Japan’s Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, has today said he is “very concerned about the currency situation” as the yen continues to strengthen against the US dollar. The Japanese yen is currently hovering around 15-year highs against the dollar. Last month, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) intervened to stem its currency against the dollar – the [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK’s trade deficit narrowed slightly in August, after reaching a five-year high the previous month. According to the ONS, the goods trade gap widened to £8.2 billion in August, down from the £8.7 billion reported in July. Analysts had expected a deficit of £8.05 billion. [...]
A high level of properties on the market continues to outnumber buyer demand, and this will impact negatively on house prices, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). This echoes many reports, which all suggest house prices are heading for a double dip. House prices slumped by around one fifth between autumn 2007 [...]
The Halifax has today revealed UK house prices fell by a record 3.6% in September compared with August. The latest house price fall takes the average cost of a UK home to £162,096, the Halifax said. According to the lender, the monthly decline was the biggest since records began in 1983. However, it is still [...]
In its latest Credit Conditions Survey, the Bank of England has reported that demand for house purchase mortgages fell slightly in the three months to early September. In addition, lending criteria tightened slightly for the second consecutive quarter, with the trend expected to continue over the coming quarter. Some lenders commented that the changes reflected [...]
The Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) closely watched quarterly Tankan survey has revealed business confidence continues to rise, despite concerns about a strong yen. The Tankan index revealed business confidence among major manufacturers had picked up for the sixth consecutive quarter, rising to a better than expected reading of 8 in September, from 1 in June. [...]
The Japanese yen has dipped against the US dollar today, raising suspicion that Japan has again taken action to weaken its currency. Last Wednesday, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) intervened to stem its currency – which hit a fresh 15-year high against the dollar. It was the first time in six years that such action [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has today revealed a further fall in the number of new mortgages approved by the major banks in August. According to the BBA, mortgage approvals for the month stood at 31,767, down from 34,219 in July – representing the third consecutive monthly fall and the lowest since April 2009. The [...]
It appears the housing market is headed for a double dip after property website, Rightmove, reported a further fall in asking prices in September. According to Rightmove, asking prices for residential property in England and Wales fell by 1.1% in the 5 weeks to 11 September – the third consecutively monthly fall. It follows falls [...]
The Japanese yen has hit a fresh 15-year high against the US dollar today after Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, won a ruling party leadership vote, defeating Ichiro Ozawa. The currency has been rising against the dollar over recent weeks but a stronger yen has meant demand for exports has weakened – fuelling concerns for the [...]
The Japanese Government has today said it believes its economy expanded more than originally thought in the April to June quarter. It believes the economy grew by an annualised 1.5% in the three-month period – much higher than the first official estimate of 0.4%. Cabinet Office Parliamentary Secretary, Keisuke Tsumura, said Japan’s economy was “continuing [...]
Hometrack’s August housing market survey shows buyer interest in England and Wales falling away for the second consecutive month. Demand from new buyers declined by 2.2% on July, while the number of properties on the market rose by 2.4%. The shift cannot be blamed entirely on seasonal factor, with the typical rise in new properties [...]
Tens of thousands of homeowners who bought during the housing boom face another four years of being trapped in negative equity. According to a new forecast from the National Housing Federation (NHF), those who purchased a property in England at the peak of the market in 2007 paid an average price of £216,800. They may [...]
It appears the airline industry is recovering after a devastating time during the recession, which saw a slump in air travel. According to the airline industry body, International Air Transport Association (IATA), the number of passengers purchasing premium airline tickets grew again in June with demand for premium tickets up 16.6% on year. This compares [...]
Official figures have today revealed Japanese economic growth slowed in the April to June period, as widely expected. The economy expanded by just 0.1% in the three month period – far less than expected by analysts. Meanwhile, on an annual basis, the economy grew by 0.4% in the quarter, down from a revised 4.4% in [...]
Taylor Wimpey has reported “relatively robust” UK housing market conditions over the first half of 2010, having achieved 4,804 legal completions, up slightly from 4,702 a year earlier. The group sold 3,925 homes to private buyers and 866 to affordable housing providers, with the remainder joint ventures. Encouragingly, the developer’s cancellation rate scaled back to [...]
UK house prices fell back in July, for the first time since February, as buyer demand remained weak. According to Nationwide, the average value of a home declined by 0.5%, to £169,347, taking the annual rate of inflation down to 6.6%, compared with 8.7% in June. The lender notes that the sizeable drop is due [...]
Russia’s economy improved in the second quarter of 2010 after figures showed growth of 5.4% compared with the same period a year ago. Economic growth has been driven in the three month period by rising consumer demand, according to the country’s deputy economy minister, Andrei Klepach. In the first quarter, GDP expanded 2.9% from the [...]
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today revealed a fall in confidence, sending shares lower. Wall Street experienced falls after the US home builder sentiment index fell in July to the lowest level since April 2009 after the Government tax credit incentive expired a few months ago. According to the index, confidence among US [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
