Rightmove: Demand surges 50 per cent after housing market reopens August 7, 2020 Property platform Rightmove said demand was up 50 per cent in June and July as potential buyers sought new homes after months spent in lockdown. Rightmove’s share price jumped 8.93 per cent to 629.4p this morning after the company reported a bounce in activity after the housing market reopened. The figures In the six months [...]
Ofgem to slash energy price cap by £84 for 15m households in October August 7, 2020 The energy price cap is set to fall to its lowest level so far due to coronavirus, saving around 15m customers £84 on their bills. Energy regulator Ofgem will lower the price cap between October and March from £1,126 to £1,042. The price cap determines the highest companies can charge for the gas and electricity [...]
British Airways reaches halfway point in 12,000 job cuts August 7, 2020 More than 6,000 British Airways staff have opted to take voluntary redundancy, as the airline makes progress on its mission to cut 12,000 jobs. The airline will send out letters to its remaining staff today to tell them whether they still have a job or not, and if they do, whether they will be required [...]
France could be next to join UK quarantine list as Sunak warns of travel ‘disruption’ August 7, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned there is “always a risk of disruption to travel plans” as speculation that France could be added to the quarantine list grows. The number of Covid-19 infections in France has increased by more than 1,600 for a second consecutive day, returning to levels not seen since May. It comes just [...]
Rishi Sunak: ‘Hardship lies ahead’ for the UK economy August 7, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said that “hardship lies ahead” for the UK economy despite the Bank of England improving its forecast for this year. Yesterday the Bank upgraded its projection for the path of GDP in 2020, saying it would now contract 9.5 per cent rather than the 14 per cent it had previously pencilled [...]
UK house prices jump in July in post-lockdown ‘mini-boom’ August 7, 2020 UK house prices jumped in July after coronavirus lockdown restrictions eased and the government announced a stamp duty holiday, sparking a “mini-boom” in the property market. UK house prices in July were 1.6 per cent higher than the previous month. House prices last month were also 3.8 per cent up compared to July 2019, according [...]
Facebook staff to work from home until July 2021 August 7, 2020 Facebook has said its employees will be allowed to work from home until July 2021, and will be given $1,000 towards the cost of building a home office. It follows in the footsteps of other big technology firms, after Google said last month it would permit those who do not need to be in the [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown adds record number of new clients August 7, 2020 Hargreaves Lansdown reported a jump in full-year profit after adding a record number of new clients. The figures The investment platform said profit before tax increased 24 per cent to £378.3m in the year ended 30 June. Revenue grew to £550.9m, jumping 15 per cent from £480.5m the previous year. Total assets under administration increased [...]
Standard Life Aberdeen profit hit by coronavirus and £25bn Lloyds withdrawal August 7, 2020 Standard Life Aberdeen’s pre-tax profit slumped 30 per cent to £195m in the first half of 2020 after Lloyds withdrew £25bn in the peak of the pandemic. The figures Fee-based revenue fell 13 per cent to £706m as clients pulled their money out to lower fee assets and Lloyds’ scheduled withdrawal of assets. That missed [...]
Trump issues executive order against Tiktok and Wechat over China links August 7, 2020 US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order promising a ban on Chinese-owned apps such as Tiktok and Wechat within 45 days. The two apps must be removed from Apple and Google’s app stores and all business ceased with US companies by the deadline. Tiktok owner Bytedance is currently in negotiations over a sale [...]