Sunday newspaper round-up: House prices, Brexit, Credit Suisse
By Alexander Bueso
Date: Sunday 04 Dec 2022
(Sharecast News) - The founder of property website Rightmove, Harry Hill, is nervous about a potentially deep recession, which he believes could see transactions and house prices fall by double figures with the latter possibly down by 20%. With monthly mortgage repayments set to double next year, many mortgage holders may opt to sell. However, Hill also pointed out the housing market's brilliant run over recent years, such that most property values are well above the acquisition price. Hill has been mooted by activist investor Adam Smith as an ideal candidate to replace Purplebricks chairman Paul Pindar. - The Financial Mail on Sunday
The newest face on the Monetary Policy Committee, Swati Dhingra, told the Observer in an interview that Brexit was a factor in the surge seen in food prices. "I'm not going to make a statement about the political choice of it. If it was a political choice, and it has some economic cost, then people need to be aware of what that economic cost is. And whether that changes their mind or not is another matter." She also said that interest rate hikes should peak below 4.5%. Furthermore, financial markets were likely underestimating the damage that higher rates would inflict on the economy. In her opinion, more aggressive hikes risked making the economic downturn worse. - Guardian
Former Barclays chief, Bob Diamond, is plotting a return to high finance via a bid to back a part of investment bank Credit Suisse. Diamond, who already owns a majority stake in City broker Panmure Gordon, is now eyeing a stake in CS First Boston, the corporate finance unit which is set to be spun off from Credit Suisse. The idea is to bring third party investors into CS First Boston ahead of a stock market listing in the next five years. - The Sunday Times
Bookings for the 2023 summer holiday season are running a quarter ahead of their level from before the pandemic. That is according to Julia Lo BueSaid, boss of Advantage Travel. Demand is especially strong for all-inclusive packages for which bookings are up by 30%, according to On The Beach chief customer officer Zoe Harris. By destinations, Turkey was increasingly popular and would likely overtake Spain as the top choice. - Financial Mail on Sunday
Runaway inflation in Britain is set to brake before 2022 is out thanks to declines in commodity prices and easing supply chain pressures as Beijing loosens its Covid-19 lockdowns. Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said that the annual rate of fuel inflation had halved due to falling petrol prices and food prices were set to start dropping as well. Iron ore prices had also slid by half. Just the day before, China had announced a further easing in its restrictions and the energy price guarantee was limiting cost rises for UK households. - The Sunday Times
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