News &Opinion

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  • MoneyExpert.com - Mortgage lending continues to break all records - 20/09/2006

    UK mortgage lending in August broke records for the tenth consecutive month, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has announced. Overall mortgage lending rose to £32.7 billion in August, up £300 million, or 7.2 per cent on July's figures, and 21 per cent up on the same month of 2005. "Record lending in August reflects the rise in mortgage approvals during the early summer combined with increasing house prices," said CML boss Michael Coogan.


  • Homeowners unruffled by rate rise says survey

    Despite shrill complaints from lobbyists and fevered media speculation on the next move, most Britons say that they are entirely unaffected by the recent interest rate rise. Almost four-fifths of mortgage holders - 78 per cent - say that their finances are unchanged following the quarter point increase in the cost of borrowing in August. This was because their mortgages are on either fixed or capped rates, said 45 per cent, while 33 per cent said that they could easily afford the increases in mortgage costs.


  • Average adult has double recommended minimum savings

    The average adult in the UK has almost double the recommended minimum financial 'safety net' squirreled away in their bank accounts, according to Birmingham Midshires. Enough savings to survive three months of incapacity, or £4,128, is recommended as a sensible minimum precaution, says the building society. The average UK adult has £7,548 in the bank, enough to cover 167 days, or five months and 17 days, according to Birmingham Midshires calculations.


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  • Business Highlights

    NEW YORK (AP) -- It hasn't taken John Thain long to put his stamp on the world's largest brokerage. After being named chairman and chief executive of Merrill Lynch & Co. just three weeks ago, Thain on Monday secured a capital infusion worth up to $6.2 billion and sold off one of Merrill's lending units. His fast action came at a critical time; some analysts think Merrill is facing credit-related writedowns of $10 billion for the fourth quarter.


  • Complex Rules Govern Rebalancing Of Cubes

    This exchange traded fund tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index, made up of the 100 largest and most actively traded nonfinancial stocks on the Nasdaq. It's the most actively traded equity security in the world. A rebalancing has led to an uptick in the fund. The rerankings were announced after the close Dec. 14, and the fund saw a pullback of slightly more than 2% on Dec. 17, the next business day. Ever since then, though, the ETF has gained 5%. It has a 19% year-to-date return for 2007.


  • CME Shares Slip on Rival Exchange

    NEW YORK (AP) -- CME Group Inc.'s stock slipped Monday after a group of banks and trading firms said they plan to launch their own futures exchange to try to garner cheaper commissions. Late Friday, 12 financial institutions including Merrill Lynch & Co., Citigroup Inc., and Bank of America Corp. unveiled a plan for an electronic trading exchange. Initially, the exchange will host trading of futures contracts linked to U.S. Treasury bonds and then branch into new products later next year.


  • Sector Roundup: Health Care REITs

    NEW YORK (AP) -- Delayed holiday flights, a bankruptcy filing by a business-class airline and a downbeat outlook for the biggest U.S. carrier weren't enough to keep investors away from airline shares, which rose Monday as oil prices fell.


  • Sector Snap: Semiconductors Up

    NEW YORK (AP) -- Semiconductor stocks rose Monday, helped by an analyst report indicating the microchip market should grow in the first quarter of 2008. Wachovia Capital Markets analyst David Wong said in a note to investors that he expects worldwide microchip shipments in the coming weeks to reflect continued single-digit growth. He also said weakness in memory chip pricing will be offset by growth in other segments. Concerns about falling prices led shares of leading memory chip companies to fall last week.


  • Sector Glance: Solar Stocks Gain

    NEW YORK (AP) -- Solar stocks rallied Monday as investors shook off concerns about high polysilicon costs squeezing profit margins. Many stocks within the sector declined last week after LDK Solar Co. reported surging prices for polysilicon, a key manufacturing material, cut into the company's third-quarter profit margins. Monday was a half-day of trading before the Christmas holiday.


  • Two To Go: A Pair of Delivery Stocks for Investors

    When it comes to delivering packages, many people have a preference for either FedEx (NYSE:FDX - News) or United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS - News). But increasingly, when it comes to delivering above market returns on stocks, investors are likely to be pleased regardless of which company they choose to invest in.


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