Behind these monthly fluctuations, mortgage lending is on a stable trend, though not as high as 2004 levels.

Weaker mortgage lending in the first half of 2005 led to annual totals weaker than in 2004, but gross lending and loans approved for house purchase finished the year on an upward trend, after allowing for seasonal factors.

If we see an upward trend in delinquency ratios, we tighten our lending, but we have not had to do that.

the utilities savings more than make up for the increase in your monthly mortgage.

The first of these is the high levels of incarceration, even though we are aware of your high rate of criminality.

The index was well behaved last year. And one monthly jump does not necessarily signal a shift in trend.