Rents in London now average more than £1,000 per month July 14, 2011 RENTAL costs have soared past £1,000 per month in London, a survey of letting agents revealed this morning. London’s rents were up an average of 6.9 per cent per property in June compared to the same time the previous year, the Buy-to-Let Index from LSL Property Services said. While rent inflation is particularly intense in [...]
Rents in London now average more than £1,000 per month July 14, 2011 RENTAL costs have soared past £1,000 per month in London, a survey of letting agents revealed this morning. London’s rents were up an average of 6.9 per cent per property in June compared to the same time the previous year, the Buy-to-Let Index from LSL Property Services said. While rent inflation is particularly intense in [...]
There is zero virtue in involuntary high taxes October 18, 2011 WARREN Buffett has famously claimed that he is happy to pay a higher rate of income tax. He figures that, given all he has gained from society, it is only right that he give a lot back. President Obama’s proposed new tax on incomes above $1m has even been dubbed the Buffett tax. This week [...]
First time buyer market may ease July 14, 2011 WITH the Bank of England keeping interest rates at the record low of 0.5 per cent, the outlook should be good for those looking to buy a home. But with renting in London costing 50 per cent more than the rest of the country and banks requiring higher and higher deposits, the picture for those [...]
Cost to insure BofA debt at record high August 23, 2011 SHARES in Bank of America tumbled more than six per cent during trading yesterday, as the price of insuring its debt rocketed to an all-time high. The spread on the bank’s five-year credit default swaps (CDS) climbed to 435 basis points in early trades, meaning it would cost £435,000 a year over five years to [...]
BofA falls to worst loss in its history July 19, 2011 BANK of America yesterday reported its biggest-ever quarterly loss – $8.8bn (£5.46bn) – as low interest rates squeezed lending margins at the largest US bank. The loss was widely expected after the bank said in June that it settled with mortgage bond investors for $8.5bn and was taking more than $14bn of other home loan-related [...]
BofA falls to worst loss in its history July 19, 2011 BANK of America yesterday reported its biggest-ever quarterly loss – $8.8bn (£5.46bn) – as low interest rates squeezed lending margins at the largest US bank. The loss was widely expected after the bank said in June that it settled with mortgage bond investors for $8.5bn and was taking more than $14bn of other home loan-related [...]
Tory plan could fuel sub-prime debt October 3, 2011 FORTUNATELY, nobody really expected a flurry of pro-growth reforms in George Osborne’s keynote speech yesterday, which means that few will have been disappointed by the notable lack of new supply-side policies. The doubling of the qualification period for unfair dismissal claims had been widely trailed. There was a softening of the war against carbon, which [...]
Wells Fargo to pay $85m fine July 20, 2011 Wells Fargo & Co, the largest mortgage lender in the US, has agreed to pay a $85m (£52.6m) civil penalty to the Federal Reserve Board and will compensate borrowers who were allegedly steered into more costly subprime loans with higher interest rates during the housing boom. The fine is the largest ever imposed by the [...]
Mistakes to avoid if you move abroad October 5, 2011 MANY people choose to leave the UK to escape, temporarily or permanently, the gloomy weather and the even gloomier tax regime. Sadly, there is a mountain of bureaucracy to wade through before setting sail for warmer climes. “It is important to differentiate between moving overseas for a short period of time and expatriating indefinitely,” says [...]