UK races ahead as confidence returns

According to the CBI, the economy is growing at its fastest pace in more than a decade amid rising consumer and business confidence. It said the retail, manufacturing and service sectors registered record growth in May in a sign that the recovery is broadening. Katja Hall, CBI deputy director general, said the strong performance of the UK economy was down to rising confidence, as well as "better credit conditions at home and 'abroad'". However, she said sluggish eurozone growth and rising tensions in Ukraine still posed risks. The CBI's survey of 726 businesses showed 35% of respondents believed activity had increased in the three months to May, up from 25% in April. This was the highest reading since records began in 2003. Meanwhile, the BCC has upgraded its UK growth forecast to 3.1% for 2014, from 2.8%. It now expects the BoE to start raising rates in the first quarter of next year, two quarters earlier than previously forecast.

Lord Sugar sues lawyers over property deal

Lord Alan Sugar is suing his solicitors, Kinglsey Napley, claiming that they botched a property deal. Amsprop has filed a claim for £1.3m at the High Court, alleging that Lord Sugar was forced to pay out nearly £1m to luxury jeweller Longmire after his lawyers mishandled efforts to take possession of the Bond Street property as part of a planned redevelopment project.

Money laundering funding Right to Buy applications

The Daily Star says that hundreds of benefits claimants are able to buy council houses at reduced prices as a result of using the government's Right to Buy Scheme, but officials fear many are raising cash by laundering money. Fraud officer Andrew Hyatt, who works for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, says 33 of 39 Right to Buy applications in his borough collapsed after an official probe. "In terms of money laundering, it is imperative that we know where the finances are coming from to purchase the property to ensure it is not from illegal sources", he stated.

Lenders set to copy Lloyds

Experts have predicted that mortgage lenders will soon follow Lloyds Banking Group and introduce tighter borrowing requirements. On Tuesday, Lloyds decided to cap mortgages over £500,000 at four times income in order to cool the housing market in London. The bank said the policy would apply across the whole of the UK, but was targeted at the capital. Other lenders have said they are keeping vigilant as regulators fret over the booming housing market. A spokesman for Santander said: “We constantly review affordability and adjust our criteria based on a number of factors - one of which is the macro housing market.” A Barclays spokesman expressed a similar theme.

BoE on top of house prices

Anne Ashworth comments that Mark Carney’s announcement that he is not putting up interest rates shows that he is more observant about the market than some of his critics who have called for an interest rate rise. She says that the Mortgage Market Review is already in place to prevent borrowers over stretching themselves, and that the property price revival has not yet spread nationwide. She also comments on news from Savills that interest in prime London is cooling down. However, she notes that there is still a huge interest in the UK's real estate star attraction.