Mortgage lending lull ends as March registers upturn as General Election uncertainty fails to make slow demand April 23, 2015 Mortgage lending has picked up in March following a slow start to 2015, data released yesterday by the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) show. Gross mortgage lending reached £16.5bn, 21 per cent higher than in February and seven per cent higher than March last year. Lending remains below levels seen last summer and is far [...]
Brent Crude oil prices have just hit a 2015 high on Yemen worries and US data April 23, 2015 Oil prices have surged today on the back of worries over the conflict in Yemen and new data suggesting a fall in US supplies, sending prices to their highest of 2015. Benchmark Brent Crude hit $65.13 a barrel, rising $2.40 or three per cent, its first move above $64 this year, while West Texas Intermediate rose $1.63 [...]
Have UK government borrowing figures just given Osborne a pre-election boost? April 23, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne just received a pre-election boost after official figures released today showed he met his target for lowering the country's budget deficit in the 2014/15 financial year. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing, which fills the hole between spending and revenues, fell to £7.4bn in March, down 5.6 percent [...]
Happy St George’s Day: Why another bank holiday would be a terrible idea April 23, 2015 Happy St George's Day. Today people across England will celebrate the country's rich history – not to mention a plethora of weird and wonderful traditions that make up this vibrant culture. But lest we forget amid the merriment: we are in the middle of a General Election. No good time will be allowed to pass [...]
UK house prices: Is this the return of the first-time buyer? April 23, 2015 As UK house prices have risen, so has the story of the death of the first-time buyer. New data suggests this despair may have come too soon, however. A third of people feel better placed to move home than they did 12 months ago, despite wage growth lagging far behind house price inflation. The figures [...]
Greece debt deadline: Syriza risks split as progress on a deal crawls April 22, 2015 Greece has enough cash to meet its debt payments into June, Eurozone and Greek officials said yesterday, quashing fears of an imminent default, as a deal to inject more cash into the debt-addled state, at a meeting in Latvia tomorrow, looks unlikely. “The liquidity situation in Greece is already a little tight, but it should [...]
Your Move: London rental prices have soared 27pc under David Cameron April 22, 2015 Residential rents in London have far outstripped the rate of inflation under the current government, according to a new report out today. Rent in the capital increased by 27.4 per cent since the last General Election, according to the latest Buy-to-Let index from estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains. Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) increased [...]
General Election 2015: How Tony Blair presided over the biggest rise in UK house prices in history April 22, 2015 There's no easy way to say this, but Tony Blair, rather than the likes of Margaret Thatcher or David Cameron, was the Prime Minister who presided over the highest-ever rise in property prices, it turns out. Research from Knight Frank suggests house prices rose a staggering 211.3 per cent during Blair's premiership – higher than [...]
London is the world’s third most expensive city for dating April 22, 2015 Anyone who is fed up of paying through the nose for a date in London's expensive bars and restaurants will be envious of cities such as Mumbai where a cheap date typically costs just $24.70 (£16.53), according to new research. That's about the same as an adult zones 1-6 day travel card, a ticket for Vue [...]
Greece debt deadline: No bailout deal in sight as Greek leaders lose favour April 21, 2015 A deal to grant the Greek government extra bailout cash is unlikely to be agreed this Friday when finance ministers meet in Riga, according to officials. Meanwhile, Greek leaders are struggling with popularity at home. It had been hoped that a meeting of deputy finance officials today could lay the ground work for a deal, [...]