The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas fell in January – the seventh consecutive monthly decline. According to the index, house prices were 0.2% lower in January with prices at their lowest for 11 years in four cities. The S&P/Case-Shiller index for 20 main US cities fell by 3.1% on an annual [...]
Official data from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) today revealed UK house prices fell by 1.4% in January compared with December, with the average UK home costing £208,552. On an annual basis, house prices are now 0.5% lower – compared with 3.8% in December – the eighth month in a row in [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported mortgage lending plunged in January. Mortgage lending fell by 29% in January on a monthly basis, while lending was also 12% down on the year. There were just 28,500 approvals during the month – the lowest level since February 2009. The Council highlights that traditionally December [...]
The US trade deficit swelled in January to a seven month high of $46.3 billion (£28.8 billion) – much higher than expected. The widening was attributed to higher prices for imported oil, the Commerce Department reported today. Imports continued to surge – rising for the fourth consecutive month in January by 5.2% on a monthly [...]
Statistics office Destatis has today revealed German exports unexpectedly fell 1% in January on the month after a 0.5% rise in December. However, on an annual basis, exports were up 24.2%. Germany is the world’s second largest exporter after China and export demand helped to bring Germany out of recession in the second quarter of [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK manufacturing output bounced back in January after December’s weather related fall. According to the ONS, manufacturing output rose 1% in January – its fastest monthly pace in 10 months. It also beat analysts expectations who forecast a rise of 0.8%. In the meantime, output was [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK’s trade deficit narrowed more than expected in January, as exports surged. According to the ONS, the global goods trade gap narrowed to £7.09 billion in the month from £9.69 billion in December. The deficit represents the smallest in almost a year and economists had [...]
Japanese core private-sector machinery orders – a highly volatile series seen as an indicator of corporate spending – rose 4.2% in January on a monthly basis – easily beating expectations of a 3.1% increase. The increase in orders represented the second consecutive monthly rise, according to the Cabinet Office, and follows December’s 1.7% rise and [...]
Federal Statistical Office, Destatis, has today revealed German retail sales grew for a second consecutive month in January. According to Destatis, retail sales rose 2.6% in January on an annual basis – boosted by falling unemployment. Earlier this week, the Federal Labour Office said there was a further fall in the number of people out [...]
The Bank of England has today revealed mortgage approvals rose in January. According to the Bank, there were 45,723 loans approved in the month, up from December’s 42,719 – a month when the country was hit by the coldest weather in more than a century. The level of approvals easily beat analysts forecasts of a [...]
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) today said its Pending Home Sales Index fell in January. On a monthly basis, the index fell to 88.9, from a downwardly revised 91.5 in the previous month and was lower than the reading of 89.5 expected by economists. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur [...]
The Commerce Department has reported a further rise in consumer spending in the US for the month of January, albeit slower than expected. Spending grew 0.2% in the month after rising by 0.5% in December. While it represented the seventh consecutive monthly rise, it was the weakest pace since June. Consumer spending is closely monitored [...]
The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat has today revealed inflation in the euro zone rose to 2.3% in January – albeit lower than an earlier projection of 2.4% and compares with 2.2% in December. However, the rate remains above the European Central Bank’s target of just below 2%. The ECB has previously suggested inflation in [...]
According to the Land Registry, house prices rose by 0.2% in January compared with December, putting the average cost of a home at £163,177 in England and Wales. However, on an annual basis, the Registry said prices fell 0.9% in January – the first negative reading since October 2009. It must be noted that the [...]
The Trade Ministry has today reported a further rise in Japanese industrial output. Output grew 2.4% in January on a monthly basis – its third consecutive rise and compares with a 3.3% increase in December. According to the Ministry, growth was fuelled by demand for transport equipment, machinery and metals. However, January’s figure was slightly [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed a sharp fall in sales of new homes in the US for the month of January. According to the Commerce Department, new single-family home sales fell 12.6% on a monthly basis to an annual rate of 248,000 units. On an annual basis, January sales were down 18.6%. However, the [...]
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has revealed sales of previously owned homes in the US rose in January. The industry body said sales grew 2.7% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million units – beating forecasts of 5.23 million units. Sales were also up 5.3% compared with January 2010 levels. [...]
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has revealed a slump in the number of homes sold in January in the UK. According to HMRC, just 54,000 homes worth at least £40,000 or more were sold in the month – the lowest number since January 2010. The figures are revealed as the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) reported [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has today revealed a further fall in the number of new mortgages approved by the major banks in January. According to the BBA, the number of new mortgages approved in the month stood at 28,932 – marginally better than December’s levels but 29% lower compared with January 2010. The figures [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK public sector net borrowing switched to a surplus in January – boosted by a sharp increase in income tax receipts and corporation tax inflows. According to the ONS, public sector net borrowing registered a surplus of £3.735 billion – representing the biggest surplus since July [...]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than [...]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. [...]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees [...]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on [...]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages [...]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit [...]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE [...]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings [...]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though [...]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A [...]
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