New Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) figures reveal positives and negatives about the UK mortgage market…
Mortgage lending for house purchase remained subdued in March but remortgaging levels held up well in the face of funding constraints, according to data released today by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The number of loans for house purchase declined to 46,500 in March, down 1% from 47,200 in February and 48% from 89,000 in March 2007.
Gross mortgage lending was £75 billion in the first quarter, down from £83.9 billion in the first quarter of 2007. (more…)
LONDON (Reuters) - The government on Tuesday raised the basic income tax free allowance for this fiscal year at a cost of £2.7 billion as it tried to end a furore over the abolition of a tax rate that helped low earners.
The changes will all be paid through higher borrowing at a time when the public finances are already very tight and the government plans to issue a record amount of gilts this year.
The move, announced by chancellor Alistair Darling in an emergency statement to parliament, comes as the government’s popularity has slumped following voter anger over higher taxes, the rising cost of living and falling house prices. (more…)
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee today voted to reduce the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves by 0.25 percentage points to 5.0%.
CPI inflation rose to 2.5% in February. The Committee expects inflation to rise further this year, reflecting the continuing impact of higher energy and food prices, as well as the recent depreciation of sterling on import costs. Such pressures are already evident in producer input costs and pricing intentions.
Even if commodity prices remain at their current high levels, inflation should fall back. But to ensure that inflation meets the 2% target in the medium term, the Committee needs to balance two risks. On the upside, above-target inflation this year could raise inflation expectations so that, in the absence of some margin of spare capacity, (more…)