Month: August 2020

Fall in UK house prices will not help first-time buyers, think-tank predicts

Michelle K. Wallace 15 mins ago

Big house price falls are likely across the UK over the next 12 months but first-time buyers will not find it easier to get on the property ladder because of tighter credit conditions and falling incomes, according to a leading think-tank. 

With the UK’s economy falling into its deepest recession on record, and unemployment rising dramatically as the government’s furlough scheme for workers winds down, most analysts are forecasting that house prices will suffer.

But according to the Resolution Foundation, even if average prices collapse by more than 20 per cent, in line with the most pessimistic forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility — the fiscal watchdog, first-time buyers will still have a harder time buying a property than before the coronavirus crisis.

“Unfortunately there’s no silver lining for [young people] when it comes to house prices,” said Lindsay Judge, principal research and policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation.

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Elon Musk’s SpaceX wins US military national security mission contract | Science & Tech News

Michelle K. Wallace 3 hours ago

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has won a competitive contract to conduct secret national security launches for the US military, according to a US Air Force announcement.

It’s a well-paid privilege for the billionaire’s company at $316m (£241m) and one that the private spaceflight company has battled for too – having twice sued the US military after previously being denied similar contracts.

One launch has been confirmed for 2022, and the Pentagon expects it will use SpaceX for a dozen more missions up until 2026, but no details will be released about the classified payloads.

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Elon Musk’s company previously sued the US over launch contracts

The contract for phase two of the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) programme will cover 40% of missions for the US Space Force.

The other 60% of launches will be handled, for $337m (£257m), by the United Launch Alliance – a joint venture between Boeing and

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Just Eat Takeaway.com to create ‘thousands’ of jobs in UK | Business News

Michelle K. Wallace 6 hours ago

Thousands of jobs are to be created in the UK by food delivery giant Just Eat Takeaway.com, its boss had told Sky News.

Speaking to the Ian King Live programme, chief executive Jitse Groen said the firm was going to invest “tens of millions of pounds” in Britain as the company reported a 44% surge in revenue to €1bn in the first half of the year, driven by the coronavirus lockdown.

Mr Groen said with people stuck at home due to the COVID-19 restrictions then in force, it was “quite logical” there would be an increase in business.

‘No crystal ball’ on future of UK economy

The promise of employment will be welcome coming against a gloomy economic backdrop with confirmation the UK had dived into its largest recession on record and figures showing 730,000 jobs had been lost since lockdown began.

Just Eat Takeaway.com saw orders soar by 32%

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Longer lockdown drove UK to one of deepest recessions in Europe

Michelle K. Wallace 6 hours ago

The UK can now claim the dubious distinction of having suffered one of the highest death tolls from coronavirus in Europe — and also one of the deepest recessions.

The second quarter’s 20.4 per cent fall in gross domestic product, shown in official data on Wednesday, was the biggest drop in output in any main European economy over the period. Although a recovery from April’s low point picked up speed in June, output remains 22.1 per cent below its level at the end of 2019.

This makes it the sharpest recession in the G7, and second only to Spain among European peers over the first half of the year — a period that captures national lockdowns that began earlier in some countries.

Economists say the length of the UK’s lockdown — more protracted, although less stringent than in some countries — was one reason for the depth of the downturn.

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