A report by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revealed 827,000 mortgage borrowers are in negative equity (a mortgage worth more than their property). However, the figures which relate to the first quarter of the year, are not as bad as they were in the early 1990s, when around 1.6 million households were trapped [...]
Official figures today revealed New Zealand’s economy surged in the January to March period despite the devastating earthquake which hit Christchurch, the country’s second largest city, on 22 February. The economy grew by 0.8% in the three month period – the fastest pace for over a year, according to Statistics New Zealand. The figure was [...]
According to figures from the Bank of England, Britons increased their financial stake in their homes by £5.8 billion in the first quarter of 2011 – the smallest injection in a year. The figure was much lower than the £7.1 billion in the October to December period in 2010 – which represented the highest since [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed the US economy grew by an annualised 1.9% in the January to March period – marginally higher than the previous estimate of 1.8%. On a quarterly basis, growth was up 0.58%. Today’s reading is the third and final for first quarter growth. Stubbornly high unemployment and a depressed housing [...]
Figures today revealed Australia’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.9% in May. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the economy created just 7,800 jobs last month – far worse than the 25,000 analysts had forecast. However, the number was offset by a rise of 29,800 in part-time employment, which helped maintain the jobless rate. [...]
Australia’s Bureau of Statistics today revealed retail sales recovered in April, hitting a 17-month high. Sales grew 1.1% in April on a monthly basis – the biggest rise since November 2009 and nearly three times more than expected. The figures come just a day after the Bureau revealed the economy contracted in the first quarter [...]
The Commerce Department has today revealed the US economy grew by an annualised 1.8% in the first quarter - unchanged from the first estimate and less than analysts’ expectations of a 2.1% growth rate. However, today’s estimate is only the second reading and the third and final reading will be available next month and could [...]
Official figures have today revealed the 17-member euro zone economy grew by 0.8% in the January to March period – up from 0.3% in the previous quarter. Germany, which is the largest economy in Europe, grew by 1.5%, while France reported growth of 1%. Other good performers were Estonia, growing by a staggering 2.1% but [...]
The euro zone’s largest economy, Germany, grew by 1.5% in the January to March period – much better than forecast, according to Destatis today. On an annual basis, growth jumped 5.2% - the largest increase since reunification in 1990. Export demand helped to bring Germany out of recession in the second quarter of 2009 – [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported an increase in repossessions. According to the Council, lenders seized 9,100 properties in the January to March period – a rise of 15% on the previous quarter. However, it was 10% lower when compared with the same period last year. Experts have previously argued that many [...]
HSBC has today revealed it will embark on a massive cost-cutting exercise, just two days after it unveiled its first quarter results. The bank, which is Europe’s largest, is looking to save up to $3.5 billion (£2 billion) by streamlining its IT operations and cutting back on its wealth management and retail divisions. However, the [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed the UK economy grew by just 0.5% in the January to March period. However, the figure was in line with expectations and follows the shock contraction of 0.5% in the final three months of 2010 – which was attributed to bad weather. The poor first quarter [...]
British banking giant Barclays has today announced a fall in pre-tax profits for the first quarter. The bank said profits were 9% lower at £1.66 billion due to a 15% fall in revenues at Barclays Capital. Today’s results were lower than analysts expectations. However, profits from its retail and business banking operations rose by 21% [...]
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will today publish economic growth figures for the January to March period. The figures are much awaited by analysts after the economy suffered a shock contraction in the last three months of 2010 – attributed to bad weather at the end of the year. GDP is expected to expand [...]
South Korea, which is Asia’s fourth largest economy, has experienced growth of 4.2% in the first quarter on an annual basis, according to official data today. The economy grew by 1.4% in the January to March quarter from the previous three months - the fastest rate in nine months. The better than expected growth was [...]
Swiss banking giant UBS has today reported a net profit of SwFr1.8 billion (£1.2 billion) in the first quarter of the year. However, this represented an 18% fall on the same period a year ago but 7% higher than the final quarter of 2010. The bank, which is Switzerland’s largest, was among one of the [...]
US banking giant Morgan Stanley has today announced first quarter profit fell 48% on an annual basis – primarily due to a $655 million pre-tax loss from its joint venture with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. However, the fall was much less than analysts had forecast and shares rose 3.5% in early trading as a result. [...]
Goldman Sachs, which is the fifth largest US bank, today reported first quarter profits were 21% lower compared with a year ago. The banking giant said net income dropped to $2.74 billion (£1.7 billion) from $3.46 billion a year earlier. However, the results were better than analysts expected. In other news today, Bank of New [...]
Rics: Housing market remains in the doldrums
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has today reported that the UK housing market remained weak in August with house prices falling further. According to the Institution, homeowners remain reluctant to put their properties up for sale, while buyers continue to struggle to secure a mortgage and remain uncertain about the economic climate. The [...]
CML: Mortgage lending edges higher in July
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported the number of loans for house purchase rose in July. According to the Council, there were 48,400 loans advanced for house purchase in the month – up by 1,000 from June’s figure but almost 7,000 lower when compared with July 2010. Commenting on today’s figures, Paul Smee, [...]
UK inflation edges higher in August
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today announced Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose to annual rate of 4.5% last month from July’s rate of 4.4%. However, the figure was in line with analysts’ expectations. Higher inflation continues to be led by rising food costs but the main reason behind last month’s rise was a 5.1% [...]
Fresnillo down on silver prices
European equities markets were lower Monday on the possibility that Greece could default soon and on speculation that Moody’s Investors Service could cut its rating on several big banks with holdings tied to Greece. The FTSE 100 was down 1.63 percent to 5,129.62 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 1.65 percent to 9,983.75 as [...]
IFS warns of tough times for UK households
A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that households will be squeezed for the next decade as they suffer from the harsh spending cuts introduced by the Government. It said households are suffering one of the worst attacks on their finances since the Second World War and that the impact of [...]
ICB final report recommends ring-fencing
The Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB) final report has been published today and is recommending that UK banks should ring-fence their retail banking operations. According to the report, ring-fencing would protect banks from riskier investment banking divisions and would “make it easier and less costly to resolve banks that get into trouble”. The ICB, which [...]
Tullow Oil leads 100 in London
European equities markets were significantly lower Friday on an increased possibility that Greece could default on its debt as soon as this weekend, raising the concern level over the European region’s debt problems and ratcheting up worries that the economic recovery is faltering. Additionally, markets reacted to the resignation of European Central Bank board member [...]
SMMT: UK car sales rise in August
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have revealed UK car sales saw their first rise in 14 months in August. According to the trade body, car sales rose by 7.3% in August compared with the same month in 2010, with sales of smaller cars rising by more than 30%. The Ford Fiesta remained [...]
Factory gate inflation higher than expected in August
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today revealed UK producer output prices held steady in August – remaining at the highest annual rate since October 2008. According to the ONS, output prices (factory gate) annual inflation for all manufactured products held steady at July’s upwardly revised reading of 6.1% in August. The figures were [...]
US exports surge, Obama unveils jobs plan
The Commerce Department has revealed US exports hit an all-time high in July, while imports fell. According to official figures, exports surged 3.8% to $178 billion (£111 billion) after two months of declines. The rise in exports was attributed to strong overseas sales of manufactured goods, particularly to countries in Central and South America. Meanwhile, [...]
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