November 9, 20240 Comments

Will UK interest rate cut make mortgages and loans cheaper?

Mortgage rates Just under a third of households have a mortgage, according to the government’s English Housing Survey, external. About 600,000 homeowners have a mortgage that “tracks” the Bank of England’s rate, so a base rate cut immediately leads to lower monthly repayments. But more than eight in 10 mortgage customers have fixed-rate deals. While their monthly payments aren’t immediately affected, future deals are. Mortgage rates are still much higher

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November 9, 20240 Comments

PCE inflation September 2024:

Inflation increased slightly in September and moved closer to the Federal Reserve’s target, according to a Commerce Department report Thursday. The personal consumption expenditures price index showed a seasonally adjusted 0.2% increase for the month, with the 12-month inflation rate at 2.1%, both in line with Dow Jones estimates. The Fed uses the PCE reading as its primary inflation gauge, though policymakers also follow a variety of other indicators. Fed

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November 9, 20240 Comments

Proposed tariffs could raise prices for consumers

Shoppers walk through the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, a shopping mall in Arlington, Virginia, February 2, 2024. Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images For retailers and consumers finally feeling some relief from inflation, President-elect Donald Trump’s tariffs proposal introduces fresh uncertainty around how prices could change during his presidency, analysts said Wednesday. Trump, who NBC News projects won a second term in a decisive victory, said during his

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November 9, 20240 Comments

House prices hit record high, says Halifax

Getty Images The average UK house price reached a record high last month, according to Halifax. The UK’s largest mortgage lender said the average price hit £293,999 in October, surpassing a peak of £293,507 that was reached in June 2022. Halifax said it expected prices to continue to rise at a “modest pace” for the next few months. However, it warned that mortgage costs could remain “higher for longer” following

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November 9, 20240 Comments

Friday’s jobs report expected to show slowest pace of hiring in years

Hiring signs outside a Stewart’s gas station in Catskill, New York, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.  Angus Mordant | Bloomberg | Getty Images Powerful hurricanes and a major labor strike could take a chunk out of the nonfarm payrolls count for October, which is expected to be the slowest month for job creation in nearly four years. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect the Bureau of Labor Statistics to

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November 9, 20240 Comments

Foreign auto stocks BYD, BMW and others slide on Trump tariff fears

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign town hall meeting, moderated by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, in Flint, Michigan, U.S., September 17, 2024.  Brian Snyder | Reuters DETROIT — Stock prices of foreign automakers, including Chinese and German manufacturers, fell sharply on Wednesday amid concerns the U.S. will hike tariffs on imported vehicles under President-elect Donald Trump. European-traded shares of BMW and Mercedes-Benz

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November 9, 20240 Comments

Sainsbury’s and M&S warn Budget changes may push up prices

Shoppers could face higher prices as a growing number of big British firms warn about the cost of the National Insurance (NI) tax rises on employers announced in last week’s Budget. Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer and BT have all hinted at price rises, while pub chain Wetherspoons said “all hospitality business” will increase prices as a result of the tax changes. Meanwhile, Primark’s owner said on Tuesday it may invest

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November 9, 20240 Comments

Economy added 12,000 jobs, impacted by hurricanes, Boeing strike

Job creation in October slowed to its weakest pace since late 2020 as the impacts of storms in the Southeast and a significant labor impasse dented the employment picture. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 12,000 for the month, down sharply from September and below the Dow Jones estimate for 100,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. In what had already been expected to be a downbeat report, October posted the

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November 9, 20240 Comments

What his election means for EVs

Production is now set to begin at the former Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, less than two years after GM announced the massive $2.2 billion investment to fully renovate the facility to build a variety of all-electric trucks and SUVs. Photo by Jeffrey Sauger for General Motors DETROIT – President-elect Donald Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to send the U.S. electric vehicle industry into a period of uncertainty.

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November 9, 20240 Comments

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell says Donald Trump can’t fire him

Getty Images The head of the US central bank has hit back at speculation that his post might be in jeopardy as Donald Trump prepares to assume power in Washington. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said he would not step down if Trump asked and that it is “not permitted under law” for the White House to force him out. Mr Powell was responding to questions from reporters at a

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