UK house sales plummet in June, held back by Brexit ‘ball and chain’ July 23, 2019 House sales crashed 16.5 per cent in June, as the property market took a “wait-and-see” attitude to transactions amid Brexit uncertainty. Monthly HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures showed British residential property sales fell to 84,490, more than one-sixth down on the same period last year. Read more: London house prices suffer worst plunge in [...]
NIESR: One in four chance UK might already be in recession July 22, 2019 Britain might have already fallen into a technical recession, an influential think tank has warned this morning, as it forecasts growth of one per cent even if a no-deal Brexit is avoided. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) has said there is a one-in-four chance that the UK economy has already slipped [...]
UK households’ financial optimism hits six-month high July 22, 2019 UK households have struck an optimistic note on their future finances for the second month in a row, to mark a six-month high in their outlook. Financial health expectations moved up a gear in July after households recorded their first positive outlook since the start of 2019 in June. Read more: UK households turn positive [...]
UK households remain cautious on economic outlook, discretionary income and debt levels July 22, 2019 UK households remain concerned about their economic outlook, disposable incomes and debt levels, survey data out today shows. Deloitte’s consumer confidence index for the UK in the second three months to 30 June remained at a minus eight per cent – unchanged from the first quarter – but down four percentage points from the same [...]
Mortgages with terms over 40 years jump 20-fold July 22, 2019 The number of approved UK home mortgages with a term of more than 40 years rocketed in 2018, rising over 20-fold to 3,483 from just 162 the previous year, according to analysis by London estate agent Ludlow Thompson. Read more: Mortgage approvals dip in May but remain above average The figures are the latest sign [...]
Traders foresee small Fed interest rate cut July 21, 2019 The US Federal Reserve is set to lower interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade when it meets at the end of this month, although there is confusion about the size of the cut. Read more: ‘Faulty thought process’: Trump lashes out at the Fed Market participants now think it is certain [...]
‘Faulty thought process’: Trump lashes out at Fed – again July 19, 2019 US President Donald Trump renewed his attack on the Federal Reserve today, saying it is due to a “faulty thought process” that it has higher interest rates than other major central banks. Read more: Donald Trump takes credit for China slowdown Trump has long been a vocal opponent of Fed policy which he thinks is [...]
Sterling suffers as public sector debt more than doubles to £7.2bn July 19, 2019 Sterling sank this morning as official data revealed public sector borrowing more than doubled to £7.2bn last month, blasting past economists’ forecasts to record the highest June total since 2015. The net borrowing figure is more than double the £3.3bn recorded this time last year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) warned, and smashed a [...]
Public sector set for £2bn pay rise in one of Theresa May’s final acts as Prime Minister July 19, 2019 The Treasury is set to unveil the biggest public sector pay rise in six years on Monday. Around two million people working in the public sector are set for a combined £2bn pay rise, according to a report in The Times. Read more: May slams uncompromising populists in final major speech as Prime Minister It [...]
There’s no ‘war chest’ for extra spending, watchdog warns PM hopefuls July 18, 2019 Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt have been warned there is no “war-chest or pot of money” that would make big spending increases “a free lunch” by the UK’s budget watchdog. Read more: No-deal Brexit could cause ‘full blown’ recession in 2020 The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said today that the next prime minister must [...]