortar January 31, 2010 ONLY a year ago, property prices were plummeting across the country. But news on Friday from mortgage lender Nationwide that UK house prices surged 1.2 per cent this month – the biggest monthly rise since August and a number that beat expectations of a meagre 0.3 per cent gain – was cause for optimism. The [...]
Upbeat data hints at bank loans revival January 28, 2010 BANK lending is showing signs of revival after drying to a trickle in the depths of the financial crisis, data from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) showed yesterday. International bank lending slowed in the third quarter of last year by 0.8 per cent, or $235bn (£145.6bn), to $30.6 trillion, the BIS said, adding that [...]
British economy faces years of pain January 26, 2010 “THE UK is a must to avoid. Its gilts are resting on a bed of nitroglycerine.” So says Pimco’s Bill Gross – and given yesterday’s pathetic 0.1 per cent fourth quarter growth, he is clearly right. It is good news that we are out of recession at last. But the last year and a half [...]
Tories blame Labour for weak growth January 26, 2010 OPPOSITION parties hit out at the government’s handling of the economy yesterday, after Britain’s GDP grew at an anaemic 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter – much less than economists had expected. Chancellor Alistair Darling said that the country should be “confident but cautious” after exiting its longest recession on record, adding that he [...]
US home sales lose tax boost January 25, 2010 SALES of previously owned US homes fell at the fastest pace on record last month as the boost from a popular tax credit faded, industry data showed yesterday. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said existing home sales fell 16.7 per cent to an annual rate of 5.45m units in December. Analysts had expected a [...]
Headwinds will continue for years to come January 24, 2010 At the time of writing, Britain is the only G20 country still in recession but finally, after two years in decline, there is hope that our economy is finally growing again. It is widely anticipated that the Office for National Statistics will tomorrow announce that the most prolonged recession to hit the UK since records [...]