The UK economy begins 2021 on the back foot as record numbers of coronavirus infections and tougher restrictions cloud the outlook for growth and limit the chances of a rapid recovery from the country’s worst recession in 300 years. There had been hopes that the arrival of successful Covid vaccines could prompt a rebound in...
London leavers bought 73,950 homes outside the capital in 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic led the biggest exodus from London in four years. People from London bought homes worth a collective £27.6bn over the course of the year – the largest amount spent since 2007, according to research by the estate agent Hamptons. The dash for property...
Sainsbury’s has warned shoppers of shortages of lettuce, broccoli and citrus fruit in the run-up to Christmas, after France banned hauliers carrying freight across the Channel amid fears over the new coronavirus strain. The supermarket said the ingredients for a traditional Christmas lunch were already in the country and available, but shelves could be empty of some...
Plans to recoup an estimated £26bn of fraud and defaults on coronavirus loans to businesses are “woefully underdeveloped”, an influential committee of MPs has said. Losses on the government-backed loans could be higher than £26bn because the government has not properly assessed the extent of potential fraud on the schemes, according to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Its report found that the...
The Bank of England is exploring options to make it easier to get a mortgage, on the back of concerns that many first-time buyers have been locked out of the property market during the coronavirus pandemic. Threadneedle Street said it was undertaking a review of its mortgage market recommendations – affordability criteria that set a cap on...
When the prime minister announced, in the last week of October, a second national lockdown in England, the best thing to do, it turns out, was to buy shares in pub companies, airlines, gyms, retailers and restaurant operators – in other words, those businesses that were about to get clobbered again. No stock-picking skill was...
Following the collapse of Arcadia and now Debenhams, around 25,000 staff are facing uncertainty and fear as their jobs hang in the balance. Many people are also left wondering what their high streets will look like if these longstanding stores close down, after a year in which thousands of shops were forced to shutter due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic....
Early Christmas shopping helped boost UK retail sales in October, despite tighter restrictions introduced across much of the country, official figures indicate. Sales volumes rose 1.2 per cent in October, surpassing forecasts of a 0.3 per cent fall. Online shopping drove retail sales higher for the sixth consecutive month. In-store sales were 3.3 per cent lower in October than...
UK inflation rose by more than expected in October, fuelled by an increase in clothing prices. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the consumer prices index (CPI) rose to 0.7% in October from 0.5% a month earlier as clothing prices increased, returning to a more normal seasonal pattern after the disruption this year. City economists had...
It’s the 17-year stalwart of daytime TV, famous for revealing the hidden potential of dilapidated properties and the rapacious profits of the punters bold enough to buy them at auction. Now, Homes Under the Hammer is being credited with fuelling a new boom in the property market, as auctioneers report a sharp increase in sales and bidders...