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January 31, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Thursday. In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 and the Sydney Ordinaries each added 0.56 percent, to 5,650.3 and 5,697 respectively, while in South Korea the Kospi added 2.24 percent to 1,624.68. Tokyo’s markets were higher on the session. The Nikkei 225 added 1.85 percent to 13,592.47 while the Topix index ...
by Gill Montia
Latest figures from the Nationwide Building Society show that in January, the cost of a UK home fell by 0.1%, taking the price of the average property to £180,473, compared to £182,080 in December.
January marked the third consecutive month in which property prices have fallen and leaves the annual rate of inflation at 4.2%, down from 4.8% in December, ...
by Kay Murchie
Consulting firm Watson Wyatt has said up to $1.5 trillion (£753 billion) has been wiped off the value of global institutional pension fund assets since the start of 2008.
Roger Urwin of Watson Wyatt said with the average allocation to equities within pension funds in the 11 largest pension markets at 56%, they have felt the pain of the global equities market ...
by Gill Montia
A study from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) paints a gloomy picture for first-time buyers and the overall 2008 housing market.
In its latest affordability index, the Rics suggest that it can now cost 351% more to buy a home than in 1996.
According to the Institution, a couple on lower quartile earnings of £26,595 after tax now ...
by Gill Montia
New figures from the Bank of England show that at the end of last year, loans for new homes were at their lowest level for 13 years.
In December, 73,000 new home loans were approved, 37% fewer than in December 2006 (117,000).
The figure is below the 79,000 forecast and compares with 81,000 new mortgage approvals in November, making December ...
by Kay Murchie
Investment bank UBS has shocked the City after admitting that losses from the sub-prime mortgage crisis are $18.4 billion (£9.3 billion).
The bank said losses from exposure to the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US had deepened from the $14.5 billion it announced last month.
UBS was not due to update the market until mid February but said it now expects ...
by Kay Murchie
Pensioners in their 80s are the happiest according to a major study of retirement published by Saga. It has been established that this group of people are likely to afford everything they want in retirement.
Saga, the over-50s specialist, investigated the financial situation and expectations of newly retired, older pensioners and people still in ...
January 30, 2008
by Elaine Frei
European markets were lower on the session. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.66 percent to 1,329.43. The IBEX dropped 0.22 percent in Madrid while the Dax was down 0.26 percent to 6,875.35 in Frankfurt and the Paris CAC-40 dropped 1.37 percent to 4,873.57. Meanwhile, markets were mixed in London. The FTSE 100 was 0.81 percent lower to ...
by Gill Montia
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has warned that over one million households could face repossession in the coming 18 months.
The prospect of a slowing economy and tighter lending criteria could leave many homeowners in financial difficulties, particularly those coming to the end of a fixed-rate loan and facing a steep increase in mortgage payments.
In its Financial Risk Outlook, ...
by Kay Murchie
A survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has showed that January retail sales were the worst for 14 months.
However, this was not as much as analysts had predicted and retailers were more optimistic about the future.
Analysts had predicted no growth whatsoever with the survey suggesting that consumer demand is so far holding up in spite of concerns of ...
by Kay Murchie
With credit companies charging approximately £12 each time a consumer misses a payment, it is anticipated they have made roughly £61million.
Research from MoneyExpert has established that over 5 million people have missed monthly credit card payments in the last 6 months - a 2% increase on the previous 6 months.
Sean Gardner of MoneyExpert said there are other aspects ...
by Kay Murchie
Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) is an insurance product that will repay the outstanding debt on a mortgage if the borrower is unable to repay due to a number of specific problems such as sickness or unemployment.
However, the insurance has been shown to be very costly and limited in the cover it provides.
The Competition Commission has established that banks ...
January 29, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mostly higher on Tuesday. The FTSE Straits Times Index added 0.29 percent to 3,049.9. The Kospi index was up 0.66 percent to 1,637.91 in South Korea while the Shanghai Composite was 0.87 percent higher to 4,457.94. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.99 percent to 24,291.8 while the Taiex added 1.21 percent ...
by Gill Montia
The Land Registry, which provides the most reliable data on UK house prices, has reported that house price inflation in England and Wales dropped by 0.4% in December.
The decline brings the annual rate of inflation down to 6.7%, as compared with 8.1% in November.
In December, the average price of a home stood at £184,469, compared with £186,009 in November.
...
by Gill Montia
Residential auctioneer, Allsop, has reported a rise in the number of repossessed properties being sold at auction.
In its February catalogue, Allsop has listed 410 lots, nearly 40% of which are being sold by banks or mortgage companies.
Gary Murphy, a partner at the firm, says: "We haven't seen conditions like this since the early 1990s. At the same sale last year, ...
by Kay Murchie
The High Court test case into unfair bank charges is entering its third week. The eight banking institutions have argued that the 'unauthorised' overdrafts, to which the charges apply, are essential to personal banking.
The banking institutions involved are Abbey, Barclays, Clydesdale, HBOS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide Building Society and Royal Bank of Scotland. All banks declare that penalising customers up ...
by Kay Murchie
Belgian-Dutch bank Fortis has confessed it could face a write-down of €1 billion (£743 million) following its exposure to the sub-prime mortgage crisis in America.
The news follows rumours about the bank's potential hit from sub-prime losses.
In addition, Fortis could lose an additional €1 billion in profits as a consequence of the sub-prime collapse, seeing them fall to €3 billion from an ...
by Gill Montia
Hometrack, the housing intelligence specialist, has published its latest national housing market survey, showing that in January, house prices fell for the fourth consecutive month.
National average values decreased by 0.3%, the same rate as in December, taking the year-on-year rate of growth down to 2.3%, the lowest level recorded since June 2006.
London and the South West recorded the largest ...
by Kay Murchie
The board of Friends Provident has revealed a partial break-up and that it is to commit to a restructuring of its core UK business that is expected to cut at least £30 million from its annual cost base.
Chairman Sir Adrian Montague is expected to approve the de-merger of F&C Asset Management, which is 53% owned by Friends and the sale ...
January 28, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Asia-Pacific equities markets headed lower as investors worried that not only the US economy but also the Japanese economy are headed for recession. In India, the Sensex ended the session 1.14 percent lower at 18,152.78. Taiwan’s Taiex index fell 3.28 percent to 7,845.79 while the FTSE Straits Times Index was down 3.75 percent to 3,041.06. The Kospi index was ...
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Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Thursday. In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 and the Sydney Ordinaries each added 0.56 percent, to 5,650.3 and 5,697 respectively, while in South Korea the Kospi added 2.24 percent to 1,624.68. Tokyo’s markets were higher on the session. The Nikkei 225 added 1.85 percent to 13,592.47 while the Topix index ...
European markets were lower on the session. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.66 percent to 1,329.43. The IBEX dropped 0.22 percent in Madrid while the Dax was down 0.26 percent to 6,875.35 in Frankfurt and the Paris CAC-40 dropped 1.37 percent to 4,873.57. Meanwhile, markets were mixed in London. The FTSE 100 was 0.81 percent lower to ...
Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mostly higher on Tuesday. The FTSE Straits Times Index added 0.29 percent to 3,049.9. The Kospi index was up 0.66 percent to 1,637.91 in South Korea while the Shanghai Composite was 0.87 percent higher to 4,457.94. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.99 percent to 24,291.8 while the Taiex added 1.21 percent ...
Asia-Pacific equities markets headed lower as investors worried that not only the US economy but also the Japanese economy are headed for recession. In India, the Sensex ended the session 1.14 percent lower at 18,152.78. Taiwan’s Taiex index fell 3.28 percent to 7,845.79 while the FTSE Straits Times Index was down 3.75 percent to 3,041.06. The Kospi index was ...