Friday preview: Mortgage approvals set to rise

The London Stock Exchange shuts up shop early on Friday to enable an early start to Christmas festivities or, alternatively, the opportunity to get some last minute shopping done.

No UK company results are expected and the economic calendar is about as well populated as Lapland. The British Bankers' Association (BBA) will put out its mortgage approval figures for November.

The trade association's members account for around two-thirds of all mortgage lending in the UK, so the figures are a solid guide to the state of the UK housing market.

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In October, the High Street banks granted 35,295 mortgages for house purchases, an improvement on the previous month's 33,502. The consensus among economists is that the upward trend will continue, albeit not so acutely, with the approvals number expected to rise to 35,800.

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INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Durable Goods Orders (US) (13:30)

New Homes Sales (US) (15:00)

Personal Consumption Expenditures (US) (13:30)

Personal Income (US) (13:30)

Personal Spending (US) (13:30)

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UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

BBA Mortgage Lending Figures (09:30)

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