The US housing market is expected to remain weak for the next two years, these are the findings of property websites, Trulia and RealtyTrac. According to the survey, more than half (58%) of US citizens expect the property market to stay weak until 2012, while one in five believe it will be 2015 or later [...]
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas fell more than expected in September. According to the index, house prices were 0.8% lower compared with August. David Blitzer, chairman of S&P’s index committee, comments: “While some of the bad numbers may reflect the end of the government’s tax incentive for first-time homebuyers, there [...]
Official data today revealed Japan’s economy grew strongly in the July to September period after the expiry of a Government incentive prompted a rush of car buyers and a sharp rise in cigarette sales before a new tobacco tax was levied. In addition, the hottest summer ever boosted sales of air conditioners and other related [...]
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) today said its Pending Home Sales Index fell by 18.6% in June on year. On a monthly basis, the index fell by 2.6% to 75.7 points based on contracts signed in June compared with May. As a result, the index fell to the lowest level since records began in [...]
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 [...]
Lloyds Banking Group has announced plans to award its chief executive, Eric Daniels, £2.85 million in shares. However, the share incentive only comes to fruition if stock in the state-owned bank goes above the 114p mark in the next three years. The award is in addition to his £1 million salary and the maximum £2.3 [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed a fall in sales of new homes in the US for the month of February. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales fell by 2.2% on the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 308,000 units – the lowest since records commenced in 1963. Meanwhile, the [...]
Abbey and Alliance & Leicester (A&L) are offering new customers a £100 incentive to switch to their current accounts. The Santander-owned banks are offering the bonus to new customers opening an Abbey Preferred Overdraft Rate account or an A&L Premier Account from today. To receive the cash bonus, customers must fund the account with a [...]
As of this week, Halifax is plying homemovers and first-time buyers with a new offer that provides help towards the cost of running a home. Borrowers can have 50% of their council tax bill paid by the lender during the first year in their new residence, with all payments being made direct to local councils. [...]
The Government is planning to offer a cash incentive to motorists who trade in their old car for an environmentally-friendly car. The “scrappage scheme”, which pays consumers to get rid of their old cars and replace it with a more environmentally friendly car, has proved successful in Germany, who recently reported a 40% increase in [...]
RBS has launched a new cash ISA paying up to 3.51% interest. The Cash ISA Plus account is aimed at new savers opening an ISA for the first time. As such, it does not accept transfers from other ISA accounts. Minimum deposit is just £1, and up to £3,600 can be deposited every tax year. [...]
Asda Financial Services is offering parents-to-be an incentive to pre-register for the Asda Child Trust Fund. The supermarket’s banking division is giving away money off vouchers for 12 Asda products and a free Family Money Guide to families who pre-register online. Claiming the freebies does not obligate parents to stay with Asda for the trust [...]
The recent 2.5% cut in VAT has been criticised by Olivier Blanchard, an International Monetary Fund economist. VAT was cut from 17.5% to 15% from Monday, December 1 for 13 months in an attempt to boost spending. However, Mr Blanchard believes the temporary cut in VAT is not a good idea would not significantly change [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has published plans that will sharpen up lending practices in relation to new homes. From 1st September, new standards for the professionals who act for lenders on newly-built property transactions will apply. They aim to ensure that valuations and conveyancing procedures reflect the market value of a property and [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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