Give councils more tax flexibility amid financial strain, ministers urged February 8, 2024 Councils should be given more free rein to raise local taxes to shore up ailing finances and then “suffer the consequences” at the ballot box, MPs have heard.
Moving markets: Five things shaping the FTSE 100 today February 8, 2024 Asian shares track Wall Street's surge; China's inflation records the deepest drop since 2009. Oil prices rose amid slim progress in Gaza peace talks. SoftBank rises on Arm results; investors eye earnings, the Fed, and U.S. jobless claims.
‘Barratt Redrow’ merger to highlight investors’ skewed opinions on UK housing market February 7, 2024 Shares in major FTSE 100 and 250 housebuilders suffered a mixed day so far on the London market, as Barratt Developments' surprise £2.5bn megamerger with Redrow highlighted investors' skewed opinions on the state of UK housing.
Speedy Hire: Investor takes advantage of record low share price to increase stake February 7, 2024 An institutional investor has taken advantage of a sharp slump in Speedy Hire's share price to almost double its stake.
Year of the Dragon: Why investors have soured on China’s economic prospects February 7, 2024 China has powered global growth for decades, but as the year of the dragon begins, has the country still got its fire? Elliot Gulliver-Needham reports
HS2: London to Birmingham route without Manchester link will be ‘very poor value for money’, MPs warn February 7, 2024 Completing the High Speed Two line between London and Birmingham without the extension to Manchester will be "vert poor value for money," MPS have warned.
Equinor cuts shareholder payouts as fossil fuel returns slow and renewables drag February 7, 2024 Equinor will return $3bn (£2.3bn) less to shareholders in 2024 than a year prior
Risk of persistent inflation ‘diminished’ as Bank of England considers timing of interest rate cuts, MPC member says February 7, 2024 "I have become less concerned that interest rates might need to be tightened further," Breeden, a member of the Bank of England's MPC, said.
UK housing market: Borrowers weigh up taking the plunge, or waiting for rates to fall further February 7, 2024 After a torrid year, the outlook for the UK’s property market is poised to improve. A number of reports have suggested that house prices will continue to drop, which will hopefully help more would-be-buyers finally get on the housing ladder, even if this negatively impacts those who already have property, and want to see its [...]
House prices rise for fourth month in a row as 2024 starts with a bang February 7, 2024 House prices rose by 1.3 per cent in January, marking the fourth monthly rise in a row, according to the latest reading from Halifax.