Fraudulent mortgage applications on the rise

Experian Identity & Fraud has revealed that fraudulent applications for mortgages increased by eight per cent in 2011, marking the fifth consecutive year in which the rate of mortgage fraud has increased.

Around 34 in every 10,000 applications for mortgages were found to be fraudulent in 2011, compared to just 15 in every 10,000 in 2006.

The overall rate of fraud at the point of application across the UK's financial services sector increased by four per cent in 2011 to just over 17 in every 10,000 applications. In addition to record mortgage fraud figures, this overall increase was also driven by growth in insurance and current account fraud.

More than 90 per cent of attempted mortgage fraud in 2011 was down to individuals misrepresenting their personal information on applications. Typically, these first party frauds involved falsifying employment status or financial information, and, most commonly, attempting to hide an adverse credit history.

Experian's demographic insight revealed that Mosaic groups, the Terraced Melting Pot - young, poorly educated individuals living in small towns - and the Suburban Mindsets - predominantly middle aged, middle and skilled working class individuals - were both responsible for around 15 per cent of first party mortgage fraud cases in 2011. The young, well educated professionals of the Liberal Opinions were also prone to attempting first party mortgage fraud, being responsible for 13 per cent of cases.

Nick Mothershaw, UK&I director of Identity & Fraud at Experian said: "About 70 per cent of financial services application fraud in the UK fraud is down to first parties misrepresenting their circumstances, and the products such as mortgages and insurance that have seen fraud soar over the last year have a significant first party fraud element to them. This kind of fraud tends to originate from financially stressed segments of society."

Looking at other financial products, Experian found that insurance fraud UK rates reached 11 in every 10,000 applications and claims in 2011, an increase of 23 per cent over the last year. 89 per cent of insurance fraud was first-party led with the Terraced Melting Pot, Suburban Mindsets and Liberal Opinions demographics responsible for the most instances. Combined they accounted for 43 per cent of cases.

Current account fraud increased to 36 frauds in every 10,000 applications in 2011, up from 23 in every 10,000 in 2010. 60 per cent of current account fraud in 2011 was committed by first-parties, almost a quarter (23 per cent) of which was down to the Terraced Melting Pot demographic. The remaining 40 per cent of current account fraud attempts were down to third-party identity fraudsters seeking to open accounts as a springboard to obtain other credit products or for money laundering purposes.

Not all financial products saw fraud rates increase in 2011. Credit card fraud continued to fall, from 19 in every 10,000 applications in 2010 to 12 in every 10,000 in 2011. Automotive finance providers have also seen fraud rates fall. 23 in every 10,000 applications were found to be fraudulent in 2011, down from 38 in every 10,000 during 2010. 85 per cent of these frauds were first party.

Experian's Fraud Index utilises data from the National Hunter and Insurance Hunter fraud prevention systems, which Experian manages on behalf of its clients. These systems enable financial companies to analyse applications alongside previous ones and highlight inconsistencies which may be indicative of fraud.

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A Cluster Within a Cluster

25 April 2012

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The star cluster NGC 6604 is shown in this new image taken by the Wide Field Imager attached to the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. It is often overlooked in favour of its more prominent neighbour, the Eagle Nebula (also known as Messier 16), that lies a mere wingspan away. But the framing of this picture, which places the star cluster in a landscape of surrounding gas and dust clouds, shows what a beautiful object NGC 6604 is in its own right.

NGC 6604 is the bright grouping towards to the upper left of the image. It is a young star cluster that is the densest part of a more widely scattered association containing about one hundred brilliant blue-white stars [1]. The picture also shows the cluster’s associated nebula — a cloud of glowing hydrogen gas that is called Sh2-54 [2] — as well as dust clouds.
NGC 6604 lies about 5500 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent) and is located about two degrees north of the Eagle Nebula in the night sky (eso0926). The bright stars are easily seen in a small telescope and were first catalogued by William Herschel in 1784. However, the faint gas cloud escaped attention until the 1950s when it was catalogued by Stewart Sharpless on photographs from the National Geographic–Palomar Sky Atlas.
The cluster’s hot young stars are helping a new generation of stars to form in NGC 6604, by collecting star-making material into a compact region with their strong stellar winds and radiation. This second generation of stars will quickly replace the older generation, as although the brightest young stars are massive, they consume their fuel copiously and live short lives.
Aside from aesthetics, NGC 6604 has other reasons to draw the gaze of astronomers, as it has a strange column of hot ionised gas emanating from it. Similar columns of hot gas, which channel outflowing material from young star clusters, have been found elsewhere in the Milky Way and other spiral galaxies, but the example in NGC 6604 is relatively nearby, allowing astronomers to study it in detail.
This particular column (often referred to by astronomers as a “chimney”) is perpendicular to the galactic plane and stretches an incredible 650 light-years in length. Astronomers think that the hot stars within NGC 6604 are responsible for producing the chimney, but more research is needed to fully understand these unusual structures.

Notes

[1] This stellar association is called Serpens OB. The first part of the name refers to the constellation in which it lies and the letters OB refer to the spectral type of the stars. O and B are the two hottest stellar classifications and most stars of these types are very brilliant blue-white stars, and relatively young.
[2] The name Sh2-54 means that the object is the 54th in the second Sharpless catalogue of HII regions, published in 1959.

More information

The year 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world’s most productive astronomical observatory. It is supported by 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world’s most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the world’s largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning a 40-metre-class European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become “the world’s biggest eye on the sky”.

Recession Fails to Dent Consumer Lust for Luxury Brands

• Consumer appetite for luxury and lifestyle brands fuels growth in The BrandFinance® Global 500 Report by 3.3% to US $3,415 billion from 2011 to 2012
• High end fashion continues to flourish apparently immune from the world’s economic woes as Louis Vuitton (valued at $US 4.9 billion with a 24% increase), Hermès ($US3.4 billion with a 9% increase) and Polo Ralph Lauren ($US 3.4 billion with a 6% increase) significantly increase their brand value
• Apple has been ranked as the World’s Most Valuable Brand at US$ 70.6 billion with 49 technology companies appearing in the BrandFinance® Global 500 making it 2012’s most valuable sector 

 
                                                               

Brand Finance’s latest Global 500 study of the world’s top brands suggests that, far from cutting their cloth, consumers are turning their backs on traditional household favourites and lower end products and embracing luxury lifestyle and indulgent brands despite the grim economic outlook.
The Brand Finance^® Global 500 report shows how the global downturn has spawned a new breed of recession proof and aspirational “Alphabrands” which we turn to for quality regardless of the economic conditions.  Bucking the trend for consumers to look to lower end products during times of economic uncertainty, our results show that consumers are increasingly eager to indulge in high quality cutting edge design and couture. Some of the world’s top fashion chains have experienced soaring profits with big brands such as Louis Vuitton ($US 4.9 billion), Hermès ($US 3.4 billion) and Polo Ralph Lauren ($US 3.3 billion) increasing their brand value.
2012 has also seen the re-entry of high end fashion houses such as Prada and Coach whilst Christian Dior and Burberry appear as new entrants in the Global 500 tables. Luxury jeweller’s brand Tiffany & Co have also made the Global 500 for the first time ($US2.9 billion) whilst bespoke Swiss watch makers, Cartier, entered the ranking of the top brands with a value of ($US 3.1 billion).
As consumers continue to indulge themselves during the downturn, brands such as Rolls Royce have seen an increase of 17% in brand value to US$3.1 billion whilst both Daimler and BMW have benefitted from this renewed interest in luxury automobiles with brand increases of 20% and 5%.
Further evidence of consumers’ lust for luxury has been seen by the drop in value of high street supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s (now valued at $US 5.8 billion), ASDA ($US9.4 billion) and even Marks and Spencer’s ($US4.5 billion) who have all suffered a difficult year.
The latest tech gadgetry appears also to be a must for today’s consumers.  Technology lifestyle brands also dominate the table, increasing their standings on last year’s table by 79%. 49 technology companies appear in this year’s Global 500 making it the most valuable sector by some margin. Lifestyle technology brand, Apple has leapfrogged Google to be named as the world’s most valuable brand, having the highest ever valuation calculated by Brand Finance at an impressive $US70.6 billion.
David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, commenting on the tables stated: “The rise to prominence of luxury and lifestyle brands in this year’s report is quite impressive. Whilst the world remains shrouded in economic misery, people are investing their hard earned cash in brands they feel they can rely on to produce quality, long lasting products. It is also an encouraging sign for the economy to see that the overall value of the Global 500 increase by 3.3% to $US3,415 billion from last year.”
Notes for Editors:
Brand Finance first issued its Global Report into the relative equity of the 250 top global brands in 2007.  In 2008, the study was extended to analyse the top 500 brands worldwide.  The Global 500 report is published annually and incorporates data from all listed companies globally. Each brand is accorded a brand rating: a benchmarking study of the strength, risk and future potential of a brand relative to its competitor set as well as a brand value: a summary measure of the financial strength of the brand.

World military spending levels out after 13 years of increases, says SIPRI

(Stockholm, 17 April 2012) World military expenditure in 2011 totalled $1.74 trillion, almost unchanged since 2010 in real terms*, according to figures released today by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The comprehensive annual update of the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database is accessible from today at www.sipri.org.

The small rise of just 0.3 per cent in 2011 marks the end of a run of continuous increases in military spending between 1998 and 2010, including an annual average increase of 4.5 per cent between 2001 and 2009. 

Six of the world’s top military spenders—Brazil, France, Germany, India, the United Kingdom and the United States—made cuts in their military budgets in 2011, in most cases as part of attempts to reduce budget deficits. Meanwhile other states, notably China and Russia, increased their military spending markedly. 

‘The after-effects of the global economic crisis, especially deficit-reduction measures in the USA and Europe, have finally brought the decade-long rise in military spending to a halt—at least for now’, stated Dr Sam Perlo-Freeman, head of the SIPRI Military Expenditure Project.

Budgetary pressures in the United States and Europe lead to austerity cuts 

Military expenditure by the USA, the world’s top military spender, fell by 1.2 per cent in real terms (or $8.7 billion in 2010 prices). This is partly the result of the long delay by the US Congress in agreeing a budget for fiscal year 2011, as the Obama Administration clashed with Republicans over how to reduce the US budget deficit.

This trend is likely to continue as deficit-reduction measures approved by the Congress in 2011 will restrict the future growth of the ‘base’ military budget. In addition, it is expected that the withdrawal from Iraq and the drawdown in Afghanistan will lead to falls in additional war spending.

The three top spenders in Western Europe—France, Germany and the UK—have begun to reduce spending as part of austerity measures imposed to reduce budget deficits. France’s military budget has fallen 4 per cent since 2008, and while reductions over the same period in Germany (1.4 per cent) and the UK (0.6 per cent) have been more modest, both states plan further cuts in the coming years. 

Far larger cuts have been made in Greece, Spain, Italy and Ireland as a result of their sovereign debt crises, and most central European countries have also made severe cuts.

Russian military spending increases by over 9 per cent

Russia, in contrast, increased its military spending by 9.3 per cent in 2011, reaching a total of $71.9 billion, which now makes the country the third largest military spender worldwide, overtaking the UK and France.

 Further increases in military spending are planned, notably in equipment, research and development (R&D) and support for the arms and military services industry over the period 2011–20, with plans to replace the majority of Russia’s mostly Soviet-era military equipment with modern weaponry by 2020.

Notable regional developments

• Military expenditure in Asia and Oceania rose by 2.4 per cent, due mostly to a 6.7 per cent ($8.2 billion) increase by China. India’s military budget fell by 3.9 per cent, or $1.9 billion, in real terms, with high inflation cancelling out a nominal increase.
  
• In Africa, most of the regional increase of 8.6 per cent is accounted for by a 44 per cent ($2.5 billion) increase by Algeria - partly due to concerns over the conflict in Libya.
  
• The Middle East is the only region where a clear increasing pattern was discernible for most countries, although the lack of data for key players such as Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) makes the regional total highly uncertain.
  
• In Latin America military spending fell by 3.3 per cent in 2011. The region’s leading spender, Brazil, cut its 2011 military budget by 8.2 per cent, or $2.8 billion, as part of efforts to cool its economy and reduce inflation. The resulting fall accounted for almost all of the regional fall in Latin America.

‘It is too early to say whether the flattening of military spending in 2011 represents a long-term change of trend,’ said Dr Perlo-Freeman. ‘While we are likely to see some further falls in the USA and Europe in the next few years, trends in Asia, Africa and the Middle East continue to be upward for now, and any major new war could change the picture dramatically.’