News Tag: May
July 9, 2009
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that the number of loans approved for house purchases rose 4% in May compared to April, to 37,400.
However, volumes were 28% down on a year earlier and well below the 96,000 May average of the past seven years.
May remortgaging volumes tumbled 9% on a month earlier to 29,000 and were down 63% on ...
House purchase mortgage approvals rise 4%
by Gill Montia
July 8, 2009
Europe’s largest economy may be emerging from the recession with the news that industrial output rose 3.7% in May compared with April.
While the increase was bigger than the 0.5% analysts had predicted, output in May was still down 19% on an annual basis, according to the economy ministry.
The economy is suffering its worst recession since the Second World War but ...
German industrial output up 3.7% in May
by Kay Murchie
Japan machine orders hit record low in May
by Kay Murchie
July 7, 2009
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed a fall in British manufacturing output.
According to the ONS, manufacturing output fell 0.5% in May compared with April. Analysts had forecast a fall of 0.2%.
Meanwhile, on an annualised basis, output in May was down 12.7%, while market expectations had been for an annual drop of 11.8%.
The weak industrial output data has led ...
British manufacturing output falls unexpectedly in May
by Kay Murchie
July 3, 2009
There was more bad news for the struggling euro zone today with the news of a fall in retail sales in May.
According to Eurostat, retail sales in the euro zone fell 0.4% month-on-month - analysts had expected a fall of 0.1%.
Meanwhile, on an annual basis, the fall was 3.3% - again worse than the 2.7% fall analysts had expected.
The latest ...
Euro zone retail sales down in May
by Kay Murchie
June 29, 2009
The outlook for the UK property market remains positive with the Bank of England reporting a rise in new mortgage approvals during May.
The number of loans approved for house purchases increased to 43,414, up from 43,191 in April and marking the fourth consecutive monthly rise.
However, in value terms net lending for house purchases increased by just £324 million in May, the ...
New mortgage approvals rise again
by Gill Montia
Japan’s industrial output up 5.9% on month
by Kay Murchie
June 26, 2009
Latest figures from the Land Registry show house prices in England and Wales declining by 0.2% in May, with the average property worth £152,497.
While the monthly change remained negative, the rate of fall eased from 0.3% in April and the annual rate of decline fell back to 15.9% compared with 16.2% in April.
In May, London saw house prices ...
Official figures show house price slide easing to 0.2%
by Gill Montia
June 25, 2009
Latest figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) show a rise in the number of homes sold in the UK during May.
Transactions involving properties worth over £40,000 increased by 7% last month to 62,000 and were at their highest since October 2008.
However, they remained significantly below levels seen at the height of the housing market boom in 2007.
The news follows a 40% ...
House sales up in May
by Gill Montia
June 23, 2009
The National Association of Realtors announced today that sales of previously owned homes in the US rose in May, albeit at a slower-than-expected pace.
The organisation said sales rose 2.4% to an annual rate of 4.77 million units, up from the revised 4.66 million reported in April. Analysts had expected a 4.81 million-unit pace for the month of May.
However, the rise marks ...
US home sales experience marginal increase
by Kay Murchie
House purchase loans show further rise
by Gill Montia
June 19, 2009
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has revealed today that car production continued its downward spiral in May but was the small drop in more than six months.
According to the SMMT, a total of 67,754 cars were made in the UK in May - a fall of 43% when compared to May 2008. Commercial vehicle production fell by more than ...
UK car production slump eases
by Kay Murchie
Surge in potential homebuyers as stocks dwindle
by Gill Montia
June 18, 2009
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed a slight fall in UK retail sales in May.
Retail sales fell 0.6% in May compared with the previous month and 1.6% down on the same month last year, said the ONS.
The fall in retail sales volumes were fuelled by falls in clothing and footwear where stores experienced a decline of 1.9% over ...
UK retail sales experience slide in May
by Kay Murchie
Gross lending dips as remortgaging continues to decline
by Gill Montia
June 16, 2009
The US Commerce Department has today revealed that housing starts and permits rose in May, recovering from record lows in April.
According to official figures, new housing starts soared 17.2% (the largest rise in three months) to an annual rate of 532,000 units in May, up from April's figure of 454,000.
However, the rate was still down 45.2% compared with May ...
US housing starts recover from record low
by Kay Murchie
June 10, 2009
Latest figures from the Bank of England show that banks and building societies are raising the cost of their variable-rate mortgage deals.
The news is disappointing, given that the base rate was held at an all-time low of 0.5%, in June and three month Libor, the rate at which most lenders borrow to fund their mortgage businesses, has fallen.
...
Lenders push up tracker rates despite base rate freeze
by Gill Montia
June 9, 2009
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has reported that buyer interest increased in May, for the seventh consecutive month.
A poll of members revealed that the net balance of surveyors seeing a rise, rather than a fall, in buyer interest rose to its best level since August 1999.
The trend was most marked in London, the South East and Scotland.
However, ...
Buyer interest rises as estate agent stocks fall
by Gill Montia
BRC: UK retail sales fall in May
by Kay Murchie
June 5, 2009
Figures released today from the US Labor Department show that the US economy shed 345,000 jobs in May, taking the unemployment rate up to a 25-year high of 9.4%.
However, the number of jobs lost were far fewer than expected and follow the 539,000 jobs lost in the previous month.
Service sector industries axed 120,000 jobs in May, while ...
US unemployment rate up to 9.4% but job losses ease
by Kay Murchie
