Economists have warned that heavy snowfall sweeping across the country could increase the chances that the UK enters a triple-dip recession, as commuters brace themselves for another week of bad weather, reports the Financial Times.
High-street spending is expected to be badly affected by the snow, which has caused widespread disruption to the transport system. The Met Office has warned that the public should be aware of the disruption to travel caused by snow and ice over the coming days.
House prices on course to pass pre-crisis peak levels
A recovery in the UK property market is gathering pace, with house prices on track to surpass their pre-financial crisis peak for the first time and signs of improvement in the mortgage market, economists have disclosed, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The number of houses up for sale is also the highest since the start of the financial crisis, while the strength of the property pick-up should see house prices back to their 2008 levels by next year, say forecasters.
Top executive suppressed report damning Barclays
Barclays was hit by further damaging revelations about the culture that was allowed to flourish in certain parts of the bank yesterday after it emerged that a senior executive had suppressed a damaging report into Barclays Wealth in America, reports the Independent.
The report, compiled by consultancy firm Genesis Ventures, was said by a Sunday newspaper to have sharply criticised a “revenue at all costs” strategy and a “culture that is high-risk and actively hostile to compliance”.
Britain must change policy to drag UK out of economic hole, ITEM Club warns
The government must do more than “muddle through” if it is to pull Britain out of its economic hole, economists warned today, ahead of figures expected to show the UK is veering towards a triple-dip recession, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The Coalition lacks imagination on how to stimulate the economy, leaving countries like the US to stage a faster and sharper rebound from the worst financial crisis since the 1930s according to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club.
Number of shoppers falls in December
Britain’s battered retail sector saw a fall in the number of shoppers last month in spite of a last-minute surge in the week before Christmas, figures have revealed, reports the Guardian.
Shopper numbers dropped by 1.2 per cent across the UK compared with December 2011 as consumers continued to rein in their spending, according to the latest British Retail Consortium (BRC)/Springboard footfall monitor.
Fuel poverty warning for millions of households
More than 100 energy companies, charities and businesses have joined forces to warn David Cameron that Britain is heading for a fuel poverty crisis owing to a failure of government policy, reports The Times.
In a letter to the prime minister, seen by The Times, they argue that ministers are not doing enough to tackle soaring gas and electricity bills that leave a growing number of people unable to heat their homes.
