British mortgage sales decline across the board August 31, 2011 MORTGAGE sales in the year to April sank to their lowest rate since the Financial Services Authority (FSA) began gathering the figures in 2005, it emerged yesterday. “Overall, mortgage sales declined by seven per cent from 2009-10 to 2010-11,” the FSA said. The decline was across the board, with sales of mortgages to first-time buyers, [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK HOME OWNERSHIP IS DECLINING? August 30, 2011 MARCUS KUM | INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED SHIPBROKERS “People will always buy houses rather than rent because it’s a personal achievement: the only problem is the affordability. Renting is cheaper because of the deposit when buying, causing a decline in house ownership.” CHRIS COPPING | UNITED INSURANCE BROKERS “Yes, but I’m not sure how long it [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK HOME OWNERSHIP IS DECLINING? August 30, 2011 MARCUS KUM | INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED SHIPBROKERS “People will always buy houses rather than rent because it’s a personal achievement: the only problem is the affordability. Renting is cheaper because of the deposit when buying, causing a decline in house ownership.” CHRIS COPPING | UNITED INSURANCE BROKERS “Yes, but I’m not sure how long it [...]
Rise in Taylor Wimpey sales lifts margins September 19, 2011 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey said yesterday that sales rates in recent weeks have been encouraging, as the industry has benefited from a seasonal surge in home buying activity. The FTSE 250-listed firm added it is on track to deliver on margin targets this year. The country’s second largest builder by market value said net sales rates [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 29, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES WATCHDOG HITS OUT AT BANKS OVER GREEK DEBT Some European financial institutions should have taken bigger losses on their Greek government bond holdings in recent results announcements, according to the body that sets their accounting rules. the International Accounting Standards Board criticised the inconsistent way in which banks and insurers have been writing [...]
Economic woe in euro area will hit banks March 25, 2012 ECONOMIC woes in the Eurozone are hitting the financial services industry, a new report claims this morning, despite political measures that have calmed the markets. Loans approaching or at the point of default are set to hit an all time high, according to economists at Ernst & Young. Non-performing loans “will rise above six per [...]
UK inflation rises April 17, 2012 British inflation ticked up in March, driven by higher food and clothing prices and reinforcing expectations the Bank of England will not inject more stimulus into the economy next month. The Bank of England and the government have been hoping that falling price pressures will ease the squeeze on Britons’ budgets and boost consumer spending. [...]
Banks line up for more cheap cash as ECB offers new loans February 26, 2012 BANKS are set to line up for more easy money on Wednesday when the European Central Bank offers an unlimited volume of cheap loans for the second time in as many months. Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland have both said they are attracted by the so-called three-year Long-Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO) because [...]
The pain in Spain has put its banks back on the rack April 12, 2012 WITH a sense of inevitability the spotlight has landed on Spain. Though the headlines proclaimed that the Eurozone crisis has returned with a vengeance, the truth is it never left. Spain is not Greece, but, many of the market fears surrounding the economy are still both well-founded and expected. There are three major causes of [...]
A Spice Girls revival is more likely than a Nokia one April 11, 2012 CAST your mind back to 1997. Tony Blair’s New Labour had won a landslide election, Britannia was cool and Channel 5 was going to save the television industry. For some, it is a Spice Girls song that best evokes the era or, for those with better taste, a Radiohead tune. For me, it has to [...]