BBC NEWS | Business | Mortgage lending continues boom The UK's appetite for mortgage debt continued rising in April, but existing borrowers showed growing caution.

BBC NEWS | Business | Mortgage lending continues boom The UK's appetite for mortgage debt continued rising in April, but existing borrowers showed growing caution.

Sky News: Sainsbury's cut staff xmas bonus Their new boss, Justin King, has decided to cut the £100 bonus traditionally given out every Christmas for the past 25 years.

BBC NEWS | Business | High Street sales remain buoyant UK retail sales rose again last month, official figures have shown, adding to the pressure for higher interest rates.

BBC NEWS | Business | Mortgages lift Nationwide profits Surging mortgage sales have led to a big rise in profits at Nationwide, the UK's largest building society.

BBC NEWS | Business | Bank debated higher UK rate rise The minutes of their talks also showed that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) considered going higher, to 4.5%.

FT.com | How investors' mood swings move markets ....that suggests the widespread hope of a "soft landing" for the housing market, in which price rises will gently subside to zero, may be an illusion. It is certainly hard to find bubbles that have ended that way in the past.

Guardian Unlimited Money | News | House price boom 'will continue' House prices are poised to rise at a "fairly firm pace" in the coming months, despite the Bank of England's attempts to calm the property market, according to a report out today.

HoustonChronicle.com - Housing market is just a bubble waiting to pop The Yanks are getting excited now about a house price crash and they are moaning about 40% rises.....try 400% guys and then you can really moan!!

BBC NEWS | Business | Inflation up on higher fuel costs The UK inflation rate edged higher in April as surging oil prices pushed up petrol and heating costs.

BBC NEWS | Business | House prices rising ?1,100 a week The price of an average home in England and Wales is increasing by more than £1,100 a week, a survey by property website Rightmove has said.

Reuters | Estate agents predict housing slowdown One-third of estate agents have predicted a "dramatic slowdown" in house price inflation by the end of next year as interest rates rise and the buy-to-let market cools, a survey says.

More landlords opting for sales market A report from Hamptons International says that the increasing cost of letting is deterring some landlords and as the relationship between investment and return narrows, some landlords have commented that they are better putting their money in the bank

All quiet on the news front. It seems that Iraq, the price of oil and Tony Blair are dominating the news scene. Don't forget, if you spot any interesting housing/economy news articles on the web that we haven't listed then send them to [email protected]