The Bank of England sought to slam the brakes on Britain's surging housing market on Thursday by announcing a cap on home loans and tougher checks on whether borrowers can repay their mortgages. The Bank's Financial Policy Committee said that from October, it will cap mortgages worth 4.5 times a borrowers' income and that this would apply to 85 percent of total new home loans. Britain's housing market has seen a stellar recovery thanks to record-low interest rates, falling unemployment and government-sponsored schemes. But policymakers have become increasingly concerned about the rapid rise in house prices, which are ... (full story)