Mortgage approvals drop dramatically as market hits ‘tipping point’ after stamp duty holiday November 29, 2021 Mortgage approvals for house purchase dropped sharply after the end of the stamp duty holiday, the Bank of England said. Mortgage approvals for house purchase dropped down to 67,200 in October from 71,900 in September, close to the 12-month average up to February 2020 of 66,700. However, approvals in October remained above the pre-Covid averages [...]
WTO cancels summit with 164 governments as concerns over new Covid variant grow November 27, 2021 Following new travel restrictions in Switzerland, following the emergence of a worrying new coronavirus variant, the World Trade Organisation has cancelled its conference of government ministers set to open on Tuesday in Geneva. The MC12 conference at WTO headquarters in Geneva was set to take up key issues such as a long-awaited agreement on subsidies [...]
Omicron: Aggressive new Coronavirus variant triggers worldwide travel bans as Covid fears grow November 27, 2021 Dozens of nations raced to halt air travel, while markets fell sharply and scientists held emergency meetings to weigh the exact risks as the discovery of a new Coronavirus variant has sent a chill through much of the world. A World Health Organisation (WHO) panel named the variant Omicron and classified it as a highly [...]
The boring predictability of our rule of law will ensure Britain’s success November 26, 2021 Power doesn’t disappear overnight. In the immortal words of Paul Simon, it slip slides away. In Helmand, Afghanistan I realised things were falling apart when people stopped coming to the government to resolve disputes. They turned to the Taliban instead. That was 15 years before the end. Subtly, almost unnoticed, here was proof that people [...]
From Doge to riches: Investors swap crypto for property November 25, 2021 UK investors have been trading in gains made on their bitcoin and dogecoin investments for property a new survey has revealed.
Soaring inflation in construction could spell disaster for housing in England November 25, 2021 The construction industry has been hit badly by inflation. Material prices are up: in terms of year on year increase, structural steel is at 65 per cent, reinforcement steel is at 62 per cent and plywood is at 56 per cent. Familiar supply chain problems are causing delays, and the cost of both energy and [...]
UK overhauls development investment body to challenge influence of Chinese loans November 25, 2021 Foreign secretary Liz Truss has revamped the UK’s development investment arm in a bid to offer emerging economies an alternative source of private capital to Chinese loans that can counter Beijing’s influence and avoid “bad and unsustainable debt.” Truss launched British International Investment (BII) this morning at the London Stock Exchange, a body that will [...]
First time buyers face significant barriers as earnings lag behind soaring house price growth November 25, 2021 First time buyers are facing significant hurdles to raising a deposit as they come up against high prices relative to average earnings. House price growth has surpassed earnings growth over the past year and the ratio of house prices to earrings has hit a record high, the Nationwide House Price Index set out. A 20 [...]
UK property market bottoms out after stamp duty relief end November 23, 2021 The end of a watered down tax relief on home sales has caused the property market to bottom out, according to official figures released today. Research by HMRC found property sales shrank around 52 per cent over the last month, dropping to 76,930 in October, down from 160,220 in September. The looming end of the [...]
London markets whacked by AO World tumbling on supply chain profit hit November 23, 2021 Supply chain snarl ups and soaring costs have whacked AO World’s profits, sending the online electricals retailer’s shares tumbling, dragging the mid-cap FTSE 250 down with it this morning. In the first hour of trading, London markets plunged into the red, with the capital’s premier FTSE 100 index dropping 0.59 per cent to 7,212.35 points, [...]