Speculation that we will see deep interest rates is overdone. In the context of the widely anticipated rate cut in August, it is not surprising that the Halifax figures rose. Mortgage approvals suggest we should soon get better news on house-price inflation. |
The coming three months of data will be dominated by energy prices given utility bill hikes in excess of 20 percent. |
The decent numbers we have seen will persist because mortgage approvals have rebounded so strongly and they are almost at the peak we saw in 2004. |
The key message is housing market activity has improved significantly into the second half of this year and confirms the downside risks to growth from the housing market are vanishing. |
The rise in equity withdrawal is consistent with the rebound in house price inflation. It shows spending growth is increasingly dependent on equity extraction on top of take home pay. |
The rise in output prices confirms signs... that firms are clawing back some pricing power. |
The worst news on UK inflation is yet to come. The probability of a further rate cut is clearly reducing. |
This certainly lends support to the (Bank of England) hawks that suggest the official retail sales data may not be a fair representation of broader consumer demand in the first quarter of the year. |
This was another body blow for those still clinging on to the hope of lower interest rates. |
Tourism is a barometer of normalcy, and tourism is doing exceptionally well. Of course, we are starting from a low base, but we are a rising star in Europe. |
We believe that with inflation rising rapidly, and concerns among the hawks that it will be harder to bring under control ... the door has been closed to further cuts. |
We're disappointed that our proposal didn't go through, but we're ecstatic in the fact that they did choose rail because it brings rail back to Cape Breton. |
With growth back to trend, housing market indicators trending higher and consumer spending substantially improved from the mid-2005 weak spot we continue to believe the next move in rates is up not down. |