FM News:
FM Main:
FM Features:
|
February 29, 2008
by Gill Montia
Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G) is today withdrawing its 100% mortgage products; in future borrowers will need a minimum deposit of 10% if they want to apply for a loan.
The change means that a typical first-time buyer in London will need almost £25,000 to obtain a C&G mortgage.
As lending criteria continue to be reviewed, Royal Bank of Scotland and ...
by Gill Montia
Property ownership trends in the UK are changing, with new research from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) suggesting that many people are no longer simply buying a house when finances permit with the aim of working their way up the property ladder.
The CML report suggests that as many as one in five first-time buyers are actually "returners", that is to ...
by Kay Murchie
The credit crisis has claimed another victim as London-based Peloton Partners was forced to liquidate a $2 billion (£1 billion) bond fund following severe losses.
The liquidation highlights the seriousness of the problems in credit markets, last year the fund was a big success, generating an 87% return, primarily due to the success of its bets against sub-prime securities. ...
by Gill Montia
The latest house price survey from Nationwide shows a 0.5% drop in prices in February.
The fall, which is for the fourth month in succession, puts the cost of the average UK home at £179,358.
The annual rate of house price inflation fell to 2.7% in February, the lowest level since November 2005, and down from 4.2% in January.
Taking the more ...
by Gill Montia
The House Builders' Federation (HBF) has reported that its members are now responding to a softening in demand for new homes that became evident during the second half of 2007.
The trade association refers to house builders scaling back their plans in light of a slowdown in housing market activity.
However, John Slaughter, head of external affairs at the HBF, is keen to ...
February 28, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Europe’s equities markets saw declines Thursday on disappointing results and earnings outlooks. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 1.83 percent to 1,333.42. In Madrid the IBEX was 1.35 percent lower to 13,272.1 while the Dax fell 1.93 percent to 6,862.52 in Frankfurt and the Paris CAC-40 dropped 2.08 percent to 4,865.23. Markets were also lower in London, with ...
by Gill Montia
Latest figures from the Land Registry show that house prices in England and Wales rose by 0.9% in January.
The increase more than offset the 0.4% drop in prices recorded in December, however, a decline in the annual rate of growth continued during the month.
The annual rate fell for the fifth consecutive month, from 6.7% in December to 6.4% ...
by Gill Montia
Nationwide is promoting its mortgages as a "best buy" for first-time buyers, despite having decreased its maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio on its fixed-rate and tracker mortgages, from 90% to 75%.
The move left first-time buyer applicants needing to raise a deposit of at least 25% to secure the best rates.
However, the building society is now reassuring first-time buyers that it ...
by Gill Montia
The latest Personal Credit Index published by credit rating specialist, Experian, shows a marked weakening of confidence among UK consumers.
The Index has fallen for the second consecutive quarter, on fears of an economic downturn, with the result that 91% of homeowners taking part in the research were not intending to move.
In addition, 48% of the non-homeowners questioned said they never ...
by Kay Murchie
According to the banking industry body Apacs, from the end of May, cash transfers over the phone or by the internet will soon take only 24 hours instead of 3 days.
The system should have been implemented last November but was postponed to ensure the system was effective. The plan for the new system has been nearly 3 years in development, following ...
by Kay Murchie
Internet bank Egg, is refusing to back down after it recently withdrew the credit cards belonging to 161,000 customers.
Following a meeting with Labour MP Nigel Griffiths, a former consumer affairs minister, Egg said there would be no change in policy.
Egg claimed that the customers, who represent 7% of its 2 million credit cardholders, had a 'higher ...
by Kay Murchie
Following an earthquake in the early hours of Wednesday morning, at least 1,100 insurance claims were received in the first 12 hours after the tremor, according to Abbey.
The earthquake which measured 5.2 on the Richter Scale was Britain's most powerful for almost 25 years.
There have been reports of structural damage near to the earthquake's epicentre close to Market Rasen in ...
February 27, 2008
by Elaine Frei
European markets were mixed Wednesday after troubling earnings reports from the banking and industrial sectors. Madrid’s IBEX was up 0.13 percent to 13,454.3 and the Dax added 0.17 percent to 6,997.85, but the CAC-40 fell 0.09 percent to 4,968.82 in Paris while the pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.25 percent to 1,357.78. London’s markets were also mixed. While ...
by Gill Montia
The Open Market HomeBuy scheme, which aims to help key-workers get a foot on the housing ladder, is undergoing a major review.
The move is intended to increase the number of people taking advantage of the scheme, which has so far attracted only 2,000 key-workers.
From 1st April first-time buyers will be able to take out a mortgage for half the cost of their ...
by Gill Montia
The head of Barratt Developments, one of the UK's largest housebuilders, is expecting house prices to remain flat for the next 18 months, stating: "I am expecting something like flat prices for the full financial year [to the end of June], and I wouldn't assume it would be very different in the next financial year."
Barratt's chief executive, Mark Clare, is ...
by Kay Murchie
According to the Financial Services Authority, cheap credit may be gone forever.
Hector Sants, FSA’s Chief Executive, said he doesn’t think markets are ever going to return to the way they were before the global turmoil triggered by the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market last summer.
Mr Sants said that banks will shy away from the innovative products ...
by Kay Murchie
Standard Chartered has announced a 27% increase in annual profit due to growth in its main markets of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Pre-tax profits were $4.04 billion (£2.05 billion) in 2007, up from $3.2 billion compared with 2006.
The international bank, which earns 75% of its profit in Asia, increased its write-downs on investments due to global financial ...
by Kay Murchie
Internet bank Egg, who recently withdrew the credit cards belonging to 161,000 customers is being asked to apologise to those affected.
Egg claimed that the customers, who represent 7% of its 2 million credit cardholders, had a 'higher than acceptable risk profile'. However, all of those affected have excellent credit ratings.
It is understood that Egg withdrew the credit cards because ...
by Kay Murchie
In a speech yesterday, Bank of England Deputy Governor, Rachel Lomax, has warned of slowing growth and rapidly rising inflation in a sign that interest rates will come down slowly.
The global economy looks bleak said Ms Lomax, there have been financial and banking crises before, but not on the present global scale. This must surely be the largest-ever peacetime ...
February 26, 2008
by Elaine Frei
European equities were higher on Tuesday. The pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1.41 percent to 1,361.18. The Paris CAC-40 was 1.09 percent higher while the Dax added 1.5 percent to 6,985.97 and the IBEX gained 2.13 percent to 13,436.6. In London, the FTSE 100 was up 1.47 percent to 6,087.4 while the FTSE 250 gained 1.06 percent ...
|
|
Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G) is today withdrawing its 100% mortgage products; in future borrowers will need a minimum deposit of 10% if they want to apply for a loan.
The change means that a typical first-time buyer in London will need almost £25,000 to obtain a C&G mortgage.
As lending criteria continue to be reviewed, Royal Bank of Scotland and ...
Europe’s equities markets saw declines Thursday on disappointing results and earnings outlooks. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 1.83 percent to 1,333.42. In Madrid the IBEX was 1.35 percent lower to 13,272.1 while the Dax fell 1.93 percent to 6,862.52 in Frankfurt and the Paris CAC-40 dropped 2.08 percent to 4,865.23. Markets were also lower in London, with ...
European markets were mixed Wednesday after troubling earnings reports from the banking and industrial sectors. Madrid’s IBEX was up 0.13 percent to 13,454.3 and the Dax added 0.17 percent to 6,997.85, but the CAC-40 fell 0.09 percent to 4,968.82 in Paris while the pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.25 percent to 1,357.78. London’s markets were also mixed. While ...
European equities were higher on Tuesday. The pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1.41 percent to 1,361.18. The Paris CAC-40 was 1.09 percent higher while the Dax added 1.5 percent to 6,985.97 and the IBEX gained 2.13 percent to 13,436.6. In London, the FTSE 100 was up 1.47 percent to 6,087.4 while the FTSE 250 gained 1.06 percent ...