Halifax: House price growth moderates slightly in May

by Elaine Frei
The most recent survey from the Halifax, part of HBOS (LSE: HBOS), shows that house price growth is beginning to abate, if only slightly. With an average house price in the UK at £196,893, up £506 from April’s average of £196,387, the price of a house was up by just 0.3 percent in May. The small decline ...

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Courts, online claims service swamped by bank overdraft cases

by Elaine Frei
Both county courts in the UK and the government’s Money Claim Online service for small claims cases are being swamped by claims filed to recover bank overdraft charges. In the case of the online claims service, the site has slowed to a near-standstill at time due to the high traffic on the site. While there is no record ...

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June 7, 2007

Equities decline again; oil prices gain on new worries

by Elaine Frei
Equities markets were mostly down again on Thursday. In the Asia Pacific region, the Singapore Straits Times index dropped 0.07 percent to 3,558.55, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell 0.09 percent to 10,800.16. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries were 0.46 percent lower to 6,338.2, while the Sensex dropped 0.49 percent to 14,186.18 in ...

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Report: Housing boom pricing many out of market

by Elaine Frei
A new think tank, the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit, has produced a report which warns that the prolonged housing boom is beginning to cause social and economic problems because it has made many people, especially young people looking to buy for the first time, unable to afford a home. These problems are only likely to get ...

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Morgan Stanley warns of equities market “correction”

by Elaine Frei
Investors have been warned by investment bank Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) that a “correction” could send equities markets down by as much as 14 percent in the next six months. It compared the predicted sell-off to that of the dotcom collapse at the beginning of the decade and it has advised its clients to reduce their exposure to equities. ...

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June 6, 2007

Equities mostly lower; crude oil up, metals prices decline

by Elaine Frei
Most global equities markets were lower on Wednesday, with the only major exceptions being in Asia. The Shanghai Composite added 0.24 percent to 3,776.3, while the Shenzhen Composite was 1.9 percent higher to 1,086.22. Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong dropped 0.11 percent to 20,818.61. The Sydney Ordinaries ...

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Interest rate hikes mean repayment trouble for first-time home buyers

by Elaine Frei
According to a new survey conducted by online mortgage company mform.co.uk, just over 2 million young homeowners say they will have trouble repaying their mortgages at today’s interest rates. Even more - 2.66 million - claim it will be difficult for them to meet their mortgage payments if the Bank of England raises rates again by ...

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Analysts expect more UK interest rate hikes soon

by Elaine Frei
Despite the expectation of most analysts that the Bank of England will hold interest rates at 5.5 percent when its Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday, many analysts are convinced that more rate hikes are soon to come, with most believing that rates will be up to 5.75 percent by August and a few even expecting that to rise ...

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June 5, 2007

Most Asia-Pacific markets see advances

by Elaine Frei
Asian and Pacific markets were mostly higher on Tuesday. The main exception was in Australia, where the Sydney Ordinaries dropped 0.31 percent to 6,399.9. In China, the Shanghai Composite added 2.63 percent to 3,767.1, while the Shenzhen Composite added 2.5 percent to 1,066.05 to begin to reclaim Monday’s losses. Elsewhere in the region, the Sensex added 0.27 percent to ...

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Many landlords not aware of new Tenant Deposit scheme

by Elaine Frei
Even though a new Tenant Deposit scheme was put into place by the UK government from 6 April 2007 to protect the deposits tenants pay when they rent a property, new research compiled for Alliance & Leicester Mortgages (LSE: AL) shows that only 24 percent of landlords both know about the existence of the scheme and understand its ...

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ATM cash withdrawals using credit cards bring high interest rates

by Elaine Frei
Unless one has no other choice, it is not necessarily the best idea to withdraw cash from an ATM using a credit card. New figures from MoneyExpert.com show that the average credit card customer is charged 23.48 percent interest on money borrowed on a credit card from a cash machine. That is up from 21.27 ...

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June 4, 2007

European markets lower on profit-taking, China declines

by Elaine Frei
Equities markets in China declined significantly on Monday, with the Shanghai Composite down 8.26 percent to 3,670.4, for its biggest decline since February 28. In addition, the Shenzhen Composite fell 7.85 percent to 1,039.9. The declines in China did not seem to have too much of an impact on other Asian markets, however. While the Sensex dropped ...

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Comprehensive auto insurance said better deal than third party cover

by Elaine Frei
Many UK residents are paying too much for the wrong sort of car insurance, according to insurance comparison website Insurancewide.com. According to the website’s chief executive, James Harrison, too many people are paying too much for third party fire and theft coverage, when they could pay less and get better coverage by buying comprehensive insurance instead. It ...

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Remodeling? Consider converting loft for highest added value

by Elaine Frei
When looking to add value to their home, most owners’ first thought is to add a bathroom or remodel their kitchen. According to information from GE Money, a division of General Electric (NYSE: GE), however, there are other improvements that add much more value to the average home. In a survey of estate agents, GE Money ...

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