According to Knight Frank LLP, 59% of new-build property in London has been acquired by Asian buyers in the six month period to April. This is up from 48% a year earlier as buyers seek alternatives from rocketing property prices in China and Singapore. The estate agent said Asian buyers are taking advantage of the [...]
The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) December industrial trends survey today revealed further good news for the sector after overseas demand surged to a 15-year high. The pound gained following the news which revealed firms experiencing above normal demand from overseas was 4% - a significant improvement on the previous month’s -7% and the highest [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK’s trade deficit widened in July to a record high, as imports soared and exports fell. According to the ONS, the goods trade gap widened to £8.667 billion in July, up from £7.532 billion the previous month. The deficit was the biggest since the series [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed UK industrial output fell unexpectedly in June. According to the ONS, output fell 0.5% on the month against forecasts of a 0.2% rise. However, the fall was attributed to a 6% decline in oil and gas output. Following the announcement, the pound lost fell half a cent [...]
Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) today affirmed its “AAA” long-term rating on Britain but maintained its negative outlook on the long-term rating. Following the news, the pound fell to $1.5017 from $1.5068. Commenting on its announcement, S&P analysts Trevor Cullinan and David Beers, said: “The coalition government has set out what we view as [...]
There are fresh concerns over the European banking sector after banks are scheduled to repay €442 billion (£362 billion) worth of loans to the European Central Bank (ECB) later this week. Shares in Europe hit a three-week closing low today as a result. Furthermore, shares were hit by a sharp fall in US consumer confidence [...]
Minutes of the Bank of England’s June meeting have been released today and have revealed that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-1 earlier this month to keep interest rates at the historic low of 0.5% - where they have been since March 2009. The usual nine-strong committee comprised of only eight members this month [...]
Despite Friday’s general election result, which failed to give any political party a clear majority, sterling has gained on the US dollar today, while London’s FTSE recovered from the sharp falls on Friday. The pound rose by nearly a cent against the dollar to $1.4865 but fell against the euro to 1.1510 euros. The pound [...]
Kate Sharp, chief executive of the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) believes last week’s hung parliament result could seriously hurt the UK’s economic recovery. According to many experts, the hung parliament result means that it will be harder to pass legislation and undermine a fragile UK recovery. Ms Sharp of ABFA comments: “The ABFA supports [...]
Official data has revealed the value of British exports grew by just 0.05%, or £28 million, in the final three months of 2009 compared with the same period a year earlier. The figures were a surprise since a weak pound should make UK goods cheaper abroad. Analysis of Government data by Close Treasury revealed that [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today revealed UK industrial output unexpectedly fell in January - primarily due to the cold weather during the month. According to the ONS, output fell by 0.4% in January compared with the previous month and represented the largest monthly fall since August. Analysts had expected a 0.3% rise. However, [...]
Growing fears over the debt crisis in Greece continue to weaken the value of the euro and it sank further today to 1.3436 dollars - a level not seen since May 2009. Greece is currently taking action to reduce its public deficit from 12% to 8% of GDP this year. The country currently has the [...]
The pound dived to a low not seen since May 2009 today over debt fears in the euro zone. It was the fourth consecutive day of losses and the pound fell to $1.5535 in early London trade - an 8½ month low. The losses came as investors worry about how euro zone economies (including Greece [...]
The latest quarterly SME Trends Survey by the CBI has found that small and medium-sized manufacturers are starting to stabilise after seven quarters of decline. According to the business body, manufacturers are starting to benefit from the weakness of the pound, which has fallen slightly against the US dollar over the last few months. The [...]
The pound fell this morning after quarter four GDP figures were weaker than expected. While official figures showed that the UK has finally emerged from recession in the fourth quarter, the economy only grew 0.1% - an expansion of 0.4% had been expected. The pound fell to $1.614 against the US dollar - a fall [...]
The pound gained ground against the euro yesterday as US food giant Kraft announced its takeover of British confectioner Cadbury. The pound rose to a four-month high to 1.1477 euros as the takeover reflected the attraction of overseas companies investing in the UK, according to analysts. Furthermore, higher than expected inflation figures boosted the prospect [...]
Minutes of the Bank of England’s October meeting have been released today and have revealed that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously this month to keep interest rates at the historic low of 0.5%. Furthermore, the MPC voted 9-0 to leave its quantitative easing programme unchanged at £175 billion and said it would not [...]
A warning from the Bank of England about the UK’s debt levels has sent sterling plummeting to a five-month low against the euro. The pound dropped as low as €1.1016 - the lowest level since April In the meantime, the pound dropped as low as $1.6134 - its lowest against the US Dollar in almost [...]
Optimism surrounding the UK economy continued today after the pound continued its gain against the US dollar. Sterling briefly reached as high as $1.7005 today - the highest level since October - before falling back to $1.6930. While the pound still has a long way to go to reach the $2 mark seen a year [...]
A year has passed since the government replaced Child Trust Funds with Junior ISAs (JISAs) but more than half of parents are unaware that they exist, according to research by friendly society Family Investments Children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 were eligible to open a Child Trust Fund and to receive [...]
PPI costs increase for Lloyds and Barclays
Lloyds Banking Group has set aside a further £1 billion to cover compensation costs for customers who were mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). Yesterday, Barclays revealed £700m of PPI costs in the 2012 third quarter increasing its total provision to £2bn. Lloyds Banking Group, which has made the largest PPI provision out of all the [...]
Bonfire Night worst day for burglaries warns Aviva
Insurance group Aviva is warning households to be vigilant over security at this time of the year, as burglaries tend to increase signficantly between Halloween and Bonfire Night. On Bonfire Night the number of burglaries increases by around 25 per cent compared with an average day, according to the company’s research. Aviva also reported a [...]
Consumer confidence hits six-month low
Although the UK has officially emerged from recession, consumer confidence fell to -30 in October from -28 in September, according to market researcher company GfK NOP. This is the lowest level of consumer confidence since April when the UK was in an economic slump. Analysts had expected the index to remain stable at -28. Respondents [...]
100,000 mortgage holders escape negative equity trap
New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reveal that the number of borrowers in negative equity fell 13 per cent to 719,000 between the first quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012. The number of borrowers paying a mortgage greater than the value of their property fell despite a further small [...]
Banking commission appoints counsel to cross-examine witnesses
The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards has appointed counsel to cross-examine witnesses during its inquiry into the collapse of Halifax Bank of Scotland. Barrister David Quest has been appointed to question witnesses in a public evidence session, as part of a sub-committee panel inquiry into the bank. Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Commission said: “This [...]
Mortgage approvals increased in September
An increase in the number of mortgage approvals in September suggests that the ‘Funding for Lending’ scheme, launched by the Treasury and the Bank of England, may be starting to give the property market a boost. According to Bank of England figures, the number of loans approved for house purchase increased by 2,103 to 50,024 [...]
Five million paid less than living wage
Five million people in the UK are paid less than the ‘living wage’ of £7.20, or £8.30 in London, according to a new report by KPMG. In Northern Ireland, 24 per cent of workers receive less than they require in order to pay for essentials and the situation is little better in Wales where 23 [...]
Commission calls for radical change in housing market
A new study by the Future Homes Commission suggests that the way homes are built in the UK is dysfunctional and needs a radical overhaul. The organisation, which was established by the Royal Institute of British Architects, believes that 300,000 extra homes could be built every year without any input from Government funding. Instead, the [...]
The UK economy emerged from recession yesterday and now leads the way in Europe according to research group Capital Economics. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by one per cent in the third quarter from July to September, the biggest rise for five years, the latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. [...]
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