Mortgage interest rates are at the lowest level since last November, but not quite at the lows of last year. That is part of why mortgage volume is weakening. The other factor is a shrinking number of sales as potential buyers struggle to find and afford their dream homes. Total mortgage application volume decreased 2.3 […]
Read moreUltra low official interest rates continue to “weigh heavily” on Germany’s smaller banks, two watchdogs said on Wednesday. Germany’s bank regulators, the Bundesbank and BaFin, surveyed about 1,500 small and medium-sized banks, accounting for 88 percent of institutions and 41 percent of total assets. The findings showed that banks expect pretax profit to fall by […]
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UK PM Theresa May arrives in Japan to soothe Brexit fears – Here's what you need to know
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May touched down in Japan on Wednesday, with aspirations to soothe Brexit concerns and drum up trade from the world’s third-largest economy. Japan, which is prioritizing talks with the European Union over a landmark free trade deal, has been direct with Britain in voicing its concern about the danger Brexit poses […]
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Euro zone countries could be in danger if euro continues to rise, economist says
A euro that continues to rise against the U.S. dollar is now the main danger being posed to fragile euro zone economies that are still recovering after the sovereign debt crisis of 2011, one economist has told CNBC. Ireland, Portugal and Spain have become some of the fastest growing economies in Europe after receiving help […]
Read moreRupert Murdoch has pulled his Fox News channel from the Sky platform in Britain, where the government is assessing a bid by the media mogul to buy the broader Sky pay-TV company for $15 billion. In a statement, Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox said it had decided it was no longer in its commercial interest to […]
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Russia, in one of biggest bail-outs in its history, rescues Otkritie bank
Russia’s central bank launched one of the biggest banking bail-outs in its history on Tuesday, saying it would rescue troubled private lender Otkritie which has suffered a sustained run on its deposits amid worries about its loan portfolio. The central bank said it planned to tap its own funds in order to become a major […]
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“A LEADER is a dealer in hope,” said Napoleon Bonaparte. For much of this year Uber, the ride-hailing firm, has lacked both leadership and optimism. But on August 27th news leaked that Uber had poached as its new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, the boss of Expedia, an online-travel company. Mr Khosrowshahi is seen as both […]
Read moreBritish listed companies will soon have to reveal and justify the difference in pay between their chief executive and their average employee, under new reforms aimed at tackling excessive boardroom pay. Public businesses where more than one-fifth of shareholders are opposed to the salaries of board members will then be named and shamed on a […]
Read moreThe landscape in Europe is changing but investing in European companies isn’t far-fetched, analysts told CNBC. The euro has strengthened against the dollar, rising to more than 14 percent since the start of the year, on geopolitical concerns posing risks to businesses in Europe as their products become more expensive abroad. Though some analysts fear […]
Read moreThe euro has risen more than 14 percent against the dollar so far this year due to optimism about economic growth and fewer political risks, and this climb is expected to continue, according to several market analysts. “Long euro is not really a crowded trade right now. There is reluctance to believe it will go […]
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