Wall Street higher at noon on Friday
Read more: Wall Street higher at noon on Friday New York markets were higher just after noon in light trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.79 percent higher to 13,874.90, while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.92 percent to 2,678.64 and the S&P; 500 had gained 0.8 percent to 1,530.89. Asia-Pacific equities markets were mixed but mostly lower Friday ...

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Market slowdown still preferred to crash
Read more: Market slowdown still preferred to crash Property experts trying to predict the likelihood of a sharp decline in UK house prices are now juggling data from the property and mortgage sectors alongside major events in the banking industry. While the Northern Rock crisis will have undoubtedly reduced confidence in the housing market, there seems to be a consensus that ...

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London children at the bottom of UK pocket money league
Read more: London children at the bottom of UK pocket money league According to research from Engage Mutual, children in the East Midlands are those most likely to be enjoying pocket money this summer. However, children in London are at the bottom England’s pocket money league. However, at a time when there is growing concern over the nation’s savings ...

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Borrowers will benefit from bank injection
Read more: Borrowers will benefit from bank injection The Bank of England has recently announced that it will pump £10 billion into the UK economy in the form of loans to Banks that will use mortgages and other assets as security. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), this is good news for borrowers. The Financial Times has said ...

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A crackdown on loan sharks
Read more: A crackdown on loan sharks A £3 million crackdown on loan shark lending has been launched and specially trained teams have the task of tracing illegal lenders. John Hutton, Business Secretary, said that the crackdown will bring dishonest lenders to justice. In the last 3 years, specialist trading standards officers and the police have tracked down 200 ...

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No reclaimed bank charges until mid-2008
Read more: No reclaimed bank charges until mid-2008 According to a source involved in the OFT's consultation, banks at the centre of the argument over unreasonable charges will not be able to reach a compromise that will satisfy the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) before it takes them to court in January 2008. Consequently, those waiting for an answer ...

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Abbey mortgage launch shocks debt advisors
Read more: Abbey mortgage launch shocks debt advisors Abbey, the UK's third largest mortgage lender, has received strong criticism for its launch of a new type of home loan that will provide funding of up to 125% of a property's purchase price. The loan, which is being offered to first-time buyers and others across the country in a pilot ...

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Mortgage lending falls but remains strong
Read more: Mortgage lending falls but remains strong The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has published figures for August showing a 6% fall in gross mortgage lending by banks, building societies and specialist lenders, as compared with July. In monetary terms, lending fell to £32.2 billion from £34.1 billion in July and was 3% down on the August 2006 figure of £33 ...

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FTSE 250 drops 1.1 percent on session
Read more: FTSE 250 drops 1.1 percent on session Equities markets in Europe were lower on Thursday‘s session. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 0.63 percent to 1,539.89. In Frankfurt the Dax was 0.19 percent lower to 7,735.09, while Madrid’s IBEX was down 0.47 percent to 14,427.1 and the Paris CAC-40 dropped 0.73 percent to 5,688.76. London’s ...

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Mervyn King being martyred for Northern Rock
Read more: Mervyn King being martyred for Northern Rock There is a lot you can criticise the Bank of England for. Slow action over 2004-2005 that helped create an ugly housing boom, the instability of which already threatens us, is possibly their greatest failing. But the current fiasco over Northern Rock, and The Bank of England - particularly the governor, ...

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HSBC not making acquisitions in Japan
Read more: HSBC not making acquisitions in Japan HSBC Chairman, Stephen Green, has announced that the bank is not considering acquisitions in Japan. Instead, Europe's largest bank is to concentrate on growth by itself as it rolls out retail banking in the world's second-largest economy. The Chairman added that there is potential for at least 35 HSBC branches in ...

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Parents sacrificing pensions for school fees
Read more: Parents sacrificing pensions for school fees According to a survey by JPMorgan Asset Management, the majority of parents are opting to send their children to private schools by using their savings and investments. The report by JPMorgan established that 18% of parents make sacrifices to their pensions to fund private education for their children. In addition, one ...

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Post Office insurance team triples in size
Read more: Post Office insurance team triples in size Post Office Financial Services has announced 4 new key appointments to its insurance team. The Post Office believes these appointments will drive product and consumer base growth. The new appointments are Emma Baunach, Gerry Barrett, Duncan Caesar-Gordon and Liz May. These new team members will play a vital role in developing ...

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Christmas rewards with Lloyds TSB duo
Read more: Christmas rewards with Lloyds TSB duo Lloyds TSB has launched a series of exclusive retail partnerships to give credit card customers extra rewards on their festive spend and with less than 100 shopping days to go until Christmas, savvy spenders can benefit. The Lloyds TSB Duo credit card means that people can earn while they shop and earn ...

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Shudders run through buy-to-let
Read more: Shudders run through buy-to-let Property experts are voicing concerns that the tightening of criteria by mortgage lenders will cause a loss of confidence in the buy-to-let property sector. Buy-to-let accounts for approximately 12% of UK mortgage lending and many investors in the sector borrow the majority of the price of the property. In the worst case scenario lending criteria could be ...

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Madrid’s IBEX adds 3.19 percent on session
Read more: Madrid’s IBEX adds 3.19 percent on session Banks began to recover in Europe on Wednesday as the markets there saw big gains after the US Federal Reserve decided Tuesday to cut US interest rates by 0.5 percent to 4.75 percent. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 2.73 percent higher to 1,550.62. Frankfurt’s Dax gained 2.32 percent ...

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British Bankers’ Association – banks must keep customers informed
Read more: British Bankers’ Association – banks must keep customers informed According to the British Bankers' Association (BBA), financial institutions need to do more to ensure their customers are kept informed. Chief Executive of the BBA, Angela Knight, said that banks need to make people more aware of banking issues. She added that the banking industry is becoming complex ...

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first direct provides new format for its current account
Read more: first direct provides new format for its current account first direct is changing the format of its current account and savings products in order to help customers earn good money on their savings. first direct has carried out extensive customer research and established that customers really want a better deal on savings and overdrafts. Customers will also ...

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London Prices to remain flat
Read more: London Prices to remain flat Some property experts are forecasting a one in ten chance of a crash in London house prices, equivalent to events in the 1990s. Recent turmoil in the financial markets and the higher cost of borrowing have already brought about a decline in London asking prices. At the same time, lenders are tightening their ...

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Nationwide expands its UK call centre, new jobs
Read more: Nationwide expands its UK call centre, new jobs Nationwide Building Society is to expand its UK call centre operation in Swindon which will result in 200 new jobs. Swindon is one of five call centres that the Nationwide has in the UK and the expansion will bring purpose built premises within the city. The call centre ...

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