Mortgages News

Fri 11th Jan 2008 The new year is the ideal time to begin to address debt problems and make a new start, one expert has suggested. Frances Walker, spokesperson for the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), said that there are many reasons why January could be a good time to tackle debt. She explained that many mortgage holders will be ending their fixed-rate home loan deals this y ...

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped nearly 250 points amid fears that the US could enter a recession, as consumers reduce their spending. The benchmark index shed 246.79 points, or 1.91%, to end at 12,606.30 while the Nasdaq declined 1.95%. A warning by American Express a day earlier, that spending was slowing and defaults would rise, fuelled jitters. Investors are worried that major banks are yet to reveal the full impact of their exposure to the housing slowdown.  ...

The value of the UK's private housing stock rose by an estimated 9% in 2007 to reach £4 trillion, says the Halifax. That figure has more than tripled over the last decade, rising by 208% from £1.3 trillion recorded in 1997. In contrast, the headline rate of inflation (RPI) has increased by 31% over the same period. Despite fears about slowing UK property prices, the bank says the housing stock is worth more than three times the country's outstanding mortgage debt. It says housing a ...

Simon Duke, Daily Mail10 January 2008, 8:09am Vote The pressure on the Bank of England to cut interest rates today moved up another notch following some unsettling trading news from Britain's beleaguered house-building sector. WANT TO KNOW MORE? Interest rates: News, advice, predictions Economy set for a bumpy ride in 2008 POLL: Where will the UK bank rate be at the end of 2008? OTHER STORIES Web ticket touts told to clean up their acts Market report: Thursday pre ...

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Leading shares look set to open higher as Wall Street finished firmer overnight with J Sainsbury likely to be in focus when it updates the market today and as investors await the BoE interest rate decision. Spread bettors IG Index expect the FTSE 100 index to open 30 points higher at 6,306 after closing 83.8 points at 6,272.7. Over in the US, Wall Street finished a b ...

SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - Asian stocks traded mixed Thursday with Japan and Australia declining as investors remained unconvinced by Wall Street's gains overnight, while Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines found support in bargain hunting of stocks that have been battered in recent weeks. The Hang Seng fell 0.9 percent to 27,372 in early trade after the Chinese government froze prices of oil  ...

SEOUL (Thomson Financial) - South Korea's central bank on Thursday left its benchmark call rate target at 5 percent for the fifth straight month in January as policy makers assess the impact of global financial market uncertainties on Asia's fourth-largest economy. Ten economists polled by Thomson Financial had expected the Bank of Korea to maintain the status quo at a time of rising household de ...

NEW YORK (AP) - Most of the nation's major retailers are slated to report tepid sales gains for December on Thursday, likely making the holiday shopping season the weakest since 2002. But several retailers, including teen merchants American Eagle Outfitters Inc. and Hot Topics Inc. reduced their earnings forecasts on Wednesday amid sluggish sales, a sign that doesn't bode well for the holiday pro ...

SYDNEY (Thomson Financial) - Share prices of Australia's four major banks were lower Thursday following revelations that they had a combined exposure of nearly 1.0 billion Australian dollars to the US subprime mortgage market, largely by providing funds to embattled US home loan provider Countrywide Financial Corp. The Australian newspaper reported Thursday that Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd ...

TAIPEI (XFN-ASIA) - Share prices were higher in late trading as bargain-hunting picked up steam after a sharply lower opening in the wake of another sell-off on Wall Street. Buying interest did not seem affected by news that the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office has decided to appeal the acquittal of main opposition presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou on corruption charges. Tourism-related s ...