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This is Money
Britain's banks were left short-changed again yesterday after the Bank of England made only 13.6bn available for them to borrow nearly three times less than they wanted.
Bank of England fails to satisfy City hunger for funds
A full-blown recession on these shores is now a 35pc probability as the credit crunch engulfs Britain's housing market and broader economy, warns an authoritative report. The Bank of England may be forced copy the Federal Reserve's lead and make dramatic interest rate cuts as Britain falls victim to a US-style slump, say experts at Lehman Brothers.
Lehman Brothers report predicts 35pc chance of UK recession
A mortgage crunch is now underway, analysts have warned, after new figures showed that half of all home loans taken out in recent months went to families sliding off cheap deals onto more expensive interest rates.
Mortgage crunch as 3m cheap fixed deals expire
Two of the biggest mortgage lenders increased their rates sharply yesterday in an attempt to close the door to all but the most creditworthy customers.
Nationwide and Halifax put up mortgage rate to deter new customers
The country's best known mortgage broker, John Charcol, has been warned by its auditor that it faces a "material uncertainty" about its ability to keep operating after its investors ploughed in an extra 1.5m and deferred loans of 820,000.
Auditor warns John Charcol's future as going concern is in doubt
Heather Capital, a hedge fund run by Scottish millionaire Gregory King, is to launch a 1bn fund targeting distressed property sellers. The fund will buy UK commercial property including industrial, retail and office space and aims to capitalise on investors who facing tougher lending practices from their banks in the wake of the credit crisis.
Property sellers facing credit squeeze targeted by Heather Capital
Iceland may see its credit rating cut if the country's banks are further battered by the global credit crisis, Standard & Poor's warned yesterday. Eileen Zhang, S&P's chief analyst for the country, told telegraph.co.uk that reducing the country's rating from its current level of A+ was a possibility and that the agency is "looking at how the banks will survive this challenging time".
Iceland facing a credit rating cut, warns Standard & Poor's
Dealmaking activity plunged in the first quarter of the year as turbulent credit markets made it difficult for private equity firms to pull off the same kind of audacious transactions that they were doing during the opening months of last year.
Financial crisis squeezes buyouts and mergers
A Texas judge has delivered first blood to two private equity firms that are trying to force a group of banks to provide $22bn (11bn) for a troubled takeover of the US media company Clear Channel.
US court tells nervous banks to put up money for Clear Channel deal
The accounting firm KPMG has been accused of professional negligence and of acquiescing to a "difficult" client in its audit work for New Century Financial, a US mortgage company that collapsed under the weight of sub-prime loans.
KPMG denies negligence over collapse of US sub-prime firm
The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, is planning to hand the Financial Services Authority which has in the past struggled to prove illegal market intervention - plea bargaining powers known as specified prosecutor status similar to those already granted to the Serious Fraud Office.
Alistair Darling to give City whistle-blowers immunity