UK commercial property performance remained stable in the fourth quarter of 2011, despite continued economic uncertainty, according to CBRE. Both occupier and investment markets remained neutral on fears that the economic recovery could reverse in coming quarters. While prime retail occupier markets saw some deterioration this quarter, there was no headline decline at the All [...]

Read More

More than three in five investors (62%) expect no change in interest rates within the next six months, research from Legal & General Investments has revealed. The findings come from Legal & General Investments' annual What Matters Investment Index which aims to investigate the views of the everyday investor, and track how sentiment and behaviour [...]

Read More

The total amount of fraud in 2011 topped £3.5billion – a record year – according to KPMG’s Fraud Barometer, as Britons across the country continue to struggle with tough economic conditions. Some £2.5billion worth of fraud was recorded during the second half of the year – including five large fraud cases of more than £50million [...]

Read More

Hundreds of thousands of homes could soon face huge problems with insurance when a protection agreement with the Government comes to an end. That is the warning from the Association of British Insurers. The ABI said a pact ensuring cover for high-risk homes would end in June 2013. It obliges insurers to provide cover for [...]

Read More

Gold has continued to be dependable and solid throughout the euro zone debt crisis, bank bailouts and changes of government bought about by financial needs rather than political. According to Valbury Capital, the price of gold will continue to be driven by fears over sovereign debt default, the solvency of the banking system and the [...]

Read More

Buying a home in the UK is more than a £100 a month cheaper than renting, according to research by Halifax. The typical monthly cost of buying a three-bedroom house in the UK was £600 in December 2011: £116 (or 16%) lower than the average monthly rent of £716 paid on the same property type. [...]

Read More

Supply of property in the private rented sector is at an unsustainable level and urgent action is required to meet soaring demand. That is the warning from tenant eviction and referencing firm Landlord Assist. Demand for private rented properties has reached an all-time high due to a lack of mortgage availability for homebuyers in the [...]

Read More

Here, Alan Wilde, Head of Fixed Income and Currency at Baring Asset Management, offers an update on prospects for the UK economy… Last week's release of Q4 2011 GDP showed a contraction of 0.2% – below market expectations of a 0.1% fall. 2011 growth is just 0.8%, some way from the 1.7% forecast by the [...]

Read More

The vast majority of consumers making claims for mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance from failed firms have done so through claims management companies, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme has revealed. More than three-quarters of people claiming PPI compensation from the FSCS do so through a claims management company. These companies take a cut of the compensation, [...]

Read More

A new tenancy deposit protection scheme for private sector landlords is launched this week by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme in association with the Residential Landlords Association.   Until now, the TDS, which says it already protects £1bn worth of deposits – more than either of the other two schemes – has been available primarily to [...]

Read More