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☆ UK housing market weakness continues, improvement on the horizon - RICS
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

RICS's gauges of buyer demand, sales, new listings and house prices were all in negative territory last month. However, its indicators looking ahead pointed to hints of stability in Britain's housing market in the coming 12 months. The sales expectations balance for 12 months' time rose to +1, its highest since March 2022. Mortgage lender Nationwide reported a 3.1% drop in house prices in the year to March - the fastest annual fall since July 2009 - while rival Halifax said prices grew 1.6% year-on-year. Its non-seasonally adjusted monthly tenant demand growth indicator hit a five-month high, with a net balance of +46.

☆ UK house sales at pre-COVID levels after 'mini-budget' shock - Rightmove
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Property website Rightmove (RMV.L) said the number of sales agreed between sellers and buyers was just 1% lower last month than in March 2019 as borrowing costs edged down from their leap after the September 'mini-budget'. However, while the total number of agreed sales had improved from being 21% below 2019 levels as recently as January, they remained down 18% when compared with March 2022. Real estate agents noted a "significant upswing" in buyer demand for apartments of all sizes, with agreed sales rising 10% from 2019, up from a fall of 11% at the start of 2023. London saw the most pronounced recovery in the broader market, with overall agreed sales increasing 11% compared to March 2019, and agreed sales of apartments 23% higher. Rightmove said a third of properties were reduced from their original asking price, up from 19% last year although in line with pre-pandemic levels.

☆ A crash involving a Tesla and a student who just got out of a school bus is being investigated by authorities, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Tesla may have been using assisted driving technology when it struck a student, per The AP. The 17-year-old had exited a school bus in Halifax County, North Carolina on March 15. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation, per The AP. A 51-year-old man was driving a 2022 Tesla Model Y, which failed to stop despite the bus displaying its warning signals. The NHTSA, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, and Tesla didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

☆ U.S. opens safety probe into Tesla that struck student in North Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Tesla Inc FollowWASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) - U.S. safety authorities said on Friday they are investigating whether an advanced driver assistance system was in use when a Tesla struck a 17-year-old student that exited a school bus in North Carolina. NHTSA said Tesla's advanced driver assistance systems were suspected of being in use in the North Carolina crash. The agency has ruled out Tesla Autopilot use in three other special crash investigations. The local fire department said a Tesla struck one of its fire trucks and the Tesla driver was pronounced dead at the scene. In June, NHTSA upgraded to an engineering analysis its defect probe into 830,000 Tesla vehicles with driver assistance system Autopilot that involves crashes with parked emergency vehicles including fire trucks.

☆ London's FTSE 100 climbs ahead of Easter break
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Sruthi Shankar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The FTSE 100 (.FTSE) rose 0.5% and is on course to end the holiday-shortened week about 1% higher, with gains in oil & gas and healthcare stocks offering support. Shell (SHEL.L) rose 1.7% as the energy giant forecast higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) output in the first quarter. The midcap FTSE 250 index (.FTMC) rose 0.2%, with London-listed shares of travel firm TUI jumping 7.2% after sharp losses this week. "The report noted mortgage rates have continued to trend downwards, housing transactions have picked up slightly and the employment market remains robust. We still see challenges ahead as affordability remains under pressure," said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.

☆ Gold slips on firmer dollar ahead of US payrolls data
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Gold bars are pictured at the plant of gold and silver refiner and bar manufacturer Argor-Heraeus in Mendrisio, Switzerland, July 13, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoApril 6 (Reuters) - Gold prices fell on Thursday as the dollar firmed ahead of a much awaited U.S. non-farm payrolls report, as investors sought clarity on whether the Federal Reserve might take a breather on its monetary tightening path. * Investors now await Friday's non-farm payrolls report for March, with economists polled by Reuters expecting new jobs of about 240,000. * Markets see a 54.2% chance of the Fed standing pat on interest rates in May, according to the CME FedWatch tool. * While gold is traditionally considered a hedge against inflation, higher interest rates dim non-yielding bullion's appeal.

☆ Morning Bid: Weary markets wary of recession
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Asian stocks sagged, while the dollar was on the front foot as investors kept their risk-off hat ahead of the long weekend. Oil prices eased after the shock at the start of the week from OPEC+ to cut production. Futures hint at a muted open in Europe, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index aiming to break its losing streak this week. European equities had a stellar start to the year but the March madness due to the banking turmoil has weighed. Meanwhile, UBS executives sought to assure investors on Wednesday that Switzerland's largest bank can make its shotgun takeover of Swiss rival Credit Suisse work.

☆ UK house prices rise for 3rd month in a row, Halifax says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 6 (Reuters) - British house prices rose for a third month in a row in March, representing a further calming of the market after the turmoil sparked by former Prime Minister Liz Truss's "mini-budget" last September, data from mortgage lender Halifax showed. House prices rose by 0.8% in month-on-month terms, Halifax said on Thursday, the second-strongest gain since June last year after February's 1.2% increase. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a 0.3% drop on the month. House prices were 1.6% higher than a year ago. But other indicators, such as the BoE's mortgage approvals data and a measure of asking prices compiled by property company Rightmove, have suggested the market has become more stable in recent months.

☆ UK mortgage approvals rose more than expected in February: BoE
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The increase follows reports from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveys and mortgage lender Halifax that show the downturn in the housing market is no longer accelerating, even if conditions remain weak. Britain's housing market slowed sharply after September when former prime minister Liz Truss's economic plans triggered a spike in mortgage rates and a dramatic fall in approvals. "Reflecting the partial unwinding of the spike in mortgage rates following the 'mini' budget, mortgage approvals rose to their highest level for three months in February," said Andrew Wishart, economist at consultancy Capital Economics. "However, with mortgage rates unlikely to fall much further in the near term, lending will remain weak." Net mortgage lending value terms, which lags approvals, fell in February to 738 million pounds from 2 billion pounds in January, the lowest reading since July 2021.

After almost 40,000 asylum seekers entered Canada from the U.S. through irregular border crossings last year, the two countries revised their two-decade-old asylum pact last week to stem the flow of asylum seekers. After moving thousands of asylum seekers from Quebec to Ontario, the federal government relocated some 393 asylum seekers to the Atlantic provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland as of March 19, according to official data. These transfers over the past several months have been Canada's first relocations of asylum seekers, the government said. Some of the asylum seekers and advocates told Reuters there is inadequate access to legal counsel, potentially jeopardizing refugee claims. Chamagne said her three staff lawyers are trying to help 164 asylum seekers transferred to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

☆ UK house prices slide further but market pessimism eases: RICS
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) house price balance, which measures the difference between the percentage of surveyors seeing rises and falls in house prices, fell to -48 in February from -46 the previous month - the lowest reading since April 2009. While Thursday's survey still showed the housing market firmly in decline, some measures indicated that a more stable picture was emerging in 2023, RICS said. Tarrant Parsons, senior economist at RICS, said he expected housing market activity to remain subdued over the coming months. "Given the ongoing weakness in demand, house prices remain on a downward trajectory, and are expected to see further falls through the first half of the year at least," Parsons said. In contrast, another lender, Nationwide, last week said house prices dropped by the most in more than 10 years in February.

☆ Morning Bid: Don't fight central banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Anshuman DagaJudging by the improved mood in global equity markets, investors are once again having a go at central banks. Will Powell be able to send a decisive message to markets about the future pace of interest rate increases? Fed, ECB and BoE 'terminal rates' riseThe European Central Bank has already raised rates to 2.5%, a 3 percentage point increase since July and essentially promised another half a percentage point increase on March 16. Strategists at BlackRock Investment Institute expect the trend to end as recent data pushes the European Central Bank to raise rates and keep them higher for longer. And Schroders' analysts are in the camp of those who expect interest rates to be kept on hold by the ECB from March.

☆ UK house prices bounce unexpectedly in February: Halifax
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - British house prices jumped unexpectedly in February, potentially reflecting improvements in consumer confidence and the mortgage market, lender Halifax said on Tuesday, but the overall trend remained downwards. House prices rose 1.1% month-on-month, following a 0.2% rise in January, Halifax said. Most other gauges of the housing market are yet to show a similar improvement after a recent slide in house prices from highs hit following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week another lender, Nationwide, said house prices dropped by the most in more than 10 years during February. House prices were 2.1% higher than a year ago, Halifax said.

☆ Sterling slips after BoE's Mann warns of risks for the pound
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - Sterling slipped against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, after a Bank of England (BoE) rate-setter warned that the pound could be vulnerable to Federal Reserve and European Central Bank (ECB) outlooks. The pound could depreciate if investors have not yet fully priced in hawkish messages from central bank peers, Catherine Mann told Bloomberg Television in an interview. "The important question for me with regard to the pound is how much of that existing hawkish tone is already priced into the pound," she said. Traders are also attaching a 93% chance of a 25-basis-point rate increase when the central bank meets to decide policy on March 23. There's no probability priced in that the bank could raise rates by more than that.

☆ Canada's Trudeau to bring up asylum-seeker pact during Biden visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Ismail Shakil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OTTAWA, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday he will discuss re-negotiating a border pact that makes it difficult to turn back asylum seekers entering through unofficial crossings when U.S. President Joe Biden visits Ottawa in March. Asked about the STCA on Thursday, Trudeau said he has told Biden in past conversations that reworking the agreement was a "shared priority to ensure the safety of our shared border." Biden will make his first visit to Canada in March since taking office two years ago. The movement of asylum-seekers into Canada from the United States has picked up since Canada lifted COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in late 2021. More than 39,000 refugees entered Canada last year via unofficial crossings, the vast majority via Roxham Road.

☆ Lloyds full-year profit flat as bad loan charge weighs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) reported flat annual profit for 2022 on Wednesday, as a jump in income driven by higher interest rates was offset by mounting bad loan provisions. Britain's biggest mortgage lender reported pretax profit of 6.9 billion pounds ($8.4 billion), unchanged on the prior year and in line with analyst forecasts compiled by the bank. The bank announced it would pay a 1.6 pence per share final dividend and a share buyback of up to 2 billion pounds, taking total shareholder returns for 2022 up to 3.6 billion pounds. Lloyds set aside 1.5 billion pounds over the year to cover potential defaults, compared to a 1.4 billion pound release of provisions in 2021 as the economy rebounded from COVID-19 lockdowns. Lloyds' revenue leapt 14% to 18 billion pounds and it raised its medium and long-term outlook for returns.

Lloyds set aside 1.5 billion pounds in 2022 to cover potential loan distress, a year after releasing 1.4 billion pounds of provisions as the economy rebounded from COVID-19. The bank reported pre-tax profit of 6.9 billion pounds ($8.4 billion) for 2022, unchanged on the previous year and in line with analyst forecasts it had compiled. It plans to pay a 1.6 pence per share final dividend and a share buyback of up to 2 billion pounds, taking total shareholder returns for 2022 up to 3.6 billion pounds. Expenses also rose 6% to 8.8 billion, partly due to rising wage bills as Lloyds boosted its staff bonus pool by 12% to 446 million pounds. Lloyds also said it had bought Tusker, a vehicle leasing company that provides electric vehicles via salary sacrifice schemes, for 300 million pounds.

☆ Morning Bid: Market to ChatGPT: what's Powell gotta say?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] ChatGPT logo and rising stock graph are seen in this illustration taken, February 3, 2023. Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unveiled a rival to super popular ChatGPT, saying it will launch a chatbot service named 'Bard'. Asian shares held their ground while the rally in the U.S. dollar took a breather on Tuesday. Reuters GraphicsMeanwhile, a deadly earthquake killed more than 3,700 people across a swathe of Turkey and northwest Syria, sending Turkey's lira to a record low. Before Powell takes centre stage and hogs the limelight, Bank of England's Huw Pill is also due to speak and his comments on monetary policy will likely move markets.

☆ UK house prices stabilise after four-month fall, Halifax says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - British house prices were unchanged in January after falling in month-on-month terms in each of the previous four months after borrowing costs rose, mortgage lender Halifax said on Tuesday. The annual rate of house price growth slowed to 1.9%, the weakest increase in three years, Halifax said. Kim Kinnaird, a director at Halifax Mortgages, said the trend of higher borrowing costs hitting demand was likely to continue in 2023. "Lower house prices and the potential for interest rates to peak below the level being anticipated last year should lead to an improvement in home-buying affordability over time." Rival mortgage lender Nationwide said last week its measure of house prices dropped by a bigger-than-expected 0.6% in January and was 3.2% below its peak in August.

☆ Asking prices for UK homes rise after "mini-budget" shock, Rightmove says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Asking prices for British homes rose for the first time in two months as the housing market showed signs of calming after the turmoil triggered by former prime minister Liz Truss's "mini-budget", property website Rightmove (RMV.L) said on Monday. Asking prices for residential properties increased by 0.9%, or 3,301 pounds ($4,032.50) in the Dec. 4-Jan. 7 period from a month earlier, after a 2.1% fall over the previous month, Rightmove said. However, average asking prices were still 2% below their October 2022 peak. Two- and five-year fixed rates have fallen for a second month to 5.8% and 5.6% respectively, according to data from website Moneyfacts. In annual terms, property prices rose 6.3% in January, up from a rise of 5.6% the month before.

☆ Analysis: UK housebuilders may cut dividends as surging rates deter buyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Ajose Koilparambil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The big, listed UK housebuilders have paid dividends worth 2.2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) for their respective last financial years. Potential cuts in dividends would weigh down on shares of housebuilders, after the sector index (.FTNMX402020) slumped more than 44% in 2022. Among the FTSE 100 builders, analysts are now forecasting dividend cuts from many firms, particularly those whose payouts are linked to earnings growth. High-end housebuilder Berkeley (BKGH.L) stuck to its cash-return plans, but cut its earnings estimates for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years. Barratt, Persimmon and Berkeley have said they would be more cautious with land purchases, in a bid to reduce outgoings as falling property prices squeeze margins.

☆ UK construction activity falls by most since May 2020 -PMI
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - British construction activity fell last month at its sharpest rate since May 2020, as new orders dried up in the face of rising interest rates and broader cost pressures, a survey showed on Friday. "The UK's construction sector registered a relatively poor finish to 2022, with business activity falling into decline following a three-month growth sequence amid the fastest contraction in new work since the initial pandemic period in May 2020," S&P economist Lewis Cooper said. Britain's construction sector had been performing strongly earlier in 2022, with output up 7.4% in the year to October according to official data. However, Bank of England interest rates have been rising steeply - hitting a 14-year high of 3.5% in December - and house prices have recently started to fall. The construction PMI showed falls in both house building and civil engineering work.

☆ UK house prices post biggest quarterly drop since 2009: Halifax
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - British house prices slid again in December, capping the largest quarterly drop since the financial crisis more than 10 years ago, data from mortgage lender Halifax showed on Friday. The average house price fell 1.5% month-on-month in December, following a 2.4% fall in November and marking the fourth consecutive monthly decline, Halifax said. In quarterly terms, house prices fell 2.5% - the biggest drop since the three months to February 2009. Halifax expects house prices to drop 8% in 2023 - although Kinnaird noted that this would only mean a return to levels last seen in April 2021. House prices surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as people rushed to buy bigger homes with gardens, fuelled by temporary tax incentives.

☆ UK housing market stalls, credit card borrowing accelerates: BoE data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Britain's housing market slowed dramatically in November and people ramped up borrowing on credit cards, according to Bank of England data on Wednesday that underscored the effects of rising interest rates and the cost-of-living crisis. British lenders approved 46,075 mortgages in November, down from 57,875 in October and marking the lowest level since June 2020, when the housing market slowed to a crawl following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other gauges of the housing market show a sharp slowdown underway after house prices surged by around a quarter during the pandemic. The BoE said lending to consumers rose in net terms by 1.5 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) in November - driven by a 1.2 billion jump in credit card borrowing, the largest such increase since March 2004. "November's money and credit figures showed further signs that higher interest rates are dampening activity, particularly in the housing market.

☆ UK's Nationwide forecasts 5% house price fall for 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

British house prices rose by more than a quarter in the two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as people sought more space to live and took advantage of low borrowing costs and tax incentives. However, prices have now started to fall, with Nationwide reporting three consecutive monthly drops in average house prices for the first time since 2008. Financial market turmoil in late September and early October added to the slowdown, as many lenders temporarily withdrew mortgage offers until market interest rates stabilised. "Financial market conditions have now settled with long-term interest rates returning to the levels prevailing before the mini-Budget. However, mortgage rates are taking longer to normalise and activity levels in the housing market have shown few signs of recovery," Nationwide's Gardner said.

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