June 21, 2007

Survey: UK 18 to 24-year-olds making sacrifices to afford homes

by Elaine Frei
According to a new survey by Lloyds TSB (LSE: LLOY), more young people are determined to purchase a house and many of them are willing to give up other things to do so. The report shows that 54 percent of the people in that age group surveyed are living with their parents, foregoing independence in order ...

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June 20, 2007

Global equities mixed on session

by Elaine Frei
After several days of declines, European markets were mixed. Continental indices were higher, while London once again saw slight declines. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.44 percent to 1,621.74. In Madrid, the IBEX gained 0.24 percent to 15,035.7, while the Paris CAC-40 was 0.36 percent higher to 6,093.29 and the Dax was up 0.71 percent to 8,090.49 to close ...

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Bank of England minutes reveal close vote on interest rates

by Elaine Frei
The minutes of the most recent meeting of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, released on Wednesday, show that the vote on interest rates was sharply divided, with five committee members voting to keep rates on hold but four, including the Bank’s governor, voting to raise them. Most analysts expected that the vote would turn ...

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CML: Mortgage lending beginning to slow

by Elaine Frei
A new report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders shows that mortgage lending is beginning to slow down. Lending was still up in May - at £31 billion, it was up 12 percent from April and 5 percent higher than last year at the same time. The figure is a record for May. However, the CML says, growth ...

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June 19, 2007

European equities decline again

by Elaine Frei
Most equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were higher on Tuesday. In India, the Sensex added 1.53 percent to 14,295.5. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries gained 0.44 percent to 6,393.4, while the ASX 200 was 0.5 percent higher to 6,372. In Indonesia, the Jakarta Composite was 0.7 percent higher to 2,142.10, while the Kospi index in South Korea was slightly higher, to ...

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No-fee ATMs to be installed in poor areas

by Elaine Frei
In an attempt to give more people access to no-fee cash machines, the banking industry will install several hundred ATMs in poor areas of the UK over the next few months. The move comes after some members of Parliament expressed concerns that some poor people only have access to cash machines that charge a fee - up to ...

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More UK youth skipping university to avoid debt

by Elaine Frei
A new survey by Alliance & Leicester (LSE: AL) has discovered that youth in the UK are seeing their educational options limited by their reluctance to go into debt. The study found that 43 percent of those aged 16 to 24 said that they decided to forego a university education because they were concerned about the amount of ...

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June 18, 2007

Europe, Wall Street decline on session

by Elaine Frei
Most Asia-Pacific equities markets were higher on Monday. The main exception was in India, where the Sensex dropped 0.58 percent to 14,080.14. Records were set in South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. In South Korea, the Kospi index closed at 1,806.88, a gain of 2 percent and the first time the index exceeded ...

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Average house price up 0.8 percent in England and Wales in June

by Elaine Frei
In its latest survey of house prices, internet site Rightmove has found that house prices were up 0.8 percent in the past month after thousands of sellers rushed to put their homes on the market before the announced 1 June deadline, ultimately postponed, for requiring Home Information Packs to be in place before a house ...

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Website: Credit card providers should raise, not lower monthly minimum payments

by Elaine Frei
As a credit card user, are you happy when you see that your minimum monthly payment has gone down? According to website IVA.co.uk, perhaps you shouldn’t be. After last week’s announcement from Barclaycard, owned by Barclays Bank (LSE: BARC; NYSE: BCS; TYO: 8642), that it is cutting the minimum monthly payment for its card holders, a ...

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June 15, 2007

Wall Street gains over week

by Elaine Frei
Asia-Pacific equities markets were mixed on the session on Friday. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.46 percent to 6,317.1 and the Hang Seng index gained 0.72 percent to 21,017.05 in Hong Kong. On the other hand the Straits Times index in Singapore dropped 0.06 percent to 3,581.16, while the Sensex fell 0.33 percent to 14,162.71 in India. Tokyo markets saw ...

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London judge criticizes banks in overdraft charge claims

by Elaine Frei
A judge in the London Mercantile Court has criticized several banks for their tactics in delaying claims made by customers in regards to overdraft charges. Judge David Mackie QC leveled the criticism as he took up over 30 cases, most of which he settled in favor of the claimants. Over 80 cases had originally been scheduled for ...

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RICS claims legal loophole in Home Information Packs

by Elaine Frei
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has claimed to the government that the rules governing Home Information Packs only require that such an information pack be in process before listing and selling a home, and that if the home sold quickly enough the pack need not have been completed. RICS says that the only component of the pack ...

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June 14, 2007

Many equities markets gain over 1 percent on session

by Elaine Frei
Global equities markets were higher on Thursday, with many indices in the Asia-Pacific region and in Europe rising by more than 1 percent - and in a few cases by more than 2 percent - on the session. In Asia, Korea’s Kospi index added 2.7 percent to 1,769.8 on huge gains among brokerages and shipbuilders. In ...

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RICS: HIPs spurred rise in homes put on the market in May

by Elaine Frei
A new set of figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows that in May, 39 percent more chartered surveyors reported a rise in houses offered for sale. The number was up from 12 percent in April. This bore out the expectations that many people thinking of selling their home would make ...

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Report: Authorized overdraft charges rising in UK

by Elaine Frei
According to new figures from price comparison website uSwitch.com, some banks in the UK have started charging more for authorized overdrafts even as they have declined to pass on interest rate increases to holders of current accounts. In some cases, the banks have actually cut the amount of interest they pay to account holders. The new data shows that, on ...

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June 13, 2007

Asian markets see declines

by Elaine Frei
Equities markets saw gains in Europe Wednesday. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.4 percent to 1,580.31. The Dax was up 0.03 percent to 7,680.76, while the IBEX gained 0.44 percent to 14,829.8 and the Paris CAC-40 was 0.61 percent higher to 5,934.27. In London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.6 percent to 6,559.6. The FTSE 250, meanwhile, was 0.14 percent ...

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“Retaliatory eviction” a problem in UK

by Elaine Frei
A new report from the Citizens Advice Bureau charges that many tenants in the UK are living in substandard housing because they are afraid to complain to their landlords for fear of being evicted. Up to one million homes, government figures show, do not meet decent homes standards. The problem, the report says, is that private landlords in the ...

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Report cites inconsistencies in overdraft charges

by Elaine Frei
Price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com has released a new study which looks at the differences between the charges various UK banks levy for an unauthorized overdraft. The report concludes that the charges are inconsistent and “unjust”. Among the findings is that depending on which bank a customer uses, the charge for an overdraft of £60 can range from £25 to ...

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June 12, 2007

European equities see declines after day of gains

by Elaine Frei
Asia-Pacific equities markets were mixed on Tuesday, with most higher. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries were up 0.15 percent to 6,267.7. The Hang Seng index was 0.1 percent higher to 20,636.39 in Hong Kong, while the Sensex gained 0.34 percent to 14,130.95 in India and in Singapore the Straits Times index added 0.74 percent to 3,561.54. ...

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