Business news live: FTSE 100 near record levels and latest gold, bitcoin and oil price updates
In the domestic mortgages market, lenders continue to battle for the hundreds of thousands of homeowners expected to seek new terms on their deals this year, with Barclays lowering more rates into the sub-4 per cent range and Lloyds announcing their plans to make the most of changed regulations allowing more than 4.5 times income to be lent to prospective buyers.
Meanwhile, two investment banks - Bank of America and Goldman Sachs - have differing views on how fast the Bank of England will reduce interest rates for the rest of 2025, though both expect a cut in August.
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Viktor Gyokeres finally gets his wish as Arsenal-bound striker boards private jet to London after going on strike at Sporting to seal £64m move
Viktor Gyokeres has boarded a flight to London after Arsenal reportedly reached total agreement for the transfer of the Sweden star. The Gunners had been in prolonged negotiations with Sporting Lisbon for the forward's transfer, and are now believed to have agreed a deal, with personal terms not an issue. Gyokeres' agency, HC Media, shared footage of Gyokeres boarding what appeared to be a private jet to make his way to the English capital to finalise the move. More to follow.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
US dollar gains, but set for weekly drop as Fed, BOJ in focus
LONDON/NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar advanced on Friday, bolstered by solid economic data that suggested the Federal Reserve was justified in taking a patient approach to cutting interest rates, while tariff negotiations showed more clarity. "The dollar regained some ground the past two days, after being on the defensive earlier in the week ... supported mostly by an encouraging set of U.S. economic data that argues for continued patience at the Fed," said Elias Haddad, senior markets strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in London. The U.S. currency, however, showed little reaction to data showing new orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods unexpectedly fell in June while shipments of those products increased moderately. That suggested business spending on equipment slowed considerably in the second quarter. The greenback was set for its biggest weekly drop in a month, ahead of more tariff dialogue and central bank meetings next week, while sterling dipped after softer-than-expected British retail sales data. Both the Fed and the Bank of Japan are expected to hold rates steady at next week's policy meetings, but traders are focusing on the subsequent comments to gauge the timing of the next moves. Politics is a factor for both central banks, most dramatically in the U.S., where President Donald Trump once again pressed for lower interest rates on Thursday as he locked horns with Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Brown Brothers' Haddad said the Fed's monetary policy is being "overshadowed by the political pressure to lower interest rates. That's one of the reasons why I think the dollar's upside is limited." The dollar managed to recover a touch against the euro late on Thursday, however, after Trump said he did not intend to fire Powell, as he has frequently suggested he could. "The market relief was based on the fact that Trump refrained from calling for Powell to go, although that was based on Trump's view that Powell would 'do the right thing'," said Derek Halpenny, head of EMEA research at MUFG. He added, however, that "the theme of Fed independence being undermined by the White House will unlikely go away and remains a downside risk for the dollar." Falls against the euro and yen leave the dollar index , which measures the dollar against six other currencies, at 97.45, on track for a drop of 0.75% this week, its weakest performance in a month, though it bounced back 0.3% on Friday. Meanwhile, in Japan, though the trade deal signed with the U.S. this week could make it easier for the BOJ to continue rate hikes, the bruising loss for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's coalition in upper house elections on Sunday complicates life for the BOJ. The yen was softer, thanks in part to below-expectations Tokyo inflation data, with the dollar last up 0.5% at 147.66 yen, though on course for a weekly 0.7% fall. The euro was down 0.2% at $1.1728 but set for a weekly gain of 0.8%. The common currency took some support Thursday from the European Central Bank meeting. Policymakers left the policy rate at 2%, as expected, but the bank's relatively upbeat assessment of the economic outlook and signs that an EU-U.S. trade deal is near caused investors to reassess previous assumptions of one more rate cut this year. In contrast, soft British data is supporting expectations of more Bank of England rate cuts, and causing euro zone bond yields to rise faster than British ones, supporting the euro against the pound. The euro rose as much as 0.23% on sterling to 87.27 pence on Friday, its highest since April, building on a 0.44% gain the previous day. Data on Friday showed British retail sales data for June slightly below analysts' expectations, albeit rebounding from a sharp drop in May, after figures on Thursday showed business activity grew only weakly in July and employers cut jobs at the fastest pace in five months. The pound was last down 0.6% on the dollar at $1.3434 .
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
North Norfolk has highest proportion of properties owned outright
Nearly half of properties in North Norfolk are owned outright by their occupants, a higher proportion than any other local authority in England, new figures show. The thin strip of East Anglia coastline, which includes the seaside towns of Cromer and Sheringham, has for several years been the area of England with the largest percentage of population aged 65 and over. The data has been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as part of its latest estimates of household tenure, which also includes figures for accommodation that is rented or owned with a mortgage or loan. North Norfolk tops the list for the highest percentage of properties owned outright by occupants (49.8%), followed by Rother in East Sussex (48.7%), Staffordshire Moorlands (48.2%), Derbyshire Dales (48.2%) and East Lindsey in Lincolnshire (47.3%). Three of these five – North Norfolk, Rother and East Lindsey – are also the local authorities where people aged 65 and over account for the largest share of the population. The areas with the greatest proportion of homes owned outright by occupants tend to be in coastal regions or away from cities, the ONS said. The top five with the lowest percentage of outright ownership are all in London: Tower Hamlets (8.4%), Hackney (10.0%), Southwark (10.8%), Islington (11.8%) and Lambeth (12.1%). However, the trend is reversed for properties that are privately rented. Here the top five areas with the highest proportion are all in the capital: City of London (51.8%), Westminster (47.9%), Kensington & Chelsea (42.8%), Newham (41.1%) and Tower Hamlets (41.0%). The bottom five are outside cities and away from heavily built-up areas: North East Derbyshire (10.3%), South Staffordshire (10.6%), Rochford in Essex (10.6%), Bromsgrove in Worcestershire (10.7%) and Maldon in Essex (11.7%). The ONS figures are for 2023 and suggest there were a total of 23.7 million households in England living in 25.4 million dwellings. Of this total, 8.3 million dwellings (32.6%) were owned outright, 7.6 million (29.8%) were owned with a mortgage or a loan, 5.3 million (20.8%) were privately rented and 4.2 million (16.7%) were socially rented, mainly from housing associations and local authorities. Wokingham in Berkshire has the highest proportion of properties owned with a mortgage or loan (42.3%), followed by Dartford in Kent (41.4%), Hart in Hampshire (39.5%), Bracknell Forest in Berkshire (39.4%) and Reigate & Banstead in Surrey (39.0%). The areas with the lowest proportion are again all in London: Westminster (13.3%), Kensington & Chelsea (13.8%), Camden (14.9%), City of London (15.1%) and Islington (17.1%). For properties that are socially rented, the top five areas are in the capital: Islington (38.9%), Southwark (38.5%), Hackney (38.5%), Lambeth (33.4%) and Camden (31.7%). The bottom five are Castle Point in Essex (5.3%), Wokingham (7.1%), Medway in Kent (7.3%), Wyre in Lancashire (7.6%) and Ribble Valley in Lancashire (7.8%).
