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October 31, 2008
by Gill Montia
Financial information provider, Moneyfacts.co.uk, has revealed that half of the UK's mortgage lenders have failed reduce their standard variable rates (SVR) in line with recent cuts in the base rate.
According to the firm's research, 50% of lenders have not made any reduction in SVR, from the October base rate cut.
Meanwhile, 82% of lenders have not passed on ...
by Gill Montia
Abbey is cutting the cost of its fixed-rate deals with maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratios of 60% and 75%, by up to 0.35%.
The bank has also upped the maximum loan size on its two-year tracker and fixed-rate loans with a maximum 60% LTV, to £550,000.
From 30th October, two and three-year loans at 60% LTV start at 5.49% plus a £499 fee, ...
by Kay Murchie
A survey carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) of 721 organisations has resulted in some alarming news.
The CIPD said its survey found that a sharp rise in redundancies is expected by employers as a result of the current financial crisis.
A quarter of the organisations questioned said they had prepared fresh plans for ...
by Kay Murchie
Barclays has declined financial assistance from the UK Government and is instead looking to raise £7.3 billion, primarily from Middle East investors.
The bank has secured a £5.8 billion cash injection from investors in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, and once the deal is finalised, the Middle Eastern investors will hold a 32% stake in Barclays.
Sheikh Mansour ...
by Kay Murchie
As widely expected, the Bank of Japan has cut interest rates from 0.5% to 0.3%, the first since 2001.
According to analysts, some investors were disappointed that the bank had not cut rates further. There had been hopes of a 0.25% cut.
Commenting on the rate cut, the Bank of Japan said the impact of the global financial ...
by Gill Montia
Moneysupermarket.com is cautioning homeowners struggling with their finances against switching from a repayment to an interest only mortgage.
The idea will tempt many as on the average £150,000 loan, moving to an interest only deal could reduce monthly payments by up to £236.
However, the price comparison website warns that such a move will dramatically increase the overall cost of buying ...
October 30, 2008
by Elaine Frei
European equities markets were up Thursday after interest rate cuts in the US, China and Taiwan and on encouraging earnings reports in the region.
In London the FTSE 100 added 1.16 percent to 4,291.65 while the FTSE 250 gained 3.92 percent to 6,223.78 as banks and miners saw gains and insurer Old Mutual (LSE: OML; JSE: OLOML) led the 100 with a ...
by Kay Murchie
The world’s largest economy is officially on the verge of recession after figures from the Commerce Department show that the economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.3% in the three months to September. The fall follows growth of 2.8% in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of the US economy, shrank by 3.1%, the first contraction ...
by Gill Montia
Nationwide has published its latest house price survey showing the cost of the average UK home falling again, in October, to £158,872.
The monthly loss stood at 1.4%, taking the annual decline to 14.6%, or £27,172, in terms of the average house price.
The figures compare with a September monthly fall of 1.7% and an annual fall of 12.4%, according to Nationwide.
House prices ...
by Gill Montia
Moneyfacts.co.uk has revealed that average tracker rates are at the same level as this time last year, despite a 1.25% cut in the base rate in the interim.
According to Moneyfacts' research, the average rate on a tracker mortgage is 6.27% today, compared to 6.23% in October 2007.
The price comparison website's analyst, Michelle Slade, concludes that the Bank of England's best ...
by Gill Montia
Online mortgage broker, mform.co.uk, has named HSBC as the most consistently competitive mortgage lender during the third quarter of 2008.
The research is based on the number of products appearing in best buy tables and HSBC has topped the list, with Yorkshire Building Society coming second.
Nationwide Building Society, Newcastle Building Society and Halifax are also listed in the top five, although ...
by Kay Murchie
Professor David Blanchflower, a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), is calling for aggressive interest rate cuts in order to boost Britain’s economy and stave off the prospect of a deep and prolonged recession.
In response, Chancellor Alistair Darling appeared to be supporting Prof Blanchflower’s call after he stressed that while he ...
by Kay Murchie
Taro Aso, Japan’s Prime Minister, has revealed a second stimulus package for the country.
The 5 trillion yen (£31 billion, $51 billion) package is an attempt to stimulate the world's second largest economy and include tax cuts, funding for care of children and the elderly and loans for small businesses.
The package is Japan’s second in as many months after the ...
October 29, 2008
by Kay Murchie
The US Federal Reserve unanimously voted today to cut interest rates from 1.5% to 1% in a bid to stave off a recession.
Wall Street had been expecting the half-point cut in interest rates and the Dow Jones lost 64 points to 9000 following the news. However, it recovered by 52 points to 9117 within half an hour of ...
by Gill Montia
The Bank of England has reported that mortgage approvals for house purchases rose slightly during September, to 33,000, compared to 32,000 a month earlier.
The increase is the first recorded by the Bank since June 2007.
While mortgage lending for new purchases was still below the six month average (£3.5 billion), it gained ground on August, at £2.2 billion.
The August figures were some ...
by Gill Montia
Recently appointed housing minister, Margaret Beckett, has made reference to weaknesses in the Home Information Pack (HIP) scheme in an address to the House of Commons.
The minister made it clear that HIPs are here to stay but acknowledged shortcomings in the scheme mean that the full potential of the packs has not been achieved.
She blamed negativity in the property sector and ...
by Kay Murchie
It is believed that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this week, which has boosted shares worldwide following a severe decline earlier this week on fears of a global recession.
The Fed is widely expected to cut rates by half a percentage point to 1%. This resulted in a sharp rise on Wall Street after the Dow Jones ...
October 28, 2008
by Gill Montia
The Land Registry has published house price data for September, showing the cost of the average home down 2.2% (£5,700) during the month, to £168,814.
The decline means that house prices in England and Wales have fallen 8% over the year, although the rate of decline accelerated last month, from 4.6% in August.
Wales saw the biggest monthly fall with ...
by Gill Montia
Persimmon has reported that its cancellation rates have risen to 35%.
In an interim statement, the housing developer said that the number of potential buyers who put down deposits of up to £700 on new homes and later withdraw, is now around 20% higher than its pre credit crisis average.
Describing trading conditions as having deteriorated since August, the firm referred to the uncertainty created ...
by Gill Montia
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has reported a sharp rise in the number of people losing their homes because they are unable to keep up their mortgage payments.
In the three months to the end of June, repossessions of residential properties rose 71% to 11,054.
The figure compares with 6,476 during the same three months of 2007.
According to the FSA, repossessions have been on the increase ...
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Financial information provider, Moneyfacts.co.uk, has revealed that half of the UK's mortgage lenders have failed reduce their standard variable rates (SVR) in line with recent cuts in the base rate.
According to the firm's research, 50% of lenders have not made any reduction in SVR, from the October base rate cut.
Meanwhile, 82% of lenders have not passed on ...
European equities markets were up Thursday after interest rate cuts in the US, China and Taiwan and on encouraging earnings reports in the region.
In London the FTSE 100 added 1.16 percent to 4,291.65 while the FTSE 250 gained 3.92 percent to 6,223.78 as banks and miners saw gains and insurer Old Mutual (LSE: OML; JSE: OLOML) led the 100 with a ...
