DEUTSCHE TO SELL NYC SKYSCRAPER July 7, 2009 DEUTSCHE Bank has reached an agreement to sell Worldwide Plaza, its 1.8m square foot skyscraper in New York, for $600m (£371m). The bank will sell the building to developer George Comfort & Sons and RCG Longview. The buyers will pay part of the price with $130m in equity and take on Deutsche’s $470m mortgage.
Households now 200 better off June 18, 2009 The average UK family with a mortgage is now 25 per cent better off each month than it was last year, according to a report out today by Ernst&Young. Assuming there is no change to employment status, the typical household discretionary income has risen by over £200 over the last 12 months. The increase is [...]
DOES THE LATEST RETAIL SALES DATA MARK A RETURN TO GROWTH? July 23, 2009 ALAN CLARKE BNP PARIBASOverall, consumer spending has probably troughed. Low mortgage payments have been helpful as has slowing inflation. However, with wage growth slowing, employment falling and consumers still cautious, we doubt that today’s increase marks a return to rampantspending growth. DAVID KERN BRITISH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCEThis is positive news that supports our assessment that [...]
Home lending still difficult, warns Bank June 29, 2009 MORTGAGE lending saw its weakest rise on record last month, according to the Bank of England, signalling the squeeze on home lending is far from over, despite recent signs that the property slump could be levelling out. The number of home loan approvals rose for the fourth consecutive month in May, climbing from 43,191 in [...]
Ex-Credit Suisse man is arrested July 15, 2009 A FORMER Credit Suisse trader facing trial on charges of fraudulently selling $1bn (£6.9m) worth of mortgage-backed auction-rate securities has been arrested after two months on the run, according to a court document made public yesterday. The arrest of Bulgarian national Julian Tzolov, who escaped from house arrest in New York and electronic monitoring on [...]
Record profit can’t ease Wells Fargo bad loan fear July 22, 2009 WELLS Fargo, the largest mortgage lender in the US, reported record second-quarter net income yesterday but gave a bleak assessment of its rising bad loans problem. Net income for the three months to the end of June rocketed 81 per cent to a record quarterly profit of $2.58bn (£1.57bn), or $0.57 a share, compared to [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: WHAT ARE THE PROSPECTS FOR THE UK HOUSING MARKET ? June 21, 2009 NICK BATES MERRILL LYNCHIt has picked up over the past few months – you’ve seen realised mortgage approvals picking up a bit from their troughs and there seem to be improvements in credit supply conditions, but supply is still relatively tight. It’s a mixed housing market at the moment and overall, a lot of the [...]
Fed sounds cautious note June 24, 2009 THE US Federal Reserve said last night that the recession was easing as it kept interest rates on hold, but warned that economic activity would “remain weak for a time”. It also vowed to press on with its strategy of buying up mortgage-related debt and government bonds. America’s central bank, chaired by Ben Bernanke, kept [...]
Turner and King to face MPs June 17, 2009 The Treasury committee is to hold a series of new evidence sessions to take evidence on the financial crisis. Financial Services Authority (FSA) chairman Lord Adair Turner will give evidence on regulation and supervision on 23 June. The following day will see the governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King and colleagues speak on [...]
Turner and King to face MPs June 17, 2009 The Treasury committee is to hold a series of new evidence sessions to take evidence on the financial crisis. Financial Services Authority (FSA) chairman Lord Adair Turner will give evidence on regulation and supervision on 23 June. The following day will see the governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King and colleagues speak on [...]