ECONOMIST VIEWS: WHAT ARE THE PROSPECTS FOR THE UK HOUSING MARKET ? June 21, 2009 NICK BATES MERRILL LYNCHIt has picked up over the past few months – you’ve seen realised mortgage approvals picking up a bit from their troughs and there seem to be improvements in credit supply conditions, but supply is still relatively tight. It’s a mixed housing market at the moment and overall, a lot of the [...]
Households now 200 better off June 18, 2009 The average UK family with a mortgage is now 25 per cent better off each month than it was last year, according to a report out today by Ernst&Young. Assuming there is no change to employment status, the typical household discretionary income has risen by over £200 over the last 12 months. The increase is [...]
BOND YIELDS ARE A THREAT TO RECOVERY June 17, 2009 GEORGE TCHETERTAKOVHEAD OF MARKET RESEARCH, ALPARI UK THE bond markets are often underestimated and overlooked by investors because they are usually very stable, in fact almost too stable for some traders to take notice. However, over the past 18 months they have not only been volatile, but also pivotal in influencing banks, governments, central banks [...]
Tesco sells mortgage bond June 17, 2009 There was good news for the global securitisation market yesterday when the supermarket Tesco sold £431m of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) supported by rental income from 12 of its UK stores and two distribution warehouses. The size of the deal, which was three times subscribed, was slightly above initial plans to sell £416m of bonds. [...]
BANKING WOE PUTS EURO ON THE BACK FOOT June 17, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COM AFTER months of heavy handed fiscal and monetary stimulus, the fact that central bankers and finance ministers are turning their attention to exit policies offers some reassurance that conditions must be returning to normal. This is not, however, a time for complacency. Over the past couple of months, investors’ fears have [...]
Headline UK inflation still above target June 16, 2009 BRITISH headline inflation fell by much less than had been expected in May, raising speculation that the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) may decide not to extend its quantitative easing programme beyond the current £125bn. Official data yesterday showed that consumer prices rose 0.6 per cent last month, taking the annual rate of [...]
US falls on gloomy stats and Best Buy June 16, 2009 US stocks slipped yesterday as mixed economic data and disappointing sales figures from giant electronics retailer Best Buy spurred worries about an anemic recovery. After a three-month run that lifted the S&P 500 as much as 40 per cent from 12-year lows, analysts said the economy needs to start showing real improvement to support optimism [...]
Brits expect a rise in prices June 11, 2009 THERE were further signs yesterday that Britain’s recession was at an end with data showing improvement in the housing market and rising inflation expectations for the coming year. Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed mortgage approvals rising 16 per cent in April to 35,600, indicating more life in the housing market. But [...]
ONE IN TEN HIT BY NEGATIVE EQUITY June 11, 2009 MORE than one in 10 British homeowners have been plunged into negative equity, with their property now worth less than the value of their mortgages, the Bank of England will warn today. Writing in its latest Quarterly Bulletin, the Bank’s analysts said that the collapse in prices since the peak of the housing market in [...]
Don’t expect miracles in housing market June 11, 2009 IT is beginning to look as if house prices won’t be falling much further. This won’t be of any use to the one in ten Brits that have already been plunged into negative equity, however; and even if the market reaches bottom this year, it will struggle in 2010. We must hope, for the sake [...]