Inflation slows by less than expected September 15, 2009 THE Consumer Prices Index (CPI) dropped to an annual rate of 1.6 per cent in August, compared to 1.8 per cent in July, according to official statistics released yesterday. But the Retail Prices Index, which includes mortgage interest payments and housing costs edged up from -1.4 per cent to -1.3 per cent. The City had [...]
CITY VIEWS: WHAT ANNOYS YOU ABOUT YOUR BANK? September 15, 2009 PETER BOARDLEY CUNNINGHAM LINDSEY“I think things are much the same now as they have always been, and changes are due. Banks still overcharge for overdrafts and bounced cheques, although I understand that this could soon be addressed. Currently a lot of people get free banking at the expense of others who maybe go a small [...]
Lehman Bros bondholders may be owed up to 44bn September 14, 2009 THE trustee holders of collapsed Lehman Brothers’ senior bonds said the debt holders may be owed as much as $73bn (£44bn), after losing their investments when the bank filed for bankruptcy protection a year ago, according to court documents. Wilmington Trust Company claims that holders of the senior debt of the failed bank are estimated [...]
Q&A: BUYING September 10, 2009 Camilla DellMANAGING PARTNER AT BLACK BRICK Q. Dear Camilla, I have had my offer accepted on a house, have had everything done but now the seller has decided to pullout with no explanation. Is there anything I can do legally to prevent this? A. One of the fundamental problems of purchasing a property in the [...]
Britain needs very large spending cuts September 10, 2009 GENERAL Motors’ sensible sale of its Opel/Vauxhall division to Magna, the Canadian firm, has already prompted fresh demands for more handouts to ensure car production remains in the UK. The Germans, after all, have pledged cash to save Opel jobs; so we should do the same with Vauxhall before it is too late – or [...]
House prices still going up September 10, 2009 HOUSE prices rose 0.8 per cent in August, reducing the annual decline to 10.1 per cent, new figures from mortgage lender Halifax revealed yesterday. This marks the second successive monthly increase and the fourth so far this year, supporting the now widespread belief that the UK housing market has stabilised. More encouragingly, the less volatile [...]
UBS faces fine over CDO sale September 10, 2009 SWISS bank UBS has been told to set aside $35m (£21.1m) to cover a potential fine in a row over the sale of dubious quality securities, described by the bank’s employees as “crap”. The judge ruled that the bank had a case to answer against hedge fund Pursuit Partners, which claims that UBS sold it [...]
USmortgage applications surge September 9, 2009 Mortgage applications in the US surged last week to their highest since late May as consumers sought to take advantage of the lowest interest rates in months. Mortgage Bankers Association data said rates on 30-year fixed-rate home loans fell to a three-month low, spurring a surge in demand for home refinancing loans. Applications to buy [...]
CITY CAN BE THE CRUNCH CASE CAPITAL September 8, 2009 ANTHONY MATONPARTNER AT HAUSFELD & CO LLP SINCE the credit crunch started in the US in 2007, the subsequent banking crisis has spread across the globe. The UK’s legal profession may have suffered as a consequence, but we have also been presented with a golden opportunity to position London as the international venue of choice [...]
Housing market no longer over-valued September 8, 2009 AT this rate, City A.M. will soon be able to ditch the “Beating the Blues” puff we run every day on our front page. We introduced it during the depth of the recession to emphasise that even though the economy was going to hell in a hand-basket, and life had become truly grim for our [...]