May 22, 2007

Home Information Pack implementation set to be delayed

by Elaine Frei
With the House of Lords set to debate Home Information Packs on Tuesday, it is expected that Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly will announce that the start date for the controversial information packs will be delayed. The HIPs were set to go into effect in England and Wales on 1 June, and would have required anyone selling a home ...

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May 21, 2007

Asian markets gain; most European markets decline

by Elaine Frei
Equities markets in the Asia Pacific region were higher on Monday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 0.11 percent to 20,927.75, while in Singapore the Straits Times index was 0.2 percent higher to 3,514.49. In India, the Sensex gained 0.81 to 14,418.6. The Sydney Ordinaries added 0.84 percent to 6,372.5 in Australia. Weakness in ...

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FSA warns insurers on after-sales information

by Elaine Frei
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has charged that some insurers and financial advisers are not treating their customers fairly. The problem, as identified by the FSA, has to do with the service being provided to with-profit policyholders after they are sold a product. In particular, the Authority has found that much of the literature given to customers after a ...

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UK rents rising with interest rates

by Elaine Frei
Rents are going up along with interest rates in the UK. According to mortgage lender Paragon (LSE: PAG), the hikes in rents are up more than the rate of CPI inflation after four interest rate increases since last summer. A spokesman for Paragon said that with demand for rental properties strong, landlords can increase rents for existing tenants when ...

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May 18, 2007

Asian markets mixed as US, European markets make gains

by Elaine Frei
Equities markets were mixed in Asia and the Pacific on Friday, with more losers than gainers on the session. Gainers included the Sensex, which added 0.03 percent to 14,303.41 in India, and the Straits Times index in Singapore, which was 0.21 percent higher, to 3,512.4. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 0.43 percent to ...

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Post Office: Insurance from mortgage lenders costs too much

by Elaine Frei
A new report from the Post Office warns that taking insurance from your mortgage lender could cost you more than you need to pay. In fact, it says, the practice is costing consumers in the UK £600 million per year to the half of all mortgage holders who have taken out insurance from their lender. That ...

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“No win, no fee” firms under investigation in relation to bank charge cases

by Elaine Frei
Amid all the other investigations ongoing in respect to questions about bank fees, the Ministry of Justice has taken on an inquiry into the way that “no win, no fee” firms that say they will help customers recover unfair bank charges. The Ministry has taken over the investigation from the Department of Constitutional ...

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May 17, 2007

European, most Asian equities markets see gains

by Elaine Frei
With the exception of Tokyo’s equities markets, Asian and Pacific markets were higher on Thursday. The Straits Times index in Singapore added 0.24 percent to 3,525.51, while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng index gained 0.27 percent to 20,994.61. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries closed at 6,370.1, a gain of 1.1 percent, while the Sensex was 1.22 percent ...

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Internet bank defends interest policy

by Elaine Frei
Internet bank ING Direct (NYSE: ING; Euronext: INGA) has lost customers over its refusal to pass on two interest rate increases, in November and January, to its account holders. And, while it now says that it will pass on the most recent rate increase to savers beginning 1 June, that will leave its standard savers’ rate at 5 percent, still around ...

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Difference between Bank of England interest rate, loan interest rates narrows

by Elaine Frei
A new study from moneysupermarket.com shows that loans such a debt consolidation loans and homeowner loans are cheaper than they have been in recent memory. The price comparison website has found that the difference between the Bank of England’s base interest rate and average interest rates for all kinds of loans has narrowed. In March 2003, ...

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May 16, 2007

ING loses out on interest payment failures

by Brian Turner
Banks are commonly criticised for failing to pass on interest rate rises with any haste - but for Dutch bank ING Direct, the failure to pass on no less than two interest rate rises to customers has lost them almost 15% of their assets. While interest rates remained low, ING's 4.5% savings rate looked very attractive. But with UK ...

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Weather damage highlights need for home insurance

by Kathyrn Lang
Home owners insurance is a valuable investment, especially given the rising weather related claims. Over the last several months, insurance claims have been on a steady rise due to gusting winds, severe storms, and tornado weather across the mainland. Even with the ravages of recent storms, 36% of homes are not insured. Experts are predicting that 2007 will ...

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Equities mixed; commodities prices lower

by Elaine Frei
Equities markets in Asia and the Pacific were higher on Wednesday. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.06 percent to 6,301.1. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 0.33 percent to 20,937.29, while in Singapore the Straits Times index was up 0.71 percent to 3,493.39. In India, meanwhile, the Sensex was 1.42 percent higher to 14,127.31. Meanwhile ...

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Commons defeats Conservative proposal agains Home Information Packs

by Elaine Frei
Just a day after the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that they will take the government plan to introduce Home Information Packs on June 1 in England and Wales to court because they believe that there were not proper consultations before making the decision to require them, a vote in Commons turned down a bid by Conservatives ...

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Survey: Credit card hopping common in UK

by Elaine Frei
A new survey from life assistance firm CPP shows that the average adult in the UK spends 15 percent of their annual pay on credit card purchases. That amounts to an average of £2,540 per year spent. This outlay can amount to as much as £150,000 over an individual’s lifetime. That’s a lot of money. However, ...

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May 15, 2007

Most Asian markets lower on session

by Elaine Frei
Most Asian and Pacific equities markets were lower on Tuesday. The exception was the Straits Times index in Singapore, which added 0.42 percent to 3,475.08 by the close. Elsewhere, the Sensex dropped 0.26 percent to 6,297.3 in India, while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng index fell 0.53 percent to 20,868.15 after huge gains on Monday. In ...

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District Judge rules in favor of bank in overcharges case

by Elaine Frei
In the wake of criticism of conduct by banks in cases of customers claiming overcharges on penalty fees, a District Judge at Birmingham County Court dismissed a customer’s claim that he was charged too high a penalty for an unauthorized overdraft. The judge called the charges, imposed by Lloyds TSB (LSE: LLOY), legitimate fees for service ...

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Surveyors to challenge home information packs in court

by Elaine Frei
Saying that the government has failed to carry out proper consultations, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) will ask a court to review the requirement that any home sold in England and Wales beginning on June 1 have a home information pack (HIP) which includes evidence of title, an energy performance certificate among other data and guarantees. The new ...

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May 14, 2007

Wall Street mixed on investor caution

by Elaine Frei
Asian and Pacific equities markets were higher on Monday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 2.5 percent to 20,979.24 for its biggest one-day gain in almost a year. The gains there came as China allowed its banking clients to invest in overseas stock markets for the first time. That sent Hong Kong listed shares in mainland-based ...

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Northern Ireland average house prices now highest in UK

by Elaine Frei
House prices in the UK added 1.1 percent from February to March, says the Department for Communities and Local Government, but the annual toll of house price inflation fell back a bit to 10.9 percent in March, from 11.8 percent in February. The DCLG index said that the average price of a home was at £206,890 in ...

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