Gross mortgage lending remained unchanged in the month of February, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The total value of loans amounted to around £10.7 billion, which was just a snippet up on January’s gross lending total of £10.65 billion. However, it was higher than February 2011, in fact 14% up from £9.4 [...]
It seems the government is going to go ahead with its move to take on board the Royal Mail’s pension fund assets (and liabilities). The nationalisation of the pension fund means Royal Mail staff will enjoy the backing of a state guarantee when it comes to receiving their pension. The move is being made ahead [...]
The latest buy-to-let index from LSL Property Services has shown that rent charges have recently dipped. In February, the average rental price in the UK dropped by 0.6%, which the company put down to a number of people looking to take flight from rented accommodation and buy a house before the stamp duty holiday ends. [...]
Addressing the annual conference, the British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) Director General, John Longworth, has fired off quite a volley at the coalition. He’s banging the drum about the government not doing enough to help businesses through the current climate, and failing to revitalise the UK economy in general. According to Longworth, British companies face [...]
While UK households are certainly trying to reduce their debts, they are, by and large, “swimming against a tide” of falling real incomes and a high cost of living. That’s the latest warning from the debt charity Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) when it comes to the UK’s personal loan overload. The CCCS has just [...]
The government has introduced a new scheme which it hopes will help first-time buyers break into the housing market and purchase a new-build home. The “NewBuy Guarantee” scheme aims to offer 95% mortgages, in other words those with deposits which are more affordable than the current 20% plus that banks and building societies are currently [...]
The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) is conducting a review of pensioner taxation issues, and has just reported its interim findings to George Osborne. And the broad message is that the system for pensioners is overly complicated, and could definitely use work in terms of making it more readily understandable. The OTS has gathered information [...]
Pay-day loans should be more tightly regulated, a new report from the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Committee has insisted. At the moment, the current system is described as a “wild-west” for lenders, who are pushing temporary short-terms loans with punishing interest rates onto the indebted. The report into debt management issues highlights a number [...]
While the current low interest rates might be helping to prop up the housing market by keeping mortgage payments more manageable, there’s one group that has been heavily penalised by the 0.5% rate. And with the third year anniversary of that all-time low rate having come around, the Building Societies Association (BSA) has taken some [...]
