Wall Street and FTSE 100 push higher as markets shrug off Astrazeneca saga March 16, 2021 Wall Street rose to record highs this afternoon as tech stocks gained momentum ahead of a two-day policy meeting for the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 was up 0.27 per cent to an all-time high while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.17 per cent, extending a rebound in stocks following last month’s sell-off. The Dow Jones [...]
House prices edge down last month as market slows March 5, 2021 House prices inched down in February as activity slowed but remain more than five per cent up year-on-year, new data released today showed. According to Halifax’s House Price Index, prices dropped 0.1 per cent last month compared to in January, with the average price now £251,697. However, in the quarter from November to February prices [...]
Budget 2021: Government to guarantee five per cent mortgages on homes up to £600,000 March 3, 2021 The government will introduce a new scheme that will allow individuals to put down just a five per cent deposit on homes valued up to £600,000. From April, the government will introduce a the scheme that will provide a guarantee to lenders across the UK that offer mortgages to people with a deposit of five [...]
Budget 2021: As it happened March 3, 2021 Live updates and links to all our coverage, reactions and analyses as the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivers the government’s Budget later today – at 12.30pm. Please also visit our dedicated Budget 2021 Hub. Wrap-up of the main Budget announcements Here’s a wrap-up of the main announcements made by the chancellor in his spring Budget: [...]
UK consumer credit slumped in January as lockdown took hold March 1, 2021 Consumer borrowing in January fell at its fastest pace since May last year as the country returned to lockdown, Bank of England data showed on Monday. Unsecured lending to consumers tumbled by £2.4bn, the biggest drop since last May’s £4.5bn hit. This takes the year-on-year fall to 8.9 per cent, the biggest decline since monthly [...]
Pound off to a good start ahead of this week’s Budget March 1, 2021 The pound has got off to a positive start ahead of this week’s budget as optimism over the vaccine rollout, which passed the 20m at the weekend, fostered hopes for an economic rebound that is likely to be much faster than its peers in Europe. Moreover, with the UK budget only two days away, mortgage [...]
Atom Bank taps investors for cash as it targets IPO February 25, 2021 Digital challenger Atom Bank is looking to raise £40m from existing investors as it targets an IPO in the next few years. The neobank Atom is confident it will move to profitability from its mortgage and business lending “within a year”. The optimism contrasts with its fintech peers which have faced difficulties since the outbreak [...]
The Future of DeFi February 23, 2021 DeFi exploded onto the scene in 2020 as the value locked in decentralized platforms climbed into the billions. Yield farming, flash loans, and automated market makers (AMMs) were a few of the hottest topics over the last year. But what does the future of DeFi hold? And will the next round of innovations take advantage [...]
House prices fall for first time in six months in January February 2, 2021 House prices fell for the first time in six months in January as the end of the stamp duty holiday approached. Nationwide’s annual house price index showed that prices fell 0.3 per cent last month, the first time they have dropped since June. That means the average price for a house, not adjusted for the [...]
UK mortgage approvals reach highest level since 2007 February 1, 2021 The number of mortgage approvals reached their highest level since 2007 last year as buyers took advantage of the stamp duty holiday. The housing market remained resilient in the face of volatility and essential closure of the market during the first lockdown. There were 818,500 mortgage approvals over 2020, up from 789,100 the previous year, [...]