THE TIPSTER May 31, 2010 STERLING-US dollar has been well-supported of late on fears that Prudential’s planned purchase of AIA could collapse. A large currency hedge shorting cable was put in place some months ago when the deal was first agreed and if it falls over, the hedge will come off, sending sterling-US dollar higher. While highly speculative, traders should [...]
Bank lending weak from deleveraging May 26, 2010 MORTGAGE lending slumped in April to its lowest monthly level since February 2001 and the number of mortgage approvals only inched higher in what is typically a strong month for the housing market, fresh statistics from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) showed yesterday. Banks’ net mortgage lending fell to £1.8bn in April compared with £2.3bn [...]
MORTGAGE APPROVALS INCH HIGHER May 4, 2010 DATA from the Bank of England showed that mortgage approvals only inched higher in March from February’s nine-month low. Approvals only amounted to 143,659 in the first quarter of 2010. But consumers are starting to demand credit, which rose for the fourth successive month after five months of net repayments.
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING April 28, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES GOLDMAN PRESSED FOR CDO LOSS SETTLEMENT Goldman Sachs is in talks over a potential settlement with an investor that claims that it lost money and went out of business after buying into a $1bn (€760,000) mortgage-backed security that was later privately criticised by a senior executive at the bank. Basis Yield Alpha Fund, [...]
March mortgage lending up after a dip in February April 27, 2010 THE number of approvals for UK home loans rose slightly in March after a dip in February and were almost 20 per cent up on the year before, data showed yesterday. The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said net mortgage lending growth had eased as homeowners paid off debt. The BBA report said the number of [...]
Car production sees 90pc rise in March as confidence rises April 22, 2010 LENDING to British firms fell at a slower pace in February than January but still recorded the second biggest annual percentage drop since records began, figures from the Bank of England (BoE) showed yesterday. There was better news for the housing market, however, with mortgage approvals rising for the first time since November and lenders [...]
Flow of lending to UK firms remains weak, warns BoE April 22, 2010 LENDING to British firms fell at a slower pace in February than January but still recorded the second biggest annual percentage drop since records began, figures from the Bank of England (BoE) showed yesterday. There was better news for the housing market, however, with mortgage approvals rising for the first time since November and lenders [...]
From the outback to the City April 8, 2010 YOU wouldn’t expect the Australian outback to be the breeding ground for one of the City’s best-known entrepreneurs, but it was for Ian Gowrie-Smith. He’s the first man in his family not to be a farmer for five generations. The flamboyant entrepreneur made his name back in the 1980s and 1990s setting up companies including [...]
Mortgage approvals hit nine-month low March 29, 2010 MORTGAGE approvals slumped to their lowest level in nine months in February, lending data from the Bank of England showed yesterday, providing further evidence that the recovery in the housing market may be running out of steam. The number of mortgages approved fell for the second consecutive month to 47,094 – the weakest since May [...]
THE WEEK AHEAD March 28, 2010 IN the first of two short trading weeks in Britain, domestic economic data remains thin on the ground. Monday sees the release of some consumer credit data, broad money lending and mortgage approvals at 8.30am. On Tuesday, the third revision to fourth quarter GDP data could raise an eyebrow but no change is expected. We [...]