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November 27, 2007
by Gill Montia
The Government's decision to extend the requirement for Home Information Packs (Hips) to all private dwellings for sale in the UK is particularly bad news for flat owners and first-time buyers.
First-time buyers are already facing a shortage of small properties on the market and the introduction of Hips is likely to reduce the stock because speculative vendors will be put off by the cost of a ...
by Gill Montia
Latest research from Nationwide Building Society has revealed that 75% of UK adults do not understand the monetary value a 1% difference in mortgage rates.
Participants in the survey were given details of two five year mortgage products to compare: a £120,000 mortgage with an interest rate at 5.6% and the same mortgage with a rate of 6.6%
Only 25% of respondents ...
November 26, 2007
by Elaine Frei
Most equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were higher on Monday, helped by healthy sales on “Black Friday” in the United States, the traditional beginning of the Christmas shopping season and the traditional day when retailers turn to profit for the year. The exception to gains in the region came on the Shanghai Composite, which dropped 1.46 ...
by Gill Montia
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is warning mortgage brokers that it will take strong action against any firms found to be acting dishonestly.
The authority has discovered "many serious failings" among brokers dealing in self-certification mortgages.
It believes that the breaches, which are either caused by "negligence or wilful non-compliance", are undermining the reputation of conscientious brokers.
According to FSA spokesman Stephen Bland: ...
by Kay Murchie
A survey by mobile banking service Monilink has discovered that British savers are negligent with only 10% noticing if £1,000 was missing from their savings. The results should be a warning to the 25 million people affected by the Government's loss of 2 computer discs containing name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number and, where relevant, bank details of 25 million ...
by Kay Murchie
A consortium led by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group has been confirmed as the preferred buyer for crisis-torn Northern Rock and is being backed by the Treasury. Virgin's offer includes an immediate repayment of £11 billion of the £25 billion owed to the Bank of England.
Virgin's consortium, which also includes buyout firm WL Ross, investment group Toscafund and Hong Kong-based ...
by Gill Montia
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the accountant, has published its annual review of the credit card industry, in which it warns that the UK could be heading for the kind of mortgage crisis that has afflicted the US.
According to PwC, almost one-and-a-half million people will see their mortgage repayments increase substantially next year.
As a result, consumers are likely to turn to their credit ...
by Gill Montia
A recommendation that stamp duty should be reduced on properties where homeowners have invested in energy-efficient changes is being backed by the climate change taskforce of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
CBI member, Iain Conn, who is chief executive of BP’s refining and marketing division, believes that the policy would create a financial incentive for homeowners to improve energy efficiency.
At ...
November 23, 2007
by Gill Montia
The British Bankers' Association (BBA) has released figures showing a reduction in the number of mortgages advanced in October.
The number stands at 44,105, which is 19% down on September of this year and 37% less than in October 2006, when more than 70,000 mortgages were advanced.
According to David Dooks, the BBA's director of statistics, "October's data provides evidence of a rapidly ...
by Gill Montia
Kensington Mortgages is withdrawing from the sub-prime mortgage market.
The lender specialises in adverse credit, self-certification and buy-to-let mortgages and has announced that it will discontinue its entire "Adverse" range at close of business today.
The company, which was acquired by Investec (the South African bank) in August of this year, is also undertaking a review of its mortgage range and will be ...
November 22, 2007
by Gill Montia
The Government has announced that the requirement for Home information packs (Hips) is being extended to cover all properties being sold in England and Wales, from 14 December.
The packs, which include local searches and an energy efficiency report, have been introduced in stages, having been required for all properties with three bedrooms or more since September of this year.
The scheme ...
by Gill Montia
Birmingham Midshires, part of the HBOS group, has secured an exclusive distribution agreement with John Charcol, one of UK’s largest independent mortgage brokers.
John Charcol will market a new Birmingham Midshires tracker mortgage aimed at the buy-to-let market.
The mortgage guarantees to keep interest repayments at 0.06% below the Bank of England’s base rate, for three years.
It starts on a highly attractive 5.69% interest ...
November 21, 2007
by Gill Montia
The news that Paragon, the buy-to-let lender, could be heading for a liquidity crisis will be of concern to landlords.
Paragon is the third-largest lender in the UK rental market and its difficulties could be a precursor to a major shake-up of the buy-to-let sector.
The buy-to-let market has grown strongly in recent years, however interest rate rises have reduced ...
by Kay Murchie
Crisis-torn Northern Rock has received fresh interest from firms which might be considering a buyout or investment. However the bank did not divulge the names or how many proposals it has received.
It did say that one of the offers was well below Tuesday’s closing price, prompting a fresh slide in its shares. At 8.10am today, shares were down 13.6% at 87.9 pence ...
by Gill Montia
New data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) shows that gross mortgage lending increased to approximately £32.4 billion in October.
The figure is 6% ahead of lending in September, at £30.6 billion, and 6% higher than in October of last year.
Historically, mortgage lending in September and October shows a seasonal rise of around 3%.
Although the October increase is well ...
by Kay Murchie
There are reports that UBS may have hit financial difficulty and investors are awaiting news from the bank on the size of its exposure to sub-prime mortgages.
Yesterday, Swiss-based UBS, which has a major presence in the US, saw its shares briefly suspended after a sudden crash. By noon, they were down 3% at Swfr49 in Zurich. Analysts forecast that UBS could be ...
by Kay Murchie
Last month, building societies saw record savings as savers escaped Northern Rock and headed for the safety of traditional mutual savings.
A net inflow of £3.02 billion was noted in October to the 59 remaining building societies in the UK, this was over 4 times the £772 million deposited in October 2006.
Adrian Coles, director general of the Building Societies Association, said it ...
by Kay Murchie
Britain’s most senior taxman, Paul Gray, has resigned from his £170,000 a year job as head of HM Customs and Revenue following the loss of confidential bank details of 7.5 million families.
Mr Gray was appointed by Gordon Brown as executive chairman of the HMRC this year. However, he has been criticised over the tax credits disaster where millions of ...
November 20, 2007
by Elaine Frei
Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Tuesday. Gains came in China, where the Shanghai Composite added 0.45 percent to 5,293.7, as well as in Singapore and Hong Kong where the Straits Times index was up 0.78 percent to 3,438.27 and the Hang Seng was 1.13 percent higher to 27,771.21. In Taiwan, the Taiex index ...
by Kay Murchie
Minister for Pensions Reform, Mike O'Brien, has announced that the Pensions Regulator will monitor a new system of pension saving.
The system will be designed to enrol employees automatically who are not able to join a good scheme run by their own employer. Employers, as well as staff, will have to make contributions, to improve the level of pension saving in the UK. ...
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The Government's decision to extend the requirement for Home Information Packs (Hips) to all private dwellings for sale in the UK is particularly bad news for flat owners and first-time buyers.
First-time buyers are already facing a shortage of small properties on the market and the introduction of Hips is likely to reduce the stock because speculative vendors will be put off by the cost of a ...
Most equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were higher on Monday, helped by healthy sales on “Black Friday” in the United States, the traditional beginning of the Christmas shopping season and the traditional day when retailers turn to profit for the year. The exception to gains in the region came on the Shanghai Composite, which dropped 1.46 ...
The British Bankers' Association (BBA) has released figures showing a reduction in the number of mortgages advanced in October.
The number stands at 44,105, which is 19% down on September of this year and 37% less than in October 2006, when more than 70,000 mortgages were advanced.
According to David Dooks, the BBA's director of statistics, "October's data provides evidence of a rapidly ...
The Government has announced that the requirement for Home information packs (Hips) is being extended to cover all properties being sold in England and Wales, from 14 December.
The packs, which include local searches and an energy efficiency report, have been introduced in stages, having been required for all properties with three bedrooms or more since September of this year.
The scheme ...
Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Tuesday. Gains came in China, where the Shanghai Composite added 0.45 percent to 5,293.7, as well as in Singapore and Hong Kong where the Straits Times index was up 0.78 percent to 3,438.27 and the Hang Seng was 1.13 percent higher to 27,771.21. In Taiwan, the Taiex index ...