Nationwide defends its 125pc loan July 9, 2009 BRITAIN’S largest mutual Nationwide yesterday defended its decision to launch a mortgage allowing customers to borrow up to 125 per cent of the value of their property. The product is aimed at homeowners in negative equity who want to move to a house worth more than their own. But critics warned yesterday that the mortgage [...]
Housebuilders hail stability but warn mortgage drought will hurt July 9, 2009 Barratt shows signs of stability as volumes pick up but mortgage drought continues Barratt Developments yesterday reported a 19 per cent fall in private house prices over the last 12 months and warned that a sustained improvement in training conditions would remain elusive until the availability of mortgage finance recovers. However, the group has witnessed [...]
Decline in UK house prices slows in June July 8, 2009 BRITISH house prices fell less than expected in June, Halifax’s monthly survey showed yesterday, but the mortgage lender warned that the outlook for the housing market remained uncertain. The Halifax data showed UK house prices falling by 0.5 per cent in June, compared to a 2.6 rise during the previous month. The annual rate of [...]
Darling’s report: good in parts but flawed overall July 8, 2009 THERE will be no return to business as usual, not by any stretch of the imagination. But yesterday’s Treasury white paper also confirms that financial capitalism as we know it is here to stay. The authorities want to reform global finance to make it work better and to try and avoid extreme booms and busts; [...]
THE LONDON REPORT July 5, 2009 OUSEBUILDERS will come under scrutiny this week, with giants Persimmon and Barratt Developments set to update markets. Traders will be hoping for further signs that there is an an uptick in mortgage availability, as banks repair their balance sheets and are able to resume lending to homebuyers, feeding through to the battered sector. Barratt, set [...]
House prices in Britain rise again in June June 30, 2009 HOUSE prices saw a monthly increase of 0.9 per cent in June, bringing the annual rate of decline to 9.3 per cent from 11.3 per cent in May, according to data published yesterday by Nationwide, which stoked optimism that the housing market has turned. The mortgage lender said that the three month rate of change, [...]
YES, RECOVERY WILL BE LONG AND HARD June 28, 2009 JANE FOLEYRESEARCH DIRECTOR, FOREX.COM HAVING rallied between March and early June on the expectation that the global economic downturn could be in the process of bottoming, the market is displaying a reluctance to extend risk. The reason is clear – economic data may have improved, but they are not yet sufficiently strong to confirm that [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 25, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES TOYOTA WANTS MORE NIMBLE FIRMAkio Toyoda, the new chief executive of Toyota Motor, yesterday pledged to bring a looser, more nimble management style to the carmaker, which is facing its biggest crisis since Sakichi Toyoda – his grandfather and Toyota’s founder – ran the company six decades ago. Mr Toyoda promised “to do [...]
NEW YORK REPORT June 24, 2009 THE Dow fell for the fourth day and other indexes ended well off the day’s highs yesterday after the Federal Reserve reiterated concerns about the economic outlook at the end of its policy meeting. Technology shares sustained some strength, bolstered by stronger-than-expected quarterly results from software maker Oracle. The Fed, as expected, left the benchmark [...]
Britain’s economy is improving slowly June 24, 2009 MOST commentators are focusing on the world’s appalling economic performance this year – the UK will collapse by 4.3 per cent, the US by 2.8 per cent, Japan by 6.8 per cent and the Eurozone by 4.8 per cent, according to yesterday’s revised forecasts from the OECD. But that is no longer really news. The [...]