British lenders approved more than 100,000 new mortgages in November, the most since the start of the financial crisis in 2007, defying expectations of a slowdown in the housing market boom that started after the first COVID lockdown.
Dump the dollar! Buy emerging markets! Stay sustainable! These are among the consensus trades investment banks and asset managers reckon will dominate financial markets in 2021.
British consumer confidence rose to its highest since February in the first half of December, before a new variant of COVID-19 prompted the government to tighten lockdown restrictions across England, a survey showed on Thursday.
Last December, the first infection with the new coronavirus was reported to the World Health Organization. Twelve months later, as the charts below show, global financial markets have been on a roller coaster like no other.
LONDON (Reuters) -British house prices rose faster than expected in December to record their biggest annual increase in six years, as tax incentives and COVID-driven appetite for larger homes continued to boost demand, mortgage lender Nationwide said.
A gauge of confidence among British consumers jumped by the most in eight years in December, boosted by the launch of the country's coronavirus vaccine programme, a survey showed on Friday.
Google should voluntarily take action immediately to better vet paid-for promotions for financial products, Britain's Financial Conduct Authority said on Thursday after a damning report on the watchdog's handling of a collapsed fund.
LONDON (Reuters) -British finance minister Rishi Sunak announced on Thursday that he would extend a job support programme by another month until the end of April, and that businesses would be able to get new COVID loans until the end of March.
The Bank of England said it was ready to tolerate an inflation spike in the event of a no-deal Brexit in two weeks' time, but kept its stimulus unchanged as Britain and the European Union enter the end game of their trade deal talks.
Britain's competition regulator said on Wednesday it would investigate whether airlines had breached consumers' legal rights by failing to offer cash refunds for flights they could not legally take during a COVID-19 lockdown.
British property website Rightmove forecast house price inflation would slow modestly to 4% next year, retaining much of its momentum despite the looming end of a tax break and forecasts of rising unemployment.
Five years ago, many investors and executives would have politely told Jill Atkins to buzz off.
Soaring funding costs for Britain's subprime lenders are making it hard for them to meet growing demand from households crushed by the pandemic, industry executives and experts told Reuters.