Britain is flirting with another runaway rise in house prices, according to a Reuters poll of economists, with a firm majority putting the chances at 50-50 or higher over the next five years. Despite those concerns, there was a clear consensus that the recent improvement in data heralds a sustainable economic recovery for the UK, which has struggled over the last three years to escape recession.

The North’s Department of Enterprise is not often known for its perfect timing – so perhaps it is just a “lucky” coincidence that it is looking for a new director of its insolvency service at the same time as latest figures show a rapid rise in personal and corporate insolvencies in Northern Ireland, the Irish Times reported. According to UK official insolvency statistics for the second quarter of 2013, 894 people were declared insolvent in Northern Ireland.

Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, has signalled that the Royal Bank of Scotland will be in public hands for another five years, increasing the chances it will be broken up before it is re-privatised. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cable revealed that he believed there was very little prospect of any sale taking place before the next election and that it is probable the state will retain its 81pc stake in RBS for the majority of the next Parliament as well.

Despite five consecutive months of falling unemployment, signs of financial strain remain evident among Northern Ireland households, according to new personal and corporate insolvency figures, The Belfast Telegraph reported. Northern Ireland corporate insolvencies were up 91% from May to June compared to January to March but were lower than the corresponding quarter in 2012. In the last quarter there were 105 company liquidations or corporate insolvencies here. Last year was a record year for corporate insolvencies in Northern Ireland with 410 in total.

State-backed Royal Bank of Scotland is unlikely to decide how it plans to sell more than 300 UK branches until the end of next month after extending a deadline for prospective bidders, industry sources said, Reuters reported. There are three potential bidders, who have this week been finalising leadership and how to structure what is proving to be a complex deal, sources said. RBS had set a "soft" deadline of the start of this week for bids to be made, but that was now likely to stretch into next week, industry sources said. The network could be valued at about 1.5 billion pounds.

The Bank of England broke with tradition on Wednesday, planning to keep interest rates at a record low until unemployment falls to 7 percent or below, which it said could take three years, Reuters reported. Its attempt to steer expectations about future rate moves and bolster a fledgling economic recovery underwhelmed many investors, who brought forward expectations for when rates would rise from 0.5 percent - the opposite of what the central bank was hoping for - although the move faded later in the day.

Asia's economic slowdown is threatening to bring two of Europe's highest-flying banks back down to earth, The Wall Street Journal reported. Standard Chartered PLC Tuesday said net profit fell 24% in the first half of the year, as weakening growth in Asian markets and a $1 billion write-down at its South Korean business put a brake on earnings. The announcement came one day after HSBC Holdings PLC's said underlying profit before tax stagnated at its Asia-Pacific unit, which excludes Hong Kong, and warned it was bracing for slower growth in China.

UK Coal rejected a bid to buy its surface mines and run its deep mines under contract in favour of a restructuring that could cost British companies millions in pension payments, documents show, the Financial Times. The revelation is contained in the report to creditors compiled by PwC, which handled the administration and liquidation of Britain’s largest coal producer, hiving most of its assets into linked businesses. Hargreaves Services, the listed coal miner and importer, is believed to have made the bid on June 5, a month before UK Coal entered administration on July 9.

HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe's biggest bank, said it could take a hit of up to $1.6 billion (1 billion pounds) in a settlement with a U.S. regulator over allegations it mis-sold mortgage-backed bonds during the housing bubble, Reuters reported. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has alleged 18 banks misrepresented the quality of the collateral backing securities between 2005 and 2008. Swiss bank UBS paid $885 million in a settlement with the FHFA last month and Citigroup and General Electric have settled for undisclosed sums.

HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, today vowed to get round new rules capping bankers’ bonuses which it said would have a “highly damaging” impact on many of its operations around the globe, the Evening Standard reported. From the start of next year, European Union rules within the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) IV will limit bonuses paid to all bankers employed by EU-based institutions to 100% of their base salary, or 200% if shareholders approve.