AI Is Already Showing Signs of Slashing Job Openings in the UK
Job vacancies have declined across the board in the UK as employers cut costs in the face of sluggish growth and high borrowing rates, with the overall number of online job postings down 31% in the three months to May compared with the same period in 2022, a McKinsey & Co. analysis found.
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Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Reeves hails ‘instant impact' for aspiring homeowners as red tape is cut
First-time buyers are set to see an 'instant impact' from the drive to kickstart economic growth, Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to say. More mortgages will be available at more than 4.5 times a buyer's income following recent Bank of England recommendations that some lenders can offer more high loan-to-income mortgages if they choose to. This will create up to 36,000 additional mortgages for first-time buyers over the first year, the Government said. Britain's biggest building society – Nationwide – announced last week that it is aiming to increase its high loan-to-income lending limit. From Wednesday, eligible first-time buyers can apply for Nationwide's Helping Hand mortgage with a £30,000 salary, down from £35,000, and joint applicants with a £50,000 combined salary – down from £55,000. It is estimated this will support an additional 10,000 first-time buyers each year. The changes will sit alongside the creation of a permanent mortgage guarantee scheme, delivering on a manifesto commitment, and a review of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) lending rules that could allow prospective buyers' records of paying rent on time to be used to show they can afford mortgage repayments. Reforms will be outlined in Leeds ahead of Ms Reeves's Mansion House speech on Tuesday evening. Speaking in the City of London, the Chancellor is expected to say: 'I welcome the recent changes the (Bank of England) Financial Policy Committee has announced to the loan-to-income limit on mortgage lending, which the PRA (Prudential Regulation Authority) and FCA are implementing immediately. 'With an instant impact for consumers, such as Nationwide offering its Helping Hand mortgage to more first-time buyers – supporting an additional 10,000 each year.' Ms Reeves is expected to add: 'Today, I have placed financial services at the heart of the Government's growth mission. 'Recognising that Britain cannot succeed and meet its growth ambitions without a financial services sector that is fighting fit and thriving. 'And I have been clear on the benefits that that will drive. 'With a ripple effect that will drive investment in all sectors of our economy and put pounds in the pockets of working people.' Nicholas Mendes, mortgage technical manager at broker John Charcol, said: 'The decision to widen access to Nationwide's Helping Hand mortgage by lowering the income thresholds will offer an immediate and practical benefit to a group of people who have often found themselves just on the wrong side of affordability criteria. 'For someone earning £30,000 on their own, or couples on a combined income of £50,000, this change could be the difference between continuing to rent and finally being able to move into a home of their own. 'It acknowledges the gap between headline figures and real life, and it shows a willingness to make the system better reflect the pressures people are actually under. 'It will also bring particular value to those in stable, lower-paid roles that are so essential to society but are often overlooked by traditional lending models. 'People working in care, education, retail, and public service are typically in long-term employment and manage their finances carefully, yet they are the very people who have found the doors to homeownership closed to them. 'This reform suggests that financial discipline is being recognised more broadly than by salary alone, and that is a very welcome shift. 'Equally, the recognition that a person's history of paying rent should be considered when assessing their ability to repay a mortgage is something many in the industry have been calling for over many years. 'If someone has shown, consistently and over time, that they can manage rental payments at a level equal to or even above the mortgage they are applying for, then it stands to reason that this should be considered a reliable indicator of affordability.' Paula Higgins, chief executive of the HomeOwners Alliance, said the Government should 'turn its attention to fixing the Lifetime Isa (Lisa)'. She said: 'Right now, anyone forced to withdraw their savings early faces an unfair penalty.' Ms Higgins added: 'And the £450,000 property price cap hasn't moved since Lisas launched in 2017, despite soaring house prices, particularly in the South East. 'Reforming Lisas would make a real, practical difference to those trying to get on the ladder.' Henry Jordan, Nationwide's director of home said: 'Our changes mean more people, particularly those on lower incomes, could become eligible for a mortgage. 'We also hope our commitment to further lending provides a boost to the UK's housebuilding ambitions as well as encouraging other lenders to increase support for those looking for a home of their own.'
CBS News
24 minutes ago
- CBS News
Trump and McCormick to announce $70 billion in AI and energy investments for Pennsylvania
The Pittsburgh region's assets will be on display for President Trump and the leaders of the country's largest energy and technology companies on Tuesday. Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Dave McCormick, organizer of the inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, is set to announce $70 billion in new investments in the state. One project is set to target Aliquippa, which was once the steelmaking center of the Ohio Valley until it fell on hard times with the closing of the mill. But Aliquippa is looking at a rebirth, with the possible transformation of that site to power the artificial intelligence economy. "That thing's been sitting empty for close to 50 years of my life," Aliquippa Mayor Dwan Walker said. Walker remembers his steelworker father walking out of the mill for the last time and sitting on the porch crying the day it closed. Today, the mayor hopes that a technological revolution can bring his city back. "Being that we were the center of steel, now we can be the center of AI," Walker said. "I don't think, I know it can happen. I know in this day and age, 2025, Aliquippa can be a new tech hub." Artificial intelligence requires massive amounts of energy and computing capacity, and a local partnership headed by real estate developer Chuck Betters hopes to transform the 89-acre site of the old mill into a massive, multi-billion dollar data processing center, creating thousands of construction jobs, hundreds of permanent ones and generating tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue. "Large job creation, large tax base, and the comeback of Beaver County from the steel mill days," Betters said. At Tuesday's summit, the Pittsburgh region will be on display for the heads of the country's largest tech companies, showcasing both the technological innovations being developed here as well as the massive energy resources available to power them. Data centers will help spawn companies like Pittsburgh's Gecko Robotics, which recently became a unicorn — a company worth more than $1 billion. Founder Jake Loosararian will demonstrate at the summit his AI-powered climbing robots and ask those tech leaders to invest here and help Pittsburgh take the next step. "We have the biggest leaders in the world in AI and energy coming to this city," Loosararian said. "We need to see investment from those companies into this region -- continue to do so. You'll start to see an ecosystem of companies like Gecko that begin to emerge." With energy in natural gas and nuclear, empty industrial sites ready for data center development, and a culture of innovation, leaders say the Pittsburgh region is uniquely positioned to be a world leader in AI. Walker believes that it can bring back Aliquippa's Franklin Avenue. "More businesses downtown, more strip malls, more access to revenue, that dollar flip two or three times in this community instead of leaving it," Walker said. If and when the site of the mill is developed, it will begin to merge the region's technological know-how with its vast energy resources, creating a new AI economy that leaders say will benefit everyone.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Global EV sales jump 24% in June though North American market struggles, research firm says
By Alessandro Parodi (Reuters) -Global sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles jumped 24% in June from a year ago, as a switch to electric vehicles maintained momentum in China and Europe, market research firm Rho Motion said on Tuesday. Still, EV sales in the United States were down 1% in the month and will struggle to pick up this year, after President Donald Trump's spending bill cut tax credits sooner than anticipated, Rho Motion's data manager Charles Lester said. North America, also weighed by slowing sales in Canada, lagged for the first time behind the "rest of the world" countries, which include emerging markets in Southeast Asia and South and Central America, Lester said. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Global automakers face a 25% import tariff in the United States, the world's second-largest car market, causing many of them to withdraw their outlooks for 2025. In Europe, incentives for retail and fleet buyers in key markets such as Germany and Spain, alongside a growing availability of cheap EVs, are expected to support electric car sales through the second half of the year. While some of the most successful EVs in the small vehicle segment are produced by European carmakers such as Volkswagen and Renault, those by Chinese brands including BYD are taking up market share in the continent and driving growth in emerging markets, Lester said. BY THE NUMBERS Global sales of battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids rose to 1.8 million units in June, Rho Motion data showed. Sales in China jumped 28% from the same month last year to 1.11 million vehicles. Europe posted a 23% increase to about 390,000 units, while North American sales fell 9% to over 140,000. Sales in the rest of the world surged 43% to exceed 140,000 vehicles. KEY QUOTE "There's been reports over the last few months of a slowdown potentially in China" due to some cities running out of subsidies, Lester said. "But overall, we'd expect in (the second half) for more subsidy amounts to be available," leading to a "big boost" in volumes towards the end of the year, he added. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
