Mortgages News

21 January 2007 Each week we round up the Sunday newspaper share tips and the views of the mid-week tipsters too. OTHER STORIES Woolies in shock call for cash Watchdog slated over Thames Uma's£20m campaign for Branson Murdoch Junior on the move from Sky Tata ready for Corus bid swoop For the Mail on Sunday's stock picks read the Midas column Sunday Telegraph Cran ...

WASHINGTON (AFX) - President Bush will propose in his State of the Union address a tax break for people who buy their own health insurance and a limit on how much coverage individuals can receive tax free at work. The proposal to be announced Tuesday offers a tax deduction to people who purchase coverage and urges those with generous plans to either embrace cheaper insurance ...

Simon Lambert, This is Money20 January 2007 Two of the country's biggest High Street lenders have launched major advertising pushes for fixed rate home loans starting at a rock bottom 1.99%. LOW-START HOME LOANS: But compare them against their five-year fixed rate equivalents OTHER STORIES How to win the rate rise war The first-time buyer challenge New on the market Who to trust on house prices? Average mortgage costs £127 a week ALL ABOUT HOMES & ...

(adds further details) LONDON (AFX) - Barclays PLC said it has bought US non-prime mortgage origination business Equifirst Corporation from Regions Financial Corporation for 225 mln usd. The bank said it expects to achieve an annual post-tax return on the investment in excess of 20 pct in its third year of ownership. Barclays said that it expects the deal to be completed in the first half of 20 ...

LONDON (AFX) - UK mortgage lending data this week suggest the housing market may be starting to cool as recent Bank of England interest rate rises start to take their toll. Figures from the British Bankers Association, the Building Societies Association and the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed that growth in mortgage lending was somewhat weaker in December compared with November. The BBA said  ...

ATLANTA (AFX) - SunTrust Banks Inc., which operates banks in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, said Friday its fourth-quarter profit rose 1 percent as fees propped up slipping net interest income. Earnings grew to $523.6 million, or $1.46 per share, from $518.5 million, or $1.43 per share, a year ago. Revenue rose 3 percent to $2.07 billion from $2.01 billion last year. Analysts surveyed b ...

Credit card users are borrowing less on plastic but relying more on their mortgages for finance according to the British Banker's Association (BBA). Credit card lending in the UK fell by £1.8bn in 2006, the first annual fall since 1993, the BBA said. Mortgage lending rose by £66.8bn during the same period, representing a 20% increase on 2005. The BBA said mortgage equity release is becoming a popular alternative to credit card borrowing. Bricks and mortar "Rising house prices mean ...

This is Money19 January 2007 Shoppers went on a bigger-than-expected spending spree during December, official figures revealed today. WANT TO KNOW MORE? First family spending drop for 10 years Dogfight looms for retailers Retail sales robust as gloom lifts OTHER STORIES Tesco in £500m green drive Market report: Friday latest UK firms bank on Brown's India mission Average  ...

LONDON (AFX) - UK net mortgage lending growth slipped in December after reaching a record high in November, though it remained in line with the average over the past six months, figures from the British Bankers Association showed. Net mortgage lending rose an underlying 5.8 bln stg in December, down on the 6.7 bln recorded in November. The BBA said total sterling lending to the private sector sh ...

LONDON (AFX) - The UK mortgage market faltered in December in a clear sign that higher borrowing costs are starting to bite, a leading industry group said today. The Building Societies' Association revealed today that the value of new mortgages, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, rose by 932 mln stg in December, from 1.26 bln stg in November. The latest figure is the lowest since February 2005. App ...