The importance of separating politics and currency markets April 17, 2012 AS THE European turmoil continues, why isn’t the euro falling to pieces before our eyes? With Eurozone policy makers blundering from one crisis to the next – at best covering up the cracks in the fiscal superstructure, at worst knocking out a supporting wall – you might be forgiven for expecting the euro to have [...]
FTSE slumps as fresh fears over the Eurozone return to global markets April 23, 2012 BRITAIN’S top shares surrendered almost all of last week’s gains yesterday, led lower by commodity stocks and banks, as political uncertainty and disappointing economic data revived investor concerns over the Eurozone debt situation. The mood was darkened by data showing the Eurozone’s business slump deepened at a far faster pace than expected in April, suggesting [...]
Tullett plots a new FX platform ahead of fresh regulation March 12, 2012 TULLETT Prebon is set to launch an electronic platform for interbank currency trading in the run up to expected changes in the system of global regulation. The interdealer broker, led by City veteran Terry Smith (pictured), wants to use technology it already owns to build a foreign exchange trading platform, focused on currency derivatives at [...]
Loans to businesses increase September 29, 2011 LENDING to non-financial companies increased over August, though banks reduced their holdings of corporate securities by a greater amount, the Bank of England announced yesterday. Businesses borrowed £800m more in August than in July. However, overall lending from banks fell by £2.7bn as banks reduced their holdings of corporate securities. The Bank of England’s figures [...]
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. [...]
Housebuyers struggle to get loans in London September 8, 2011 HOUSEBUYERS across the country were buoyed by higher levels of purchase approvals in August, the surveyors’ group E.surv said yesterday. Approvals were up 4.3 per cent on August 2010 and hit a 15-month high. However, Londoners missed out on the boost, with approvals dropping by 10 per cent compared with July’s figure. That is because [...]
Taylor Wimpey says housebuilding bouncing back September 19, 2011 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said sales rates in recent weeks have been encouraging, as the industry has benefited from a seasonal surge in home buying activity, and added it is on track to deliver on margin targets. The country’s second largest builder by market value said net sales rates so far in the second half are [...]
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 [...]