Brits untroubled by rising mortgage rates as property transactions rise December 21, 2022 Monthly property transactions have increased across the UK and returned to pre-pandemic levels despite the ongoing cost of living crisis. Today, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published statistics indicating that monthly property transactions in the UK above £40,000 have increased consecutively over the past nine months. Frances McDonald, research analyst at Savills said: “In light [...]
FTSE 100 nudges higher after BoJ tightening boosts UK banks December 20, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 nudged higher today after banks were boosted by yet more signals from the global central banking community that policy will keep tightening next year. The capital’s premier index added 0.13 per cent to close at 7,370.62 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of [...]
Relief for mortgage prisoners: Six banks to begin lending on flats with unsafe cladding December 20, 2022 A handful of the country’s biggest banks will consider mortgage applications for some flats with dangerous cladding from January, in a sigh of relief for people trapped in unsellable properties. Lenders withdrew mortgage provisions for unsafe flats following the Grenfell Tower disaster, when 72 people were killed in a fire at a high-rise block in [...]
Workforce shrinkage risks roiling growth and embedding inflation December 20, 2022 A workforce squeezed by older Brits retiring earlier threatens to intensify inflation in the UK and whack economic growth, a new report out today claims. The some 565,000 people who have left the jobs market since the start of the Covid-19 crisis will drag on a UK economy that is already tumbling into an at [...]
On the money: King Charles III makes banknote debut December 20, 2022 The Bank of England has unveiled the design for the new Charles III banknotes, making the monarch the first King in British history to feature on a paper legal tender. Recently succeeding his mother HM Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles will appear on the front of all four polymer banknotes ( £5, £10, £20 and [...]
FTSE 100’s winners and losers in 2022 December 19, 2022 The Christmas lull is setting in. Investors are bracing to turn off their screens and get away from the daily City grind. Trading volumes on the FTSE 100 are thinning. It’s also that time of year when financial journalists pick through the UK’s worst (and best) performing stocks over the past 12 months. Without further [...]
Blockchains are changing the way you buy your home December 19, 2022 Blockchains are changing the way you buy your home – blockchain technology has already been successfully used for a number of years in Australia by a company called PEXA, which has recorded over 11million property transactions. The same firm has recently set its sights on the UK to revolutionise the way that mortgages are handled [...]
UK banks have swerved bonus cap by hiking pay, BoE finds December 19, 2022 UK lenders have raised staff pay to compensate for smaller hand outs after the banker bonus cap was implemented following the financial crisis, new research out today has found. The City’s top bankers’ pay has been steadily rising since the rules were imposed in 2014, according to the Bank of England. “The bonus cap [has [...]
Hunt confirms full fat budget and OBR forecast on 15 March 2023 December 19, 2022 The government will deliver a full fat budget on 15 March next year, chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed today. The announcement will be accompanied by an assessment of the impact of the government’s tax and spending plans on the public finances by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Last month, Hunt delivered what was in effect [...]
UK on course for slow burning recession, KPMG predicts December 19, 2022 The UK economy is on track to enter a long recession sparked by households and businesses being squeezed by sky high price rises, new forecasts out today unveil. Gross domestic product (GDP) will shrink 1.3 per cent next year, according to consultancy KPMG, who have become the latest organisation to warn of a protracted slump [...]