As people live longer, saving enough money to support themselves in full retirement is no longer a realistic option Ros Altmann Tory proposals to raise the state pension age to 66 in 2016 have certainly captured the headlines. However, dealing with the problem is not as simple as that. Millions of older people could soon [...]
London shares finish above 5,000 barrier
Robert Lindsay London’s leading stock market index closed above the 5,000 barrier for the first time in 11 months today buoyed by continuing hope that an economic recovery was underway. The FTSE index of Britain’s top 100 companies hit 5,004.30 – the first time since October 3 last year – helped also by a strong [...]
Legislation on bonuses could destroy the City
John Waples, Business Editor: Agenda The unpalatable truth about big City bonuses is that they are unstoppable. The model has become one of the principal pillars of the global financial system and mimics what has happened in the world of football. It puts a big premium on talent, particularly on its transfer value. And in [...]
Repossessions fall 10% after pressure on banks
Dominic Walsh Home repossessions fell in the second quarter of the year and cases of arrears levelled off as lenders responded to government pressure to show more forbearance to homeowners in difficulty. Today’s figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that there were 11,400 cases of repossessions — equivalent to one mortgage in [...]
Two years of pain and mega bonuses are back
Amazing how quickly the financial services industry has bounced back from the brink to compete for vast profits and top staff. The stock market looks to have passed its inversion point and confidence is back. Dominic O’Connell Today is the second anniversary of the start of the credit crunch. Adam Applegarth, the disgarced former chief [...]
First net inflows in UK pooled property funds in a year
By Nick Duxbury UK pooled property funds have seen the first net inflows in a year in the second quarter of 2009 according to the Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF). In its Investment Quarterly for the second quarter of the year it revealed a net inflow of £52.4m from £320.4m of new money that [...]
American bounce helps Britain
David Smith: Home Economics There has been significant news in housing markets on both sides of the Atlantic, most of it encouraging — but with strings attached. Here, Bank of England figures continued the upward march in mortgage approvals from their lows last autumn. June’s figure of 47,584 represented a rise of 8% month on [...]
Banks swamped by a wave of personal debt
The banks are braced for big losses on mortgages and personal loans Iain Dey, David Smith and Rachel Bridge Amanda Coleman has been finding work more stressful. As an adviser at the Consumer Credit Counselling Service’s call centre in Leeds, she sees the sharp end of the recession. The most common problem she sees is [...]
Darling steps up pressure on banks over high cost of business borrowing
Suzy Jagger Politics and Business Correspondent Alistair Darling has effectively threatened Britain’s biggest banks with a competition inquiry should they fail to increase cheap lending to mortgage borrowers and small businesses. The Chancellor met the chief executives of seven of the country’s biggest banks in the Treasury yesterday along with Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, [...]
Return of the foreign banks
Chinese, Swedish and Israeli banks are offering the best mortgage rates Elizabeth Colman Brokers are recommending cheap mortgages from Swedish, Israeli and Chinese banks as they become increasingly frustrated with poor deals on the high street. Bank of China, Handelsbanken of Sweden, and Israel’s Leumi have begun undercutting the UK high street as British banks [...]
