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☆ Vistry flags tough housing market, reiterates profit forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 20 (Reuters) - British homebuilder Vistry Group (VTYV.L) on Thursday joined its bigger rivals in flagging an intensifying slowdown in the housing market but retained its annual profit forecast, reflecting resilience in its key affordable homes business. The FTSE 250 (.FTMC) firm, which works with local authorities and housing associations to build affordable homes, expects adjusted pre-tax profit for the year ending Dec. 31 to be in excess of 450 million pounds. Vistry, which is typically better insulated against housing market shocks as demand for affordable housing is high, said it was able to mitigate the slowdown in the market through bulk transactions in both its Partnerships and Housebuilding businesses. However, the group said its Housebuilding business, which is similar to its rivals' operations, had faced "more challenging market conditions" in the half-year period with the broader macro-economic challenges particularly impacting first-time buyers. Reporting by Suban Abdulla in London and Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Greg Fitzgerald, Suban Abdulla, Aby Jose Koilparambil, Sonia Cheema, Kate Holton Organizations: Vistry, Thursday, FTSE, Bank of England, British, Countryside, Thomson Locations: British, London, Bengaluru

☆ British pay awards still lag inflation, but hold at record 6%: XpertHR
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Britain's households have been grappling with the highest rate of consumer price inflation among the major rich economies. The latest inflation data is due to be published later on Wednesday. XpertHR said median pay deals for the public sector stood at 4.5% in the year to June. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week offered wage increases of between 5% and 7% to several groups of public sector workers, to help settle months of public sector strikes. However, the pay rises were below Britain's inflation rate, and industrial action is still scheduled to take place over the coming weeks, with airport and public transport workers among others planning to walk out.

Persons: Kevin Coombs, Sheila Attwood, XpertHR, Rishi Sunak, Suban Abdulla, Andy Bruce Organizations: REUTERS, Kevin Coombs LONDON, Reuters, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: Canary Wharf, London, Britain, XpertHR

☆ Asking prices for UK homes slip as Bank of England's rates rises bite, survey shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Property website Rightmove said average asking prices of homes coming onto the market declined by 0.2% last month, compared with the 0% norm for this time of the year. Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove, said stubborn inflation and further mortgage rate rises contributed to the fall in prices and number of agreed sales. "The interest-rate brakes being applied more strongly to slow the economy are now beginning to bite in the housing market," Bannister said. The central bank increased its Bank Rate by more than expected to 5% in June, pushing up the cost of mortgage borrowing. Average two-year fixed mortgage rates reached a 15-year high last week.

Persons: Rightmove, Tim Bannister, Bannister, Suban Abdulla Organizations: ., Nationwide, Halifax, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: Britain

☆ China drives Burberry first-quarter sales jump
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A person walks past a Burberry store undergoing refurbishment on New Bond Street in London, Britain, March 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry NichollsLONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - British luxury fashion brand Burberry (BRBY.L) on Friday reported an 18% rise in its first-quarter comparable store sales, in line with market expectations thank to continued recovery in China. CEO Jonathan Akeroyd said outerwear and leather goods were performing well and he was excited about new products from designer Daniel Lee arriving in stores in September. Lee, who joined in September, unveiled his debut collection at London Fashion Week in February. Like-for-like leather goods sales increased 13%, with women's bags, especially the Frances shapes and vintage Burberry check performing well, the company said.

Persons: Henry Nicholls LONDON, Jonathan Akeroyd, Daniel Lee, Lee, Frances, Suban Abdulla, Paul Sandle, David Goodman Organizations: Burberry, New, REUTERS, London Fashion, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, China, Europe, Americas

LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - Britain's largest homebuilder Barratt Developments (BDEV.L) warned it would build far fewer homes this fiscal year as rising mortgage rates and stubborn inflation hit demand, sending its shares down more than 5% in early trading on Thursday. The FTSE 100-listed firm said it expected to build between 13,250 to 14,250 units in the year ending June 30, 2024, down from 17,206 homes the year before. Average two-year fixed mortgage rates hit a 15-year high earlier this week. Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor, said Thursday's trading update underlined the impact of rising rates on homebuyers, construction firms and other businesses linked to the housing market. High-end housebuilder Berkeley (BKGH.L) last month forecast a 20% drop in house build sales for its current fiscal year.

Persons: Barratt, Julie Palmer, Begbies Traynor, Suban Abdulla, Aby Jose Koilparambil, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Kate Holton, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Thomson Locations: London, Bengaluru

☆ UK buyers retreat from housing market, further slowdown seen - RICS
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - Britain's housing market showed signs of a slowdown in June and property surveyors expect activity to remain subdued as higher borrowing costs hit new buyer enquiries, according to an industry survey on Thursday. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said a net balance of -45 in a poll of its members reported a fall in new buyer enquiries last month, down from the -20 in May. Britain's housing market faces pressure from softer buyer demand and falling house prices against a backdrop of surging mortgage rates and the Bank of England's battle to tame stubborn inflation. Average two-year fixed mortgage rates hit a 15-year high earlier this week. British mortgage lender Halifax, last week said house prices fell by 2.6% year-on-year in June, the largest annual drop since 2011.

Persons: Liz Truss's, Simon Rubinsohn, Rubinsohn, Suban Abdulla, David Milliken Organizations: Royal Institution, Chartered Surveyors, Bank of, Financial, Halifax, Nationwide, Thomson

☆ UK mortgage rates surge to 15-year high after surpassing 'mini-budget' peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate climbed to 6.66%, narrowly exceeding the 6.65% touched on Oct. 20 and the highest since August 2008 when it stood at 6.94%, according to data provider Moneyfacts. Governor Andrew Bailey said last month there were signs of more persistent underlying inflation pressures after the BoE unexpectedly raised its Bank Rate to 5% in an effort to tame the highest inflation rate among the world's big rich economies. Swap rates, a key measure lenders use to determine the cost of mortgage borrowing, have also soared. The surge has prompted major mortgage lenders to repeatedly reprice home loan offerings. British homebuyers typically take out mortgages with an interest rate that is fixed for two or five years, and then remortgage on to a new fixed rate or accept a variable rate.

Persons: Liz Truss, Andrew Bailey, BoE, reprice, Andrew Asaam, Suban Adbulla, Sachin Ravikumar, William Schomberg, Kate Holton, Andy Bruce Organizations: Bank of England, Nationwide, Lloyds Bank, Santander, Tuesday, Treasury, Lloyds Banking Group, Thomson Locations: Britain's, British, Halifax

☆ Food prices squeeze consumers in June, hot weather boosts summer spending: BRC
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The BRC said retail spending increased by 4.9% in annual terms in June - roughly in line with its average this year, though stronger than May's 3.9% and a 1.0% drop a year earlier. However, the BRC data is not adjusted for inflation, so last month's increase in spending still reflects a fall in the volume of goods purchased. Previous BRC data showed prices among its members were up by an annual 8.4% on average in June, rising to 14.6% for food, despite a drop in the cost of some food products. Over the second quarter as a whole, food spending was up 9.8% while non-food spending grew just 0.3%. Paul Martin, UK head of retail at accountants KPMG, who sponsor the data, said stubborn food inflation was reducing shoppers' ability to spend on non-essential items.

Persons: Paul Martin, Martin, Will Hobbs, Hobbs, Suban Abdulla, David Milliken Organizations: British Retail Consortium, KPMG, Consumers, Bank of England, Barclays, Thomson Locations: Britain

☆ UK jobs market cools again, pay growth weakest since April 2021: REC
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and accountants KPMG said increases in starting salaries for permanent and temporary staff were the weakest since April 2021. The BoE, which has raised interest rates 13 times since late 2021 in an attempt to tame the highest inflation rate among the world's big rich economies, has said it expects pay growth to weaken, easing price pressures. The monthly REC survey showed the availability of staff rose for the fourth month in a row to 57.6 from 55.6 in May, the steepest month-on-month increase since November 2009 excluding the coronavirus pandemic period. REC said uncertainty over the economic outlook weighed on hiring decisions in June. Vacancies ticked up further in June although the pace of growth was the weakest since records started in March 2021.

Persons: BoE, Neil Carberry, REC's, Claire Warnes, Suban Abdulla, William Schomberg Organizations: Bank of England's, Confederation, KPMG, REC, Thomson

☆ UK firms most upbeat in 10 months despite economic headwinds, survey shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - British companies were the most upbeat about their trading prospects in 10 months in June and their hiring plans increased again but rising interest rates could prompt consumers to rein in spending, according to a survey published on Sunday. Trade body Make UK and accountants BDO said their measure of business optimism hit its highest since August 2022, helped by the survey's gauge of inflation pressure dropping to its lowest in nearly two years. The survey's employment index posted its fifth consecutive monthly increase with rises in the number of self-employed and part-time workers, despite a slowdown in output growth with manufacturers seeing the worst output reading since May 2020. The Bank of England, which is trying to curb the highest inflation rate among the world's big rich countries, is worried about long-term price pressures in the labour market and it is widely expected to continue raising interest rates. Reporting by Suban Abdulla Editing by William SchombergOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Suban Abdulla, William Schomberg Organizations: ., BDO, BDO LLP, The Bank of England, Thomson

"There has been significant upside news in recent data that indicates more persistence in the inflation process," the MPC said. BoE policymakers had given little indication that a half-point rate increase was under consideration in the run-up to Thursday's announcement. Expectations for BoE rate tightening have surged in recent days - sharply raising the cost of new mortgages - and before Thursday's decision financial markets expected the BoE's Bank Rate to peak at 6% by the end of the year. The central bank also noted that short-dated British government bond yields had risen sharply - pricing in an average level of Bank Rate of 5.5% for the next three years. Last month the central bank forecast that inflation would fall to just over 5% by the end of this year and be below its 2% target in early 2025.

Persons: BoE, Silvana Tenreyro, Swati Dhingra, Andrew Bailey, Jeremy Hunt, Joachim Nagel, Jerome Powell, David Milliken, Suban Abdulla, BRITAIN BOE Organizations: Bank of England, MPC, Reuters, Central, U.S . Federal, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Swedish, Norwegian, Britain

☆ UK consumer morale touches 17-month high despite inflation pain - GfK
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - British consumer sentiment hit its highest level since January 2022 as households turn more optimistic about their finance and economy, despite stubborn inflation and rising interest rates, market research firm GfK said on Friday. While British consumer price inflation has eased from the 41-year high of 11.1%, households are still grappling with the highest inflation rate among major rich economies, running at 8.7% in May, unchanged from April. "If consumers continue to weather the current economic storm, then this will provide a firm foundation for getting back to growth," Staton said. GfK said three measures of consumer sentiment edged up in June compared to the previous month when all five indicators pushed up. Reporting by Suban Abdulla; editing by David MillikenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: GfK, Liz Truss's, Joe Staton, Staton, BoE, Andrew Bailey, Suban Abdulla, David Milliken Organizations: Bank of England, Thomson

☆ UK housebuilder Berkeley flags demand woes despite annual profit jump
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 21 (Reuters) - Berkeley Group Holdings (BKGH.L) on Wednesday posted a near-10% jump in annual profit even as the British high-end homebuilder warned of demand concerns and tough market conditions due to elevated levels of interest rates. Berkeleys' update comes at a time strengthening prospects of further Bank of England interest rate hikes have stymied hopes of a strong recovery in the UK housing sector as lenders withdraw or reprice mortgage offerings. CEO Robert Perrins said business continued to see good levels of enquiries, but flagged concerns about the trajectory of interest rate rises. Operating across London, Birmingham and the South of England, Berkeley reported a pre-tax profit for the year ended April 30 of 604 million pounds ($772.5 million), compared with 551.5 million pounds reported a year earlier. The homebuilder had forecast a pre-tax profit of about 600 million pounds.

Persons: homebuilder, Moody's, Robert Perrins, Aby Jose Koilparambil, Suban Abdulla, Sherry Jacob, Phillips, Sohini Organizations: Berkeley Group Holdings, Bank of, Thomson Locations: Bank of England, Berkeley, London, Birmingham, England, Bengaluru

☆ UK house prices up 3.5% year-on-year in April
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 21 (Reuters) - British house prices increased by 3.5% in the 12 months to April, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Wednesday, slowing from the 4.1% rise in March. London was the region with the lowest annual growth, the ONS said, with prices in the capital up 2.4%. Britain's biggest mortgage lender, Halifax, earlier this month said house prices dropped by 1.0% year-on-year in May, the first annual decline since 2012. Rival Nationwide reported a 3.4% annual fall in prices, the largest since 2009. Reporting by Suban Abdulla; editing by David MillikenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Suban Abdulla, David Milliken Organizations: National Statistics, London, Bank of England, Nationwide, Thomson Locations: Halifax

☆ Squeeze on UK tenants tightens as rents outpace incomes, survey shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Asking and agreed rents continued to outpace incomes with tenants spending 28.3% of their pre-tax earnings on rent last month, above the 10-year average of 27%, Zoopla said. May's figures marked the 19th month in a row that rental price growth outstripped incomes. He expected affordability strains to slow the pace of rental growth in 2024. Inflation data for May is due to be published on Wednesday. Zoopla said 53% of renters it surveyed reported a rent rise in the six months to May, up from 35% six months earlier.

Persons: Toby Melville, Zoopla, Richard Donnell, Donnell, BoE, Moneyfacts, Liz Truss's, Zoopla's Donnell, Zoopla's, Suban Abdulla, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Homeowners, Bank of, Nationwide, HSBC, Halifax, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Bank of England

☆ Surging mortgage rates bring early summer slowdown for UK housing market: Rightmove
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Average asking prices over the previous decade for this time of the year had increased by 0.6% on average, the survey showed. Nationwide, Halifax and HSBC were some of the major lenders that have announced a shake-up in their mortgage rates. British homebuyers typically take out mortgages with an interest rate that is fixed for two or five years, and then remortgage on to a new fixed rate or accept a floating rate. While Britain's housing market activity recovered in early 2023 from the autumn turmoil triggered by the economic agenda of former prime minister Liz Truss, analysts are waiting to see how much interest rates rises will hurt the sector. Bannister said the increases in interest rates and monthly mortgage payments could prompt prospective buyers to pause.

Persons: Rightmove, Tim Bannister, BoE, we've, Bannister, remortgage, Liz Truss, Suban Abdulla, David Milliken Organizations: Bank of, ., Nationwide, HSBC, Bank of England, British, Thomson Locations: Bank of England, British, Halifax

LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) - Incoming Bank of England rate-setter Megan Greene signalled on Tuesday that the central bank may have a tough job returning British inflation to its 2% target, even if it drops quickly at first from double-digit figures. British inflation fell in April from double digits to 8.7% but this was still jointly the highest reading among Group of Seven countries, along with Italy. Short-dated British government bond yields rose to their highest level since 2008 as Greene spoke. She described inflation expectations in Britain as pretty well-anchored, but said there were lessons from the 1970s on how not to conduct monetary policy. Greene will replace MPC member Silvana Tenreyro, who has voted against the BoE's rate increases in recent months.

Persons: Megan Greene, Greene, Kroll, BoE, Silvana Tenreyro, Kylie MacLellan, Suban Abdulla, Sarah Young, Catherine Evans Organizations: Incoming Bank of, Monetary, parliament's, MPC, Thomson Locations: Italy, Britain, U.S

LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - Central banks like the Bank of England will find it hard to communicate the end of their rate-tightening cycle and should not sweat over this at the expense of taking steps to bring down inflation, BoE policymaker Catherine Mann said on Monday. "Fine-tuning is something that monetary policy is not very good at if the ultimate objective is to focus on inflation," Mann said at an event hosted by U.S. political strategists Signum Global Advisors. Many economists, by contrast, expect the BoE to stop sooner - or if not, to pause to assess the impact of the rapid series of rate rises. "Inflation expectations, in fact, are on the downswing even as some of these core and services prints have been more robust than we would have hoped for," Mann said. Economic activity had also continued to grow modestly and in line with expectations, Mann added.

Persons: BoE policymaker Catherine Mann, Mann, Signum, BoE, Jonathan Haskel, it's, David Milliken, Suban Abdulla, William James, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Bank of England, Signum Global Advisors, Bank of Canada, Monetary, MPC, Thomson Locations: Central, Britain, United States

☆ UK house prices post first annual drop since 2012, says Halifax
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - British house prices dropped on an annual basis in May for the first time in 11 years, and pressure on prospective buyers from higher mortgage rates could deepen the downturn, mortgage lender Halifax said on Wednesday. Kim Kinnaird, director of mortgages at Halifax, said demand was weakening and higher interest rates were likely to increase pressure on house prices. Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), on Tuesday said it would raise interest rates for its fixed home loans from Wednesday. The stronger-than-expected inflation data raised markets' bets interest rates will peak at 5.5% later this year. Nationwide, another lender, last week reported a steeper 0.5% month-on-month drop in house prices in April and a 3.4% annual decline - the biggest drop since 2009.

Persons: Kim Kinnaird, Liz Truss's, Kinnaird, Myron Jobson, Suban Abdulla, Andy Bruce, Paul Sandle, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Halifax, Lloyds Banking Group, Interactive Investor, Capital Economics, Nationwide, Thomson Locations: Halifax

☆ UK housing market improves but slowdown seen as rates rise-RICS
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

RICS' house price balance, which measures the difference between the percentage of surveyors seeing rises and falls in house prices, increased to -30 last month from -39 in April. However, analysts are forecasting another slowdown for the housing market with markets largely expecting the BoE's Bank Rate to peak at 5.5% later this year, up from 4.5% now. Britain's housing market staged a recovery earlier this year after former prime minister Liz Truss's "mini-budget" caused turmoil in financial markets in September and sent the cost of fixed mortgage rates sharply higher to above 6%. Britain's biggest mortgage lender, Halifax, on Wednesday said house prices dropped by 1.0% year-on-year in May, the first annual decline since 2012. Some mortgage lenders, including Halifax and Nationwide Building Society have ramped up their fixed mortgage rates in response to the rise in borrowing costs in financial markets.

Persons: RICS, Tarrant Parsons, Liz Truss's, BoE, Suban Abdulla, William Schomberg Organizations: Bank of England, Royal Institution, Chartered Surveyors, Nationwide, Nationwide Building Society, Thomson Locations: April's, Halifax

☆ Big global employers plan modest cuts to office space: Knight Frank
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Hannah BeierLONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - Half of large multinational companies plan to reduce office space as they adjust to hybrid working patterns, although the cuts are likely to be modest as few plan to go fully remote, a survey from real estate agents Knight Frank showed on Tuesday. Knight Frank said 50% of employers with more than 50,000 staff intended to reduce office space, typically by 10% to 20% in the next three years, as they reassess their needs following the introduction of remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic. But at companies with up to 10,000 staff split across different countries, most expected to increase office space. Mat Oakley, head of commercial research at Savills said demand for office space in London had increased, and flexible working appeared less of a challenge than previously thought. "There are definitely challenges for office demand but these have been largely overstated particularly when you take into consideration employment growth," Oakley said.

Persons: Hannah Beier LONDON, Knight Frank, Tim Armstrong, Antony Antoniou, Robert Irving Burns, Mat Oakley, Savills, Oakley, Suban Abdulla, David Milliken Organizations: FMC Corporation, REUTERS, Bank of England, British, Land Securities, P, Thomson Locations: Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, U.S, Britain, Mat, London

☆ UK consumers slow spending in May as rising food costs bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The BRC said spending in its members' stores increased 3.9% in annual terms last month, well above the 1.1% fall a year ago. May's retail sales growth was the slowest since the 1.6% recorded in October 2022 when consumers cut back on purchases as inflation soared to a 41-year high of 11.1%. The BRC data is not adjusted for inflation, so May's sales growth reflects a fall in the volume of goods purchased. Food was almost the only area where consumers spent more last month, due to higher prices as well as celebrations to mark the coronation of King Charles. Separate figures from Barclays on Tuesday also showed high inflation and rising food prices continued to eat away at consumers' spending power.

Persons: BRC, King Charles ., Paul Martin, Silvia Ardagna, Suban Abdulla, David Milliken Organizations: British Retail Consortium, Food, KPMG, Bank of England, Barclays, Thomson

☆ Confidence returning to UK housing market as asking prices jump: Rightmove
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"One reason for this increased confidence may be that the gloomy start-of-the-year predictions for the market are looking increasingly unlikely," Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove, said. Earlier this year, British house prices were forecast by sector analysts to fall by as much as 15% by mid-2024. Rightmove said mortgage rates had been stable on a week-to-week basis. Mortgage lender Halifax said earlier this month that property prices grew at the slowest annual pace in over 10 years in April. But rival Nationwide said prices rose by a monthly 0.5% in April after falling for the seven previous months.

☆ Burberry fourth quarter sales jump 16% as China rebounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - British luxury fashion brand Burberry (BRBY.L) reported stronger-than-expected fourth quarter sales on Thursday, boosted by a rebound in its largest market China following three years of COVID-19 restrictions. In the quarter to April 1, comparable store sales rose 16%, accelerating from 1% in the third quarter and above a company compiled consensus of 14%. Sales in Mainland China rose 13%. "We have delivered a strong financial performance, supported by good progress in our core leather goods and outerwear categories, with revenue accelerating in the fourth quarter as growth rebounded in Mainland China," chief executive Jonathan Akeroyd said in a statement on Thursday. The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) group's luxury rivals LVMH (LVMH.PA) and Hermes (HRMS.PA) have also reported a bounce in first quarter sales due to a recovery in China and wider Asian markets.

☆ Nearly 6 million Britons missed payments on bills, regulator says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) - Millions of British borrowers repeatedly missed payments on bills in the six months to January amid the steep surge in the cost of living and higher interest rates, a survey from the Financial Conduct Authority regulator showed on Tuesday. The FCA said the number of adults in Britain who missed payments on domestic bills or failed to meet any of their credit commitments in three or more of the six months to January rose to 5.6 million from 4.2 million in May 2022. The latest survey also showed a significant rise in the number of people struggling to keep up with payments who now accounted for one in five adults. "The convergence of higher living costs and higher interest rates has pushed people’s finances right to the edge and sometimes over," Karen Noye, mortgage expert at Quilter said. It also said it will introduce its Consumer Duty rule in the coming months, requiring firms to ensure they provide better support for consumers.

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