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October 29, 2007
by Gill Montia
The Land Registry has published figures for September giving further evidence of a slowdown in house prices in England and Wales.
The annual inflation rate for residential properties fell to 8.7% in September, down from 9.4% in August.
The figure, described by the Land Registry as a "noticeable dip", supports recent surveys from lenders, surveyors and Government.
The cost of a ...
October 26, 2007
by Elaine Frei
Asia-Pacific stocks were higher Friday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 1.84 percent to 30,405.22, closing over 30,000 for the first time and setting a new closing record after rising to 30,562.63 during the session for an all-time intra-day high. Meanwhile in South Korea the Kopsi index gained 2.6 percent to 3,038.06 for that index’s biggest ...
by Kay Murchie
According to Age Concern, many elderly people are unable to live on their pension and, therefore, are being forced to return to work.
Helen Spinney of Age Concern said that many people realise that their retirement income is not as much as they had anticipated so they are continuing to work beyond the state pension age, currently 60 for women and 65 ...
by Kay Murchie
A new current account has been launched by Natwest called The Natwest Adapt and will target 11-18 year olds and will allow them to create their own personalised cash card.
The account has an AER in interest of 3.15% and hopes to provide teenagers with a sense of independence by encouraging them to handle their own finances. The account pays ...
October 25, 2007
by Elaine Frei
At midday in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.26 percent lower to 13,639.08. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.84 percent to 2,751.43 while the S&P 500 was down 0.34 percent to 1,510.69.
Asia-Pacific equities markets were mixed on Thursday. Taiwan’s Taiex was 1.33 percent higher to 9,568.26 while in India the Sensex was up 1.39 percent to 18,770.89. ...
by Gill Montia
Investigative reporters working for the BBC's Truth About Property programme have highlighted significant price falls in a number of new build apartments in Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds.
On the Aspect 14 development near Leeds city centre, one resident has seen the price of his apartment drop by £85,000 in 18 months.
For others the value of their apartments has fallen from £189,000 to ...
by Gill Montia
It would seem that students and their parents are not being deterred by predictions of a house price slump.
According to recent research from Abbey Mortgages, students still regard university years as an ideal time to get a foot on the property ladder, with 14% planning to purchase a property in their university town.
In terms of numbers, approximately 66,000 of today's ...
by Kay Murchie
Research conducted by HSBC bank and Personal Finance Education Group (Pfeg) has discovered that 42% of children saved in a piggy bank or money box rather than trusting their parents to keep their money safe.
The poll was carried out by Educational consultancy EdComs and questioned 1,369 children aged between 7 and 11. The research also established that just 18% ...
by Kay Murchie
Martin Hall has parted company with Zurich Financial Services and has been appointed as new director of home underwriting at RBS Insurance. He will report to Chris McKee, RBS Insurance technical services director, and will join the company on November 5.
Commenting on the new appointment, Chris McKee, said the group were delighted with Martin’s appointment. He will be a ...
by Kay Murchie
bbae-learning was launched by the British Bankers’ Association in October 2001 and since then has trained over 53,000 individuals. Its most popular packages include training on money laundering, the Banking Code and the Business Banking Code.
British Bankers’ Association online training is enabling bank staff to increase their skills to deal with issues such as money laundering and to follow the ...
by Gill Montia
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) is working with two of the UK's leading charities and calling for regulation of sale-and-rent-back property firms.
The homeless charity Shelter and the Citizens Advice Bureau have joined forces with the CML to urge Kitty Ussher, the Treasury Secretary, to bring sale-and-rent-back businesses under the control of the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
The three have ...
by Gill Montia
Moneysupermarket.com, the price comparison website, has reported an increase in the take-up of medium-term (three to five year) fixed-rate mortgages.
Five base-rate rises since August 2006 have left many homebuyers searching for security, despite forecasts of a cut in interest rates before the end of the year.
Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at moneysupermarket.com, believes that the trend "supports the lack of confidence with ...
October 24, 2007
by Elaine Frei
Most Asian markets were lower on Wednesday, worried by a report that investment bank Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) will write down $2.5 billion more in the third quarter than previously estimated, adding to concerns over the effect of the subprime crisis. There were a couple of gains in Asia, however. In India, the Sensex added 0.11 percent to 18,512.91, ...
by Gill Montia
A slowdown in the property market could prompt vendors to adopt a different style of marketing their properties, as pioneered by those selling some of the UK's most prestigious homes.
Some estate agents are already providing modest home owners with an "open house" option whereby prospective purchasers come on the same day and wander around the property at their leisure.
Earlier this ...
by Gill Montia
A member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has spoken out against predictions of a property market slump, saying that the difficulties on the financial markets are unlikely to even bring UK house price growth to an end.
Kate Barker, one of the nine members of the MPC involved in setting the base rate, believes that it ...
by Kay Murchie
There have been updates to the Highway Code safety rules and Churchill Car Insurance has expressed concerns that many motorists are unaware of them.
For instance, 84% of drivers are not aware that playing loud music is against the rules and 65% confess to eating while driving which is not allowed.
A spokesperson for Churchill Car Insurance said drivers ...
October 23, 2007
by Gill Montia
The Council of Mortgage Lenders is urging the government to work towards restoring confidence in the UK financial services sector, following last month's run on mortgage bank, Northern Rock.
The Council's director general, Michael Coogan, has stated that the government risks further damage to that confidence by its criticism of the mortgage lending sector and repeated references to "irresponsible lending".
According ...
by Kay Murchie
Research by Abbey has established that Britons collectively fritter away £1 billion each year by using up their foreign currency in airport departure lounges.
Approximately 16 million Britons confessed to wasting foreign money while waiting to board their flight home. The age group 25-34 is most likely to waste their foreign currency.
Almost 40% of people purchase tacky souvenirs with 60% buying ...
by Kay Murchie
A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s Home Insurance has announced that parents could be faced with enormous bills for accidental damage caused by their children or children’s friends during the half-term holiday. Sainsbury’s estimated that the cost of this could amount to over £100 million.
This week is half-term for many children in the UK and it can be a ...
by Kay Murchie
Many small businesses have been left out of pocket by the recent postal strikes. The postal strikes by Royal Mail staff have resulted in deliveries piling up, orders from customers slowing and payments being delayed.
Many small businesses looked into hiring private couriers to clear the backlog but were found to be expensive. Non-heavy goods would only cost £1 ...
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The Land Registry has published figures for September giving further evidence of a slowdown in house prices in England and Wales.
The annual inflation rate for residential properties fell to 8.7% in September, down from 9.4% in August.
The figure, described by the Land Registry as a "noticeable dip", supports recent surveys from lenders, surveyors and Government.
The cost of a ...
Asia-Pacific stocks were higher Friday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 1.84 percent to 30,405.22, closing over 30,000 for the first time and setting a new closing record after rising to 30,562.63 during the session for an all-time intra-day high. Meanwhile in South Korea the Kopsi index gained 2.6 percent to 3,038.06 for that index’s biggest ...
At midday in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.26 percent lower to 13,639.08. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.84 percent to 2,751.43 while the S&P 500 was down 0.34 percent to 1,510.69.
Asia-Pacific equities markets were mixed on Thursday. Taiwan’s Taiex was 1.33 percent higher to 9,568.26 while in India the Sensex was up 1.39 percent to 18,770.89. ...
Most Asian markets were lower on Wednesday, worried by a report that investment bank Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) will write down $2.5 billion more in the third quarter than previously estimated, adding to concerns over the effect of the subprime crisis. There were a couple of gains in Asia, however. In India, the Sensex added 0.11 percent to 18,512.91, ...
The Council of Mortgage Lenders is urging the government to work towards restoring confidence in the UK financial services sector, following last month's run on mortgage bank, Northern Rock.
The Council's director general, Michael Coogan, has stated that the government risks further damage to that confidence by its criticism of the mortgage lending sector and repeated references to "irresponsible lending".
According ...