Mortgage lending continues to make headway

Fresnillo gains among mostly lower miners

European equities markets were lower Friday on further indications that the global economy is slowing as Chinese manufacturing activity remained in contraction, Eurozone inflation was up to 3 percent in August and German retail sales dropped 2.9 percent in August from the previous month in a much larger decline than expected. The FTSE 100 was [...]

German unemployment hits lowest level in 20 years

Official data has revealed unemployment in Germany dropped to its lowest level in more than 20 years in September. The country’s unemployment rate fell from August’s rate of 7% to 6.6%. Unemployment now stands at 2.79 million – the first time since 1992 that the jobless total has been below 2.8 million. It was also [...]

CBI urges Government to boost housing market

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is calling on the Government to launch new initiatives to boost the ailing housing market, suggesting it could help economic growth. The business lobby group wants Chancellor George Osborne to launch the fresh initiatives in his autumn statement, which will be delivered later this year. In a speech to [...]

Japan’s industrial output increases in August

Japan’s industrial output recovered further last month after a record drop in March due to the earthquake and tsunami. Disruptions caused by the twin disasters resulted in carmakers being forced to halt production as a result of parts shortages. However, it looks as if the situation continues to improve after output rose by 0.8% last [...]

US economic growth revised upwards for Q2

The Commerce Department has revealed the world’s largest economy grew by 1.3% on an annual basis in the April to June period – higher than an initial estimate of 1%. The figure was also slightly higher than analysts’ expectations of 1.2% and follows a 0.4% growth rate in the first quarter of the year. The [...]

Wolseley best performer on 100

European equities markets were mostly higher Thursday on positive date from the United States, including a 1.3 percent gain in the US gross domestic product and a decline in first-time jobless claims last week, while gains were also helped after German lawmakers approved an increased contribution to a European fund to help Eurozone nations caught [...]

Fed chairman warns of high unemployment

Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, has warned that the world’s largest economy is facing a national crisis due to its high unemployment rate, which currently stands at 9.1%. Earlier this month, the US Labor Department revealed the economy added no new jobs last month, which was a surprise after markets had expected 70,000 new jobs. [...]

Energy bill hikes will speed up inflation rate

According to Spencer Dale, the Bank of England’s chief economist, UK inflation is set to accelerate due to soaring energy bills. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed UK Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to annual rate of 4.5% in August from July’s rate of 4.4% - more than double the [...]

BoE: Mortgage approvals hit 20-month high in August

The Bank of England has today revealed mortgage approvals picked up significantly in August to a 20-month high. According to the Bank, there were 52,410 loans approved in the month – almost 3,000 more than the level seen in July and the highest figure since December 2009. The figure was also higher than the 49,500 [...]

Nationwide: House prices rise just 0.1% in September

The latest house price index from the Nationwide Building Society has revealed prices rose by just 0.1% in September on a monthly basis. On an annual basis, house prices are now 0.3% lower than this time last year with the average UK home costing £166,256. Meanwhile, when comparing prices in the three months to the [...]