Everyone out of step in the housing market

Article Abstract:

The indices detailing changes in house prices in England and Wales produced by Halifax and Nationwide Building Society used to produce very similar results. However, for most of the period since 1997, house prices as recorded by Nationwide have been increasing much more rapidly than those recorded by Halifax. The divergence in these indices raises doubts about their reliability in indicating trends in house prices and economic activity. Experts have been trying to identify why the indices are diverging, but have not been successful so far. The Bank of England has become so concerned that it has created its own house price index.

Land Subdivision and Land Development, Consumer prices, Housing Developers, Real estate developers, Economic aspects, House buying, Home buying

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Serving consumers in the information age

Article Abstract:

The UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) has issued a consultation paper detailing its ideas about how to supply consumers with reliable and unbiased information about financial products. The FSA is proposing to make available a series of tables of comparative performance, assessing providers in areas including quality of service and flexibility. It is now seeking opinions about how this information should be gathered and presented. It can be argued that publishing tables will not really be very useful unless consumers are made aware of the consequences and implications of the figures these tables contain.

Financial services industry, Financial services, Information services

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Easy street a dead end for fund managers

Article Abstract:

There was considerable pressure on the margins of UK fund managers in 1999, according to the annual survey of the performance of the fund management business from management consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers. It appears that fund managers have become complacent after many years of high profit levels. They are also suffering from the continued advance of tracker funds. Fund managers will come under increasing pressure to offer higher standards of service, lower charges and better value for money.

Surveys, Investment companies

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