Nationwide seizes market share February 20, 2014 THE NATIONWIDE is grabbing more current account and mortgage customers from the big four banks, the building society revealed yesterday. The growth pushed up profits as the lender’s interest margins improved. Nationwide made £21.6bn of mortgage loans in the nine months to December, up 34 per cent on the year. The growth is faster than that in [...]
Unleash the Junior Isas: How do the experts invest to unlock decades-long returns April 23, 2015 With a time horizon of up to 18 years, Junior Isas have tremendous growth potential. Annabelle Williams asks the experts how they invest to unlock decades-long returns. One of the best ways to save for your child’s future is the Junior Isa (Jisa). As with an adult Isa, there is an annual allowance for each [...]
Mortgage approvals fall to their lowest in 17 months as unsecured borrowing leaps November 25, 2014 The Bank of England's Mortgage Market Review (MMR) continues to wreak havoc on mortgage lending. Figures published this morning showed approvals fell to 37,100 in October, their lowest level in 17 months in October. Analysts had expected the British Bankers' Association's (BBA) high street banking statistics to show a more modest fall from September's 39,300 [...]
The number of sick days we take has plummeted – but the reason behind the ones we do take is worrying February 24, 2015 The number of sick days we take has plummeted, a new study has found – but the number of days we take due to depression, anxiety and stress has risen. Using data from 68 GP surgeries across the nation, researchers found fewer periods of sick leave were taken between 2011 and 2013 than [...]
New data shows housing market is slowing down October 30, 2014 HOUSE price growth continued to slow down in October, adding to the view that the market is experiencing a broad-based cooling. Prices grew by nine per cent year-on-year in October, according to figures released yesterday by Nationwide. Although the annual growth is high, it is slower than the 11.8 per cent seen in June when [...]
Bank of England stress test: British lenders assessed against global economic crunch March 30, 2015 Britain's biggest banks have to prove they could withstand a global economic crunch, under a stress test unveiled by the Bank of England yesterday. The fictional scenario is based on real fears that a slowdown in China and renewed recession in Europe could hit the UK economy and its banks. The six biggest banks [...]
Londoners set to benefit most from parking ticket “grace period” March 6, 2015 Driving in London is often described as something akin to a nightmare – from traffic jams, to sky-high parking prices and pushy motorists. But there's finally a bit of good news for the capital's understandably frazzled drivers. Drivers will get a ten-minute window after a council parking ticket runs out before they can be fined [...]
Grainger posts surge in profit November 20, 2014 RESIDENTIAL landlord Grainger posted a rise in pre-tax profit and revenue for its last financial year thanks to a jump in the value of its portfolio. Pre-tax profits surged 26 per cent to £81.1m in the year to 30 September from £64.3m in 2013. The company said its residential assets “outperformed” as the market value [...]
In charts: London house prices are now 2.3 per cent below their peak February 17, 2015 London house price growth is slowing along with the UK’s, according to new data. In December, prices in the capital were 2.3 per cent below their August peak, with the rate of growth slowing from 15.3 per cent to 13.3 per cent. Back in May, London prices were on an annual growth roll of 20.1 [...]
UK house prices rise 0.5 per cent in October, but longer-term trend is slowing October 30, 2014 Are house prices rocketing or is their growth slowing? It's getting confusing – according to Nationwide, the unpredictable UK housing market rose in October, with prices up 0.5 per cent month on month, after they fell 0.1 per cent in September. But the annual figure, a more reliable measure, slowed to nine per cent. As [...]