The number of mortgages approved by Britain’s high street banks jumped to the highest level for almost five years in December, in the latest sign of a revival in the housing market. The Bank of England could be more likely to leave interest rates on hold amid property upturn.
Subprime lender has put itself up for sale and warned of “increased pressure” on the business amid a regulatory crackdown and a rise in the number of customer complaints.
A £30bn British pension fund has threatened to sack investment managers that do not take action on the climate crisis, criticising the sector as “not fit for purpose”. Brunel Pension Partnership said it would review the mandates of asset managers that don’t reduce exposure to climate risk by 2022.
Rising concerns over the coronavirus outbreak in China prompted the FTSE 100 to fall by more than 2%, or 155 points, to 7,430 after steep losses overnight in Japan. Markets across Europe fell sharply and Wall Street was also expected to open lower later on Monday.
Boris Johnson has hinted he will arrive at a compromise solution over the decision on whether to let the Chinese company Huawei build parts of the UK’s 5G network in the face of US warnings that it will compromise intelligence-sharing.
Saudi Arabia criticised over pirate TV service ‘that airs Premier League’. The EU says country has failed to halt BeoutQ, which reportedly also airs La Liga and Serie A.
The upmarket fashion chain Reiss, said to be a favourite of the Duchess of Cambridge, reported that sales jumped by a fifth over the Christmas period as its private equity owner begins to seek a buyer for the group.
