British mortgage approvals rose in December for the first time since June, the Bank of England said on Friday, suggesting that a steady slowdown in the number of loans for home purchases could be bottoming out. Data from the BoE also showed a sharp slowdown in December in borrowing by British consumers whose spending has driven the country's economic recovery. The BoE said mortgage approvals for house purchases numbered 60,275 last month, up from 58,956 in November. Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast 59,000 mortgage approvals were made in December. Tighter rules on mortgage lending took effect last year, ... (full story)