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February 22, 2008
by Kay Murchie
Swiss investment bank UBS has been sounding out some of Europe's top bankers to join its board of directors and ultimately replace the Swiss bank's long-serving chairman Marcel Ospel.
The search reflects the mounting pressure on Mr Ospel to step down, when the bank slumped to a full-year loss last year after write-downs linked to the US sub-prime mortgage market
The executives ...
by Kay Murchie
Lloyds TSB has today announced a 6% increase in underlying 2007 profit and raised its dividend.
The UK’s fifth largest bank said its annual profit before tax and volatility rose to £3.92 billion, up from £3.71 billion in 2006.
The ongoing turmoil in the financial markets has affected many of its rivals but the banking giant said its 'prudent approach ...
by Kay Murchie
Insurer Norwich Union, is warning that having CCTV cameras installed on your property will not necessarily mean lower insurance premiums.
CCTV is considered as something of a niche product in the domestic market and there is a high demand for the product.
Maplin the electrical retailer, has announced a 70% increase in its sales of security cameras for domestic use over ...
by Kay Murchie
According to the consumer group, Which?, people are leaving themselves open to identity theft when using social networking websites such as Facebook.
For example, personal profiles that may include a date of birth, contact details or links to family and friends can often be seen by thousands of people in a Facebook network if users stick with the default privacy setting.
Which? says ...
February 21, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Equities markets were higher in Europe on Thursday. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.69 percent to 1,330.08. The Dax was 0.07 percent higher to 6,904.85 in Frankfurt while the IBEX added 0.71 percent to 13,173 and the Paris CAC-40 gained 0.96 percent to 4,858.85. In London, the FTSE 100 was up 0.65 percent to 5,932.2 while the FTSE ...
by Gill Montia
The Co-operative Bank is waiving application fees across its entire range of fixed-rate mortgage products.
The following loans are included in the offer: two-year fix at 5.79%; three-year first-time buyer fix at 5.94%; five-year fix at 5.89%; 10-year fix at 5.84% and 25-year fix at 5.95%.
With all the loans, interest reverts to the bank's standard variable rate (currently at 7.24%) when the ...
by Gill Montia
The high level of stamp-duty paid by homebuyers may be contribution to the property slowdown.
The tax has raised £31.5 billion over the past ten years but last year's contribution to the Treasury topped £6.5 billion, a 675% increase on 1998.
Between 1997/98, just £830 million in stamp duty was paid, at a time when the tax was charged at 1% on ...
by Kay Murchie
Britain’s seventh-largest bank, Alliance & Leicester, reported a 30% drop in profit last year after being hit by a £185 million write-down on its investments in the credit market.
Following the news, shares in the bank plummeted 50p to 478p - their lowest level since they listed on the stock market in April 1997. The mortgage lender warned 2008 would ...
by Gill Montia
A member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has warned that the downturn in UK property prices appears to be gathering pace.
Kate Barker has spoken of a "marked" weakening in the property market and warned that further declines in house prices "cannot be ruled out".
At the same time she has expressed concerns that a major economic slump could ...
by Gill Montia
January saw an 11% rise in gross mortgage lending, despite the uncertainties surrounding the housing market.
Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders put gross lending for January at around £26.5 billion compared to £23.9 billion in December of last year.
However, the December figure was 25% behind November and the lowest monthly figure since May 2005.
The CML is expecting lending ...
by Kay Murchie
Earlier this week, Chancellor Alistair Darling announced that crisis-torn Northern Rock was to be nationalised as a temporary measure.
Mr Darling said neither of the two private were sufficient value for money to the taxpayer. The two bids included a consortium led by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and a stand-alone solution proposed by the board of Northern Rock, led ...
February 20, 2008
by Elaine Frei
European equities markets declined Wednesday on renewed worries about losses in credit markets. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 1.15 percent to 1,322.18. Madrid’s IBEX was 1.43 percent lower to 13,080.4 while the Dax fell 1.47 percent to 6,899.68 and the CAC-40 dropped 1.49 percent to 4,812.81. London’s markets also saw losses. The FTSE 100 was down ...
by Gill Montia
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) is not altogether in agreement with a recent gloomy report from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) about the prospects for repossessions during 2008.
Last month the Authority published its Financial Risk Outlook (FRO), which stated that up to a million UK households are vulnerable to default on their mortgage payments.
The FRO based this statistic on ...
by Gill Montia
Home Information Packs (Hips) have failed to win the heatrs and minds of homesellers because of their limited content and cost.
This situation will hardly be improved by a recent warning from the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) that some HIP providers are failing to include the proper documentation.
It appears that cases have come to light where Hip providers are enclosing ...
by Gill Montia
Mortgage borrowers that have 125% loans could face huge increases in monthly repayments when they come to remortgage, because most of the lenders offering this type of loan have withdrawn from the market this week.
Currently Northern Rock as the only High Street lender offering the 125% mortgage, which has been especially popular with first-time buyers.
The mortgages offer up to 95% ...
by Gill Montia
The Land Registry is alerting property owners to the dangers of fraud.
Land and buildings are attractive targets to sophisticated fraudsters who have been known to sell or mortgage them, despite not having ownership.
Two new guides have been published by the Land Registry, giving advice to members of the public.
Public Guide 17, entitled "How to Safeguard Against Property Fraud" explains the steps ...
by Gill Montia
Latest figures from the financial website, Moneyextra.com, show a 1.14% year-on-year rise in average UK house prices in January.
The figure was down on December (+1.85%), putting the cost of the average home at £223,957.
Property values for first-time buyers were up 4.63% year-on-year during the month, however, the gain reflects past increases, rather than the current state of the market.
During January house ...
by Gill Montia
The Financial Services Authority's (FSA) Consumer Panel is warning that solicitors who are not fully aware of the regulation that govern property repossessions can hamper homeowners' attempts to avoid eviction.
The FSA's recently published Financial Risk Outlook for 2008 predicts that 1.4 million homeowners could face problems meeting their mortgage repayments this year and the panel is drawing attention to ...
February 19, 2008
by Elaine Frei
Asia-Pacific equities markets saw gains on Tuesday. India’s Sensex was up 0.15 percent to 18,075.66. The FTSE Straits Times Index was 0.48 percent higher to 3,098.06 while in Australia the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.97 percent to 5,688.6 and the S&P/ASX200 gained 1.09 percent to 5,619.1. In South Korea the Kospi was up 1.43 percent to 1,720.52 while Hong Kong’s Hang ...
February 18, 2008
by Gill Montia
Latest figures from Rightmove, the property website, show a 3.2% rise in asking prices for homes in England and Wales, to £237,856.
The February increase is the first since October of last year and brings the annual increase in asking prices to 5.8%, compared with 3.4% in January.
The news is surprising because house prices are expected to stagnate this year, with some analysts ...
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Swiss investment bank UBS has been sounding out some of Europe's top bankers to join its board of directors and ultimately replace the Swiss bank's long-serving chairman Marcel Ospel.
The search reflects the mounting pressure on Mr Ospel to step down, when the bank slumped to a full-year loss last year after write-downs linked to the US sub-prime mortgage market
The executives ...
Equities markets were higher in Europe on Thursday. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.69 percent to 1,330.08. The Dax was 0.07 percent higher to 6,904.85 in Frankfurt while the IBEX added 0.71 percent to 13,173 and the Paris CAC-40 gained 0.96 percent to 4,858.85. In London, the FTSE 100 was up 0.65 percent to 5,932.2 while the FTSE ...
European equities markets declined Wednesday on renewed worries about losses in credit markets. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 1.15 percent to 1,322.18. Madrid’s IBEX was 1.43 percent lower to 13,080.4 while the Dax fell 1.47 percent to 6,899.68 and the CAC-40 dropped 1.49 percent to 4,812.81. London’s markets also saw losses. The FTSE 100 was down ...
Asia-Pacific equities markets saw gains on Tuesday. India’s Sensex was up 0.15 percent to 18,075.66. The FTSE Straits Times Index was 0.48 percent higher to 3,098.06 while in Australia the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.97 percent to 5,688.6 and the S&P/ASX200 gained 1.09 percent to 5,619.1. In South Korea the Kospi was up 1.43 percent to 1,720.52 while Hong Kong’s Hang ...