Safe as houses: as years pass by, residential property remains the most resilient investment January 6, 2023 When Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II passed away last year, it brought the nation – and much of the world – together in mourning. With 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II replaced Queen Victoria as the United Kingdom’s longest reigning monarch. There was much that united the two, from overseeing periods of dramatic [...]
Year Ahead: Squeeze on household incomes to intensify as tough recession will dominate 2023 January 3, 2023 2023 is expected to be an exceptionally tough year for the UK economy. The country is almost certainly already in a year-long recession, one that will probably prove to be deeper than that experienced in the early 1990s. The squeeze on household real incomes will intensify as rising interest rates join soaring inflation. Admittedly, the [...]
London house prices: How bad will the crash be in the 2023 recession? January 1, 2023 London house prices are expected to fall this year as interest rates rise and the recession bites – but will it be a small slide or a full-blown crash? Property experts are torn A housing market cooldown is expected in 2023 but prices will remain higher than before the coronavirus pandemic started, experts have suggested. [...]
Inflation surge reshapes Brits’ spending, but so does end of Covid-19 curbs December 30, 2022 Inflation reaching a 41-year high. Interest rates back to 2008 levels. Mortgage costs up substantially. It’s been a tough year for the Great British consumer. Income growth has failed to keep pace with what was a 11.1 per cent cost of living peak, meaning households have been forced to cut back to protect their finances. [...]
2023 set to be just as ‘horrendous’ as 2022 with falling pay and soaring energy bills December 30, 2022 Next year looks set to be just as “horrendous” for many families’ living standards as this year, as they are hit with falling pay and soaring energy, tax and mortgage bills, a think tank has warned. Households face a cost-of-living “groundhog year” with disposable incomes plummeting even further than in 2022, which saw the biggest [...]
House price growth falls for fourth consecutive month, worst run since 2008 December 30, 2022 House prices have plummeted for the fourth consecutive month by 2.8 per cent in December, the worst run since the financial crisis of 2008. Nationwide’s latest House Price Index shows this month proved to be another sharp slow down in growth down from 4.4 per cent in November. House prices fell by 0.1 per cent [...]
Mining and retail stocks push FTSE 100 into the green after Christmas shopping boost December 29, 2022 The FTSE 100 has been given a boost by its top retail stocks as investors cashed in on the post-Christmas sales shopping, and as China is set to ease its Covid restrictions for inbound travellers from January 8. Among the top performers on London’s leading index on Wednesday were JD Sports Fashion, Next, Kingfisher and [...]
2022: The year the UK economy soured December 23, 2022 Let’s not forget that inflation was already a problem heading into 2022. The final inflation reading of 2021 was for November and came in at 5.1 per cent, nearly three times higher than the Bank of England’s two per cent target and the highest level since September 2011, according to the Office for National Statistics [...]
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’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 [...]