Strong governments must be prepared to upset the markets (a bit) November 12, 2024 The bond markets are a potent opposition, but governments must be prepared to take risks if they are ever to reap rewards, says Charles White-Thomson With a large majority and an election years away, the Prime Minister and Chancellor likely don’t feel the need to worry too much about what the electorate think. But one [...]
Taylor Wimpey: Higher demand buoys sales as firm preps for planning reform November 7, 2024 After a tough start to the year, Taylor Wimpey has reported signs of improving customer demand as mortgage rates fall and affordability pressures ease. The housebuilder said it remained on track to deliver UK volumes in line with previous guidance of 9,500 to 10,000 homes and operating profit consistent with current market expectations. In the [...]
Square Mile and Me: Together’s Ryan Etchells on going from intern to CCO November 7, 2024 Each week we dig into the memory bank of the City’s great and good. Today, it's Together CCO Ryan Etchells, with a northerner's perspective on the Square Mile.
Housebuilding woes ahead of Budget weigh on construction activity November 6, 2024 Having reached a 29-month high in September, S&P's construction purchasing managers' index (PMI) "slowed considerably" last month.
Reeves has chosen decline October 31, 2024 Labour have stuck to the line that they had “no choice” but to make “tough decisions”, but Rachel Reeves had an opportunity to put forward a Budget to kickstart economic growth, and she chose to do the opposite, says James Vitali “Politics is always a choice”, the Prime Minister said on Monday during a pre-Budget [...]
Autumn Budget 2024: Landlords and renters hit by tax rise October 30, 2024 Labour’s Autumn Budget has introduced major tax changes which will impact landlords and renters across the UK. Chancellor Rachel Reeves, as expected, announced an increase in Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on higher-rate tax payers from 20 to 24 per cent, and basic-rate tax payers from 10 to 18 per cent. Yet, the nil rate band [...]
House prices rising slowly but 2024 still a ‘bumper year’ October 28, 2024 2024 is set to be a “bumper year” for house sales thanks to rising real incomes and lower mortgage rates, according to Zoopla’s latest house price index. The level of new sales has increased to its highest level since late 2020, the survey showed. There are 306,000 homes currently working through the buying process, 26 [...]
How might the Autumn Budget affect the housing market? October 24, 2024 The property market is, finally, doing well. In September, a closely-watched survey of estate agents found that sentiment in the market turned positive for the first time in two years. Market sentiment has improved as mortgage rates have started to fall. House prices have ticked up to their highest level in more than two years. [...]
Number of UK house sales jumped by a third after rates cut, before Budget October 21, 2024 Despite uncertainty about the coming Autumn budget, buyers continued to pile into the property market after the Bank of England cut interest rates, with the number of homes sold up by a third year on year. The number of sales agreed rose by 29 per cent, while the number of potential buyers contacting estate agents [...]
UK banks to post first results since interest rate cut October 20, 2024 Major UK banks are to reveal whether borrowers are benefiting from lower interest rates as they report third-quarter results over the next two weeks.