Feb
29
U.K. Mortgage Approvals Jump in Rush to Beat Tax Increase
ByPhotographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg
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Investors are buying properties before April stamp-duty hike
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Foreign investors sell most government bonds since March 2014
U.K. mortgage approvals reached a two-year high in January as buy-to-let landlords rushed to beat a tax increase.
Lenders agreed to advance 74,581 loans, the most since January 2014, compared with 71,335 in December, the Bank of England said in London on Monday. Economists had forecast a reading of 74,000. Net mortgage lending climbed to 3.7 billion pounds ($5.1 billion)…