Britain’s biggest mortgage lenders face faltering earnings growth as potential homebuyers pull back before next year’s general election, regulators tighten financing and the economy slows. Nationwide Building Society, the U.K.’s third-largest mortgage lender, yesterday reported a 36 percent slump in home loans in the six months through September, an indicator that other banks may encounter a similar slowdown. Demand for homes is falling as more stringent lending criteria make it harder for buyers to get mortgages.
The biggest increase in consumer spending in more than four years drove the U.K. economy to a seventh straight quarter of growth, as exports and corporate investment declined. Household spending rose 0.8 percent in the third quarter, the most since the second quarter of 2010. The figures left GDP 0.7 percent higher than in the second quarter, unrevised from a previous estimate, and up 3 percent from a year earlier. Economic growth slowed from 0.9 percent in the second quarter.
The pound slipped 0.1 percent against the dollar and the euro following the latest data.
There is a whole heap of US data out today ahead of tomorrows thanksgiving holiday! The US receovery will be assessed for confirmation that the economy is continuing to grow strongly in Q4, supported by strong domestic demand. personal spending is expected to have risen in October, supported by strong jobs growth, lower gasoline prices and rising consumer confidence.
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