UK mortgage approvals rose to more than two-year high before Budget November 29, 2024 UK lenders approved the most mortgages in more than two years last month as Britain’s housing market proved resilient ahead of the new government’s first Budget. Banks and building societies gave the green light to 68,300 loans for house purchase in October, according to data from the Bank of England. That figure is the highest [...]
Employer national insurance raid could lead to 130,000 jobs being slashed November 28, 2024 Analysis from Bloomberg Economics suggests that up to 130,000 jobs could be lost if firms responded to the tax hike primarily by cutting employment.
Coventry Building Society to take over Co-op Bank in January November 28, 2024 Regulators have given the green light for Coventry Building Society to acquire The Co-operative Bank in January as consolidation sweeps through Britain’s mid-sized banking sector. The two lenders said on Thursday that the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority had approved the £780m deal, which was agreed in May. The takeover [...]
Ed Warner: Why sports will have to change to stay down with the kids November 28, 2024 A leading cricket journalist bemoaned the lack of Test cricket on terrestrial TV to me recently, trotting out the well-worn argument that the England Wales Cricket Board had severely weakened the sport when it signed coverage over to Sky back in 2005. That’s as maybe, but if long-form cricket was free to view on mainstream [...]
The truth about wealth inequality November 28, 2024 The distribution of wealth in the economy has attracted more and more attention among economists following a wealth boom that lasted for four decades. Between 1980 and 2019, British household wealth increased from three to seven-times national income, as cheap credit helped to fuel consistent rises in house prices. “For much of the past four [...]
Construction projects in London dipped but developer optimism remained November 28, 2024 Construction projects in London dipped this year, but positive signals like lower interest rates and easing construction cost inflation have boosted optimism amongst developers. The number of construction projects started between April and September this year fell by 12 per cent, with refurbishments down 57 per cent, according to the Deloitte London office crane survey. [...]
Forget Reeves’ CV – there’s a bigger transparency problem in monetary policy November 28, 2024 The real discussion shouldn’t be about whether Reeves deserves to call herself an “economist”. It should focus on the unchecked power of current central bank leaders, the far-reaching consequences of their decisions, and how we hold them to account, says Tim Focas The recent controversy over Rachel Reeves’ tenure as an economist at the Bank [...]
Starmer refuses to rule out further tax rises or more borrowing November 27, 2024 Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out further tax rises or additional borrowing when challenged to repeat his Chancellor’s pledge not to “come back with more”. During Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch asked Starmer about Rachel Reeves’ words. She said: “At the Confederation [...]
Bank of England rate-setter warns Trump’s tariffs will damage growth November 27, 2024 “Whether you are an economic historian, an economic theorist or a data-driven economist, the impact is clear in terms of its direction," she said.
Nationwide banks £2.3bn gain from Virgin Money takeover as profit tumbles November 27, 2024 Nationwide has bagged a £2.3bn gain from its acquisition of Virgin Money, setting up a windfall for members of Britain’s biggest building society.