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☆ Record number of UK mortgage deals pulled in one day as market mayhem takes hold
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Overall, 935 mortgage products were pulled from the market on Tuesday, according to data from money comparison site Moneyfacts. LONDON – Hundreds of residential mortgage deal offers in the U.K. have been pulled after market chaos sparked concerns about base rates rising as high as 6% next year. Overall, 935 mortgage products were pulled from the market on Tuesday, according to data from money comparison site Moneyfacts. HSBC and Santander are the latest major U.K. lenders to pause their mortgage product offering, while NatWest repriced their products, increasing rates. Earlier in the week, Virgin Money, Halifax and Skipton Building Society temporarily pulled some of their mortgage deals citing market developments.

☆ JPMorgan doubles down on UK retail bank Chase
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Iain Withers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

JPMorgan said it had attracted one million customers and more than 10 billion pounds ($10.8 billion) of deposits to its UK mobile app bank since its launch last September. read more"We want to be international, starting with the UK," Sanjiv Somani, UK chief executive of Chase, said in an interview at the bank's UK headquarters in Canary Wharf in London on Friday. The retail banking revenue pool is in the trillions, even outside the U.S."He declined to say where Chase might launch next. Somani started his career in retail banking in India helping Citi launch a much simpler version of a 'digital bank' - one that would text you your bank balance. Germany's N26 quit the country after just two years, while Citi axed its UK retail bank last week.

☆ UK in pandemic-style easing without pandemic-style monetary policy, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailUK in pandemic-style easing without pandemic-style monetary policy, analyst saysImogen Bachra, head of U.K. rates strategy at NatWest, discusses the U.K economy on "Street Signs Europe."

☆ UK swaps one cost-of-living crisis for another
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But the budget plans of new Prime Minister Liz Truss and her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng may cause a world of pain for mortgage borrowers. Surging interest rates will crimp spending and hurt the housing market, further undermining Truss and Kwarteng’s growth plans. Capital Economics reckons at Monday’s implied levels, mortgage costs could reach their highest level relative to borrowers’ income since 1990. Rather than having to bail them out, regulators and politicians may push lenders to offer repayment holidays or cut interest rates. It will find it equally difficult to let mortgage borrowers suffer alone.

☆ Markets are now treating UK bonds like Greek and Italian debt
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The price of benchmark 10-year UK government bonds also increased slightly. “This is a situation where government borrowing costs — and therefore all our borrowing costs — are incredibly vulnerable,” economist Mohamed El-Erian, an adviser to Allianz, told the BBC on Tuesday. It will drive up import costs, adding to pressure on the Bank of England to hike interest rates faster and higher. Previously, markets were absorbing about £100 billion ($108 billion) in UK bonds annually, according to Ross Walker, chief UK economist at NatWest Markets. Yet higher borrowing costs will have consequences for both the government and households.

☆ Global rates, retail banking included in Bank of England stress test
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A general view of the Bank of England (BoE) building, the BoE confirmed to raise interest rates to 1.75%, in London, Britain, August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File PhotoLONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Banks' ability to cope with rising global interest rates and the resilience of their retail divisions to market shocks will be under scrutiny in this year's "stress test", the Bank of England said on Monday. It will test "ring-fenced" retail arms of banks on a standalone basis for the first time, the BoE said. There will be a separate stress test of misconduct costs. The test has no pass or fail mark but a bespoke "hurdle" for each bank.

Finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng's plans will require an extra 72 billion pounds ($79 billion) of government borrowing over the next six months alone, and - a particular concern for investors - cement permanent tax cuts costing 45 billion pounds a year. But to bond investors, they bring the prospect of more persistent inflationary pressures - at a time when inflation is already near a 40-year high - as well as tighter Bank of England (BoE) policy. Government borrowing is likely to total 218 billion pounds this financial year and 229 billion pounds in 2023/24, Citi predicted, and it expects benchmark 10-year British government bond yields to rise to 4.25%. Adding to the pressure, on Thursday the BoE confirmed it planned to reduce its own 838 billion pounds of gilt holdings by 80 billion pounds over the coming year. "That is a strong indication that domestic and overseas investors are losing confidence in the UK's inflation-fighting credibility," he said.

☆ Stocks could struggle as investors read the Fed's message to mean a recession is more likely
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Lerner said investors should also realize that higher rates in the bond market could pressure stocks as investors look for attractive yield elsewhere. Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA, said the more hawkish Fed does not mean the market will keep from rallying in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter in a mid-term election year is often positive, after stocks crater in September and early October in the typical seasonal pattern. Stovall said he is less enthusiastic about a fourth quarter rally, but it could still happen. "I'm not giving up on a fourth quarter rally, but it might start with a lower case 'r'," he said.

☆ There's one number that could be key to how markets trade right after the Fed meets
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

(A basis point equals 0.01 of a percent) Besides the rate hike, the market is intently focused on the terminal rate. Expectations for the Fed's terminal rate also soared. Before the August CPI report, the futures market was pricing in a terminal rate at just about 4% for next April. In the futures market, "the terminal rate went up 40 basis points in 24 hours," he said. But NatWest Markets expects the Fed could indeed have a terminal rate of 5%.

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