Credit card rates soar to 12–year high February 15, 2010 CREDIT card rates have reached a twelve-year high as providers become wary of borrowers inability to repay debts during the recession. The average credit card rate now stands at 18.8 per cent, a four per cent rise from 2006 when increased competition between providers drove rates down. Banks and credit companies face higher pricing for [...]
Repossessions fall as rates kept low February 11, 2010 THE number of homes repossessed in 2009 reached its highest level since 1996 but an unexpected decline in repossessions in the fourth quarter saw the annual figure beat forecasts, the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) said yesterday. A 13 per cent fall in the number of repossessions in the fourth quarter meant that only 46,000 [...]
Golden years of retirement turning sour February 10, 2010 FOUR out of ten “baby boomers” are approaching retirement without setting aside any money each month, a report showed yesterday. Research compiled by insurer Aviva found that people aged between 55 to 64 are laden with debt and have scant resources to fund themselves after stepping down from work. Individuals in the age bracket – [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 8, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph MANDELSON ATTACKS US AND EUROPE The full scale of world tension between governments over the way to deal with the banking crisis has been revealed today after Peter Mandelson, the business secretary, said that neither America nor the European Union had shown global leadership on the issue. As the G7 [...]
Housing market rebound starts to run out of steam February 4, 2010 HOUSE PRICES continued to rise in January but the pace of growth fell to its slowest level in six months, mortgage lender Halifax said yesterday, reiterating its view that UK property prices would remain flat in 2010. The monthly survey showed that house prices rose 0.6 per cent on the month in January, taking the [...]
UK gives Santander a boost February 4, 2010 The UK operations of Spanish banking giant Santander saw full-year profits leap 30 per cent in 2009 as the group grew its share of the mortgage market and signed up more than expected new customers to its bank accounts. Pre-tax profits hit £1.54bn for the year to 31 December with new acquisitions Bradford & Bingley [...]
Santander sees UK profits surge February 3, 2010 THE UK operations of Spanish banking giant Santander saw full-year profits leap 30 per cent in 2009 as the group grew its share of the mortgage market and signed up more than expected new customers to its bank accounts. Pre-tax profits hit £1.54bn for the year to 31 December with new acquisitions Bradford & Bingley [...]
Santander see UK profits surge February 3, 2010 THE UK operations of Spanish banking giant Santander saw full-year profits leap 55 per cent in 2009 as the group grew its share of the mortgage market and signed up more than expected new customers to its bank accounts. Pre-tax profits hit £1.54bn for the year to 31 December with new acquisitions Bradford & Bingley [...]
First-time buyers benefit from falling deposits February 2, 2010 FIRST time buyers have been given a boost after new figures showed that the availability of mortgages is on the rise. The number of deals is up 20 per cent compared to the start of the year, according to financial information service Moneyfacts. The increased has been driven by the thawing of the mortgage market [...]
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 [...]