DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Wayfair CEO likens home goods slowdown to 2008 financial crisis: 'Customers remain cautious'
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | In Gabrielle-Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The first Wayfair brick-and-mortar store prepares to open on May 02, 2024 in Wilmette, Illinois. Online home goods company Wayfair saw sales decline in its fiscal second quarter as its CEO likened the current slowdown in the home goods category to the 2008 financial crisis. "Our credit card data suggests that the category correction now mirrors the magnitude of the peak to trough decline the home furnishing space experienced during the great financial crisis," Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah said in a news release. "Customers remain cautious in their spending on the home." The company saw adjusted EBITDA of $163 million during the quarter, still below the $168 million that Wall Street had expected, according to StreetAccount.

Persons: Niraj Shah, tailer, Wayfair, they've, Kate Gulliver, Jerome Powell, Shah Organizations: LSEG, CNBC Locations: Wilmette , Illinois

WHY HAVE UK MORTGAGE RATES SOARED? There are two main types of mortgage rate - variable and fixed. Fixed rate mortgages lock in a particular interest rate upfront, usually for a period of two to five years. Banks say they have to reflect these market moves to avoid pricing mortgages at a loss. Critics say banks could do much more, particularly as they have passed rate rises through to savers much more slowly than mortgage rates have risen.

Persons: BoE, Banks, Nicholas Mendes, John Charcol, Mendes, Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, Roger Gewolb, Sinead Cruise, Iain Withers, Catherine Evans Organizations: Soaring, Bank of, WHO, Finance, ASK, Labour, Fair Finance, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Britain, Bank of England, States

☆ Congolese artist paints politicians' portraits in plastic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Crispin Kyala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Congolese artist Patrick Cikuru Cirimwami applies finishing touches on portrait images of Congolese leaders, made from plastic waste, which he melts after collecting it near the banks of the Ruzizi I hydroelectric plant, in Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Crispin KyalangalilwaBUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Near the banks of Lake Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, artist Patrick Cikuru Cirimwami wades knee-deep through a mountain of plastic bottles, scooping as many as he can carry into a large sack. Later he will melt down the plastic to make a thick liquid which he uses to paint portraits of politicians - intended to be a condemnation of what he says is their inaction in protecting the environment. As a Congolese artist, I can send a message," said the 26-year-old. Congo, like other African nations, has insisted on its right to develop its economy by exploiting its vast natural resources.

"The mortgage crisis is going to be bigger than energy now," said Richard Murphy, professor of accounting practice at Sheffield University, warning of a drop in house prices that could leave many with debt greater than the value of their home. This comes on top of a cost of living crisis driven by rising food and energy prices which is already biting many hard. CALL FOR CALMBeyond the immediate squeeze this will have on consumers' ability to spend, rising borrowing costs also have the potential to send the years-long house market rally into reverse: HSBC analysts predict house price falls of 7.5% into next year. Some top mortgage lenders are calling for calm, stressing they are still signing mortgage deals and that the pullback in lending among smaller rivals is in no way indicative of a broader, exodus of lenders from the mortgage market. Chris Huddleston, chief executive of international brokerage company FXD Capital, said he expected the mortgage market to remain in limbo in coming weeks as investors watch currency markets and how the Bank of England reacts.

Search resuls for: "Fair Finance"

4 mentions found