Archive for the ‘Finance’ Category
Friday, August 15th, 2008
The giant American investment bank, which employs thousands in the City, has made losses of $29bn (£15bn) for its exposure to the US subprime mortgage crisis. But it has charged the amount to its British arm, meaning it can offset the losses against corporation tax for decades to come.
Accountants say that the move, which is set to spark anger among ordinary taxpayers, is legal but unusual. All big banks have suffered from dramatic writedowns on investments linked to the US housing market but so far Merrill is the only one to charge the entire loss to the UK. The move will reduce payments to the Government at a time when its finances are in disarray. It will also raise eyebrows in the City and cause consternation at the Treasury.
The paper calculates that if Merrill starts making profits again at the rate it did in 2006 - a record year - it still won’t have to pay any corporation tax for the next 60 years.
Tags: corporate tax, Merrill Lynch, subprime, subprime mortgage crisis, US housing
Posted in Credit crisis, Credit crunch, Finance, Sub-prime, Taxation | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
The major banks have made nearly £500m more from UK customers in six months despite the credit crunch through account holders by charging more for mortgages, loans and credit cards. Figures show five of the country’s biggest banks - Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland Barclays, HSBC and HBOS - made combined half-year profits of £4.294bn, nearly £500m more than the £3.808bn raised during the same period last year.
The figures reveal the Royal Bank of Scotland increased its profits from its UK businesses by 9.2%. This is despite the global company announcing losses of £691m last week - one of the biggest in UK banking history.
Tags: Credit crunch, HBOS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, major banks, profits, Royal Bank of Scotland Barclays
Posted in Banking, Credit crisis, Credit crunch, Finance | No Comments »
Saturday, August 9th, 2008
Abbey has toppled Halifax as the UK’s biggest mortgage lender by taking more than a quarter of all business in the first six months of the year. Chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio said that while other lenders were withdrawing from the market, it was increasing mortgage lending to low-risk customers. However, he warned Abbey is unlikely to continue at such a rate for the rest of the year as other lenders return to the market. It came as Abbey, which is owned by Spanish giant Santander, reported a 20% rise in first-half profits to £485m. Santander, which has agreed to buy struggling Abbey rival Alliance & Leicester, said group profits jumped 22% to €4.73bn (£3.73bn).
Tags: Abbey, Alliance & Leicester, Halifax, lender, mortgage, Santander, top lender
Posted in Abbey, Banking, Finance, Halifax, Home loans, Mortgages | 1 Comment »
Friday, August 8th, 2008
The number of homes being repossessed leapt by 41% in the first half of the year to hit the highest level since the mid-1990s and by 48% compared to the same period in 2007. During the 1990s house price crash repossessions peaked at 38,900 in the second half of 1991, with a total of 75,500 homes seized that year. However, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has predicted repossessions to accelerate further that it’s current figure of 18,900 and hit 45,000 this year. The CML said it expected 170,000 mortgages to be in arrears of more than three months by the end of the year, however the numbers remained small in context of the 11.74 million mortgage borrowers in the UK.
Tags: arrears, CML, Council of Mortgage Lenders, Mortgages, Repossession, repossession rise
Posted in Credit crisis, Finance, Mortgages, Property Market, Repossession, Sub-prime | No Comments »
Sunday, July 13th, 2008
Boris Johnson has axed plans to charge gas-guzzlers £25 to drive in the congestion charge zone. This means there will be no increase in charge for drivers of Band G vehicles from October 2008. The B and A and B discount, which would have resulted in thousands of cars driving into the zone for free and adding to congestion, has also been removed. The decision by the Mayor means that the discount for alternative fuel vehicles will remain in place and the existing congestion charge scheme will not be affected.
Ending the charge on the capital’s most polluting vehicles at this stage means that Transport for London will save around £10m that would have gone on implementing the scheme. The move also means Porsche is entitled to have legal costs, estimated at £400,000, paid by TfL after it launched a challenge to the former mayor’s plans. But the car-maker has offered to donate the money it receives to Skidz, a charity that provides young people, particularly those with few advantages, with mechanical skills and training that could lead to future employment.
Tags: Boris Johnson, C-charge, congestion charge, congestion charge scheme, gas-guzzlers, London Mayor, porsche, Skidz, TfL, Transport for London
Posted in Finance, London, Politics, Taxation | No Comments »
Friday, July 11th, 2008
Almost half of all car owners will be up to £245 worse off under plans for massive increases in road tax, the Treasury admitted yesterday. And fewer than one in five will benefit from the controversial move, which was sold as a way to cut greenhouse gas emissions. More than 1m drivers of cars registered between 2001 and 2006 will see road tax jump from £210 to either £430 or £455 depending on emissions, while others face hikes of between £10 and £155. Only 18% of motorists will see the price of a tax disc fall, 39% will pay the same and 43% to pay more.
The Chancellor Alistair Darling, has given strong signals that he will ‘fix’ the problem this autumn, probably by phasing in a retrospective element of the change which applies to vehicles registered between 2001 and 2006. The new regime starts to kick in next year but the biggest changes will hit in 2010 - weeks before the likely date of the next General Election.
Tags: alistair darling, car tax, car tax changes, Chancellor, road tax, road tax band, Treasury
Posted in Finance, Government, Politics, Taxation | No Comments »
Friday, July 11th, 2008
The Bank of England held interest rates steady at 5.0% on Thursday, in a widely expected decision as policymakers tussle with the twin evils of a slowing economy and surging inflation. By keeping rates on hold this month, the Bank is buying itself a little more time to see what interest rate path is required to bring inflation back close to the 2% target from the current 4.1% over the medium term.
Tags: Bank of England, base rate, boe, inflation, interest rate, interest rate held
Posted in Bank of England, Credit crisis, Credit crunch, Finance, Rate hunch, inflation | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
Northern rock has issued its first competitive mortgage rates since a run on the bank almost brought it to its knees last summer. It has two-year fixed-rate loans that, while not the very best on the market, are good enough to bring in new customers. For buyers there is a rate of 6.39% and for remortgagers a rate of 6.49%. Both have a £995 fee. The lowest rates for two-year fixed deals are available from First Direct and Yorkshire BS.
Northern Rock has been trying to move existing customers to rivals since last September. Its rates have got progressively more expensive as it tried to price itself out of the market to avoid taking on new business. These new rates are not available for existing customers. While these rates are not the very best, where they have a big advantage is that they are fully flexible, meaning you can overpay as much as you like without penalty.
Tags: buyers, existing customers, First Direct, fixed rate, mortgage, new rates, no repayment penalty, Northern rock, remortgage, two-year fixed rate, Yorkshire BS
Posted in Banking, Credit crunch, Finance, Government, Mortgages, Northern rock, Re-mortgage | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
Former specialist mortgage lender Edeus is offering cash sweeteners to encourage its borrowers to redeem their mortgages early. It is also waiving early repayment charges and will not charge borrowers exit fees. The incentives are available to selected clients over an undisclosed period. Edeus will be encouraging the selected borrowers to contact the brokers that originally introduced the loan to Edeus in order to source a suitable deal with another lender. The firm, launched less than two years ago, was a specialist lender at the forefront of the UK’s subprime mortgage sector but plans to move into asset quality assessment and debt management.
Tags: borrowers, Debt Management, Edeus, Edeus incentives, quality assessment, redeem mortgage, redeem mortgages, specialist lender, subprime mortgage
Posted in Credit crisis, Debt Management, Finance, Mortgages, Sub-prime | No Comments »
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
Tags: bad debt, barratts, credit card, Credit crunch, estate agents, FTSE 100, Halifax, HBOS, house price falls, House prices, mortgage
Posted in Credit cards, Credit crisis, Credit crunch, FTSE 100, Finance, Halifax, Home loans, House prices, Mortgages, Negative equity, Property, Property Market, Property Prices, Stock Market | No Comments »
