IBTimes Australia : Mortgage Topic

Fed keeps buying bonds at $85 billion monthly pace

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 04:14:02 +1000

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it would keep buying $85 billion in bonds per month and gave no explicit indication that it was close to scaling back the program, despite intense market speculation it could soon start drawing it to a close.

Mortgage applications tumble as rates rise further: MBA

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 21:21:02 +1000

Interest rates on home mortgages rose last week to hit their highest level in over a year, sapping demand from potential homeowners, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

Homebuilder Berkeley Group's Strategy Pays Off, Profit Jumps 32%

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:28:33 +1000

Berkeley's stock was trading 3.38% higher at 11:14 am in London.

Record £1m FCA Fine on Retail Sole Trader Gurpreet Singh Chadda

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:13:34 +1000

Financial Conduct Authority fines and bans property dealer for deliberately misleading vulnerable customers.

The Pressure is Building in China’s Economy

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:20:29 +1000

Yesterday we discussed how financial conditions were becoming tighter across the globe as markets responded to US Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke's attempts to pull back on the scale of quantitative easing. Right now, the Federal Reserve is monetising around $85 billion per month in Treasuries and mortgage backed securities.

Inside Ben Bernanke’s Doomsday Device

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:18:17 +1000

Those who think the world is warming up should visit Edinburgh. It is a city made of stone. Yellow stone. Brown stone. Almost black stone. Almost every building is built of stone. And the entire city sits on a rock.

M&T Bank to fix anti-money laundering flaws, Fed says

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:21:02 +1000

M&T Bank Corp will put a comprehensive plan in place to fix problems with its anti-money laundering policies that had caused regulators to put a hold on its $3.7 billion bid to buy Hudson City Bancorp.

Housing starts miss expectations, but overall tone upbeat

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:42:03 +1000

Housing starts rose less than expected in May, likely reflecting labor and material constraints, but the overall trend remained consistent with strength in the housing market.

Japan's Nikkei seen rising 51 percent in 2013: Reuters poll

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:35:02 +1000

Japan's Nikkei will rise 51 percent in 2013 on expectations of higher company earnings, driven by a weaker yen after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe embarked on radical fiscal and monetary expansionary policies to spur growth, a Reuters poll showed,

Insight: Why Citi wants to rack up U.S. taxes

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:21:02 +1000

Over the past few years, Citigroup Inc has been grappling with an unusual problem - how to incur more U.S. taxes.

U.S. homebuilder sentiment rises to highest in seven years in June

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 01:14:06 +1000

Sentiment among U.S. homebuilders surged in June, rising above a key milestone for the first time since the start of the housing crisis seven years ago in a vote of confidence for the sector's recovery.

UK Housing: 20% of British Youth Scrap Home Ownership Plans

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:43:31 +1000

About 36% of respondents in a Halifax survey feel they would never be able to own a home.

Barriers to homeownership dividing Britain, youth say - survey

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:21:02 +1000

Most young Britons say rising barriers to home ownership are dividing the country socially and economically, and one in five has abandoned the dream of ever owning a property, a survey by mortgage provider Halifax said.

Santander Mexico to buy ING mortgage business

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 11:35:03 +1000

The Mexican unit of Spanish bank Santander said on Friday it will buy Dutch bank ING's mortgage business in Mexico to become the country's second-biggest provider of home loans.

Spanish banks face fresh profit blow from mortgage overhaul

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 02:35:02 +1000

Spanish bank profits, already depleted by a sickly economy and property losses that resulted massive bailouts last year, could take a further knock from an overhaul of controversial mortgages.

IMF urges repeal of "ill-designed" U.S. fiscal cuts

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 01:14:03 +1000

The International Monetary Fund on Friday urged the United States to repeal sweeping federal budget cuts that will be a severe drag on economic growth this year.

UK House Prices Rise on Increased Mortgage Availability

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:52:42 +1000

Acadametrics and LSL Property Services says average house prices in England and Wales rose 0.4% from April.

Remember 1991? Is Chidambaram's Anti-Gold Policy Right?

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:35:42 +1000

Despite Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's oft-repeated appeal to desist from buying gold, there is hardly any decline in gold sales across the country and the minister should realise that it was sine-qua-non to his budget beset with huge increase in daily taxes that had hit the country's massive middle class.

UAE finances strengthening but risks in Dubai - IMF

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 21:28:03 +1000

The United Arab Emirates is succeeding in strengthening its state finances by restraining spending, and managed last year to reduce the oil price which it needs to balance its budget, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.

Banks seized more U.S. homes in May, RealtyTrac report shows

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:21:02 +1000

Banks seized more U.S. homes in May as a greater number of Americans found themselves entering the foreclosure process, suggesting lenders were drawing down the pipeline of distressed properties, a report from RealtyTrac showed on Thursday.

Yellen overwhelming favorite to replace Bernanke at Fed: Reuters poll

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:42:03 +1000

Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve's powerful vice chair, is by far the most likely candidate to replace Ben Bernanke when his second term at the helm of the U.S. central bank ends early next year, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

Australia's Unemployment Rate Will Rise to 6%, Recession a Probability -- NAB, Goldman Sachs

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:51:42 +1000

The chief economist of National Australia Bank predicts the further rise of Australia's unemployment rate to 6% by end of this year. The rate is a higher figure even at the height of the global financial crisis. Goldman Sachs has already made changes to its economic forecasts. Australia will have one out of five chances slipping into recession.

Bank of Japan stands pat, leaves door open for market calming steps

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:00:04 +1000

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank will consider fresh steps to calm markets if borrowing costs spike again in the future, but the central bank held off on new measures on Tuesday arguing that bond markets had stabilized.

UK house prices rise in May at fastest pace in three years - RICS

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 09:14:02 +1000

British house prices rose at their fastest pace in nearly three years in May, a survey showed on Tuesday, as policies aimed at kick-starting the market attracted new buyers.

Swedish central bank bids for role as guardian against bank crises

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 03:07:03 +1000

Sweden's central bank put in a bid on Monday to lead a new body to head off future financial crises, putting it at odds with other regulators and underlining its concern about threats from an over-sized bank sector.

A third of investment experts see FTSE above 7,000 points in 2014

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 03:00:07 +1000

More than a third of Europe's top investment professionals think the FTSE 100 <.FTSE>, will rise above 7,000 points within a year, a poll showed on Monday.

Nikkei rises after solid U.S. jobs, Asia shares steady

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:49:02 +1000

Japanese shares rebounded strongly on Monday, tracking a rally in global equities following U.S. jobs data that was solid but not strong enough to cause worry about near-term tapering of the Federal Reserve's massive stimulus.

Most economists see Fed scaling back bond buys by year-end: Reuters poll

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 11:35:03 +1000

Most economists expect the Federal Reserve to scale back the size of its bond purchases, intended to prop up the economy, by the end of the year, and a sizeable number expect reduced buying as early as September, according to a Reuters poll.

Fed's Plosser says jobs report another reason to trim QE3

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 05:21:02 +1000

The latest U.S. jobs report on Friday showed that government spending cuts have so far not been as damaging as some feared, Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said, adding it only entrenched his opinion that the central bank should reduce its bond buying "now.

How much jobs growth is enough? Fed papers show divide

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 02:49:03 +1000

In the debate over when the Federal Reserve is likely to start scaling back its massive bond-buying stimulus, the number of jobs the economy generates is key.