Author: LoveWorld UK

Buyers returned to Britain’s property market last month as it reopened following the coronavirus lockdown but activity remained depressed, a closely-watched survey showed on Thursday. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said a net balance of +61% of its members reported a rise in new buyer enquiries in June, following a reading of -94% in May. Still, the number of properties on estate agents’ books stayed close to all-time lows, RICS said. The figures come a day after finance minister Rishi Sunak temporarily raised the threshold of a tax on property purchases to 500,000 pounds to boost activity in…

British finance minister Rishi Sunak will announce on Wednesday his next moves to prevent a wave of job cuts from snowballing into a full-blown unemployment crisis in the world’s sixth biggest economy. He is already on course to take state borrowing to World War Two levels as he subsidises 9 million jobs – equivalent to more than a third of private-sector workers – alongside other emergency measures. Britain, with a toll of close to 45,000 coronavirus-linked deaths, has been hit harder by the epidemic than any other European country. For the worst affected sectors of an economy that shrank by…

AC Milan could have won the Serie A title if Zlatan Ibrahimovic had been there for the whole season, the 38-year-old said after helping them beat leaders Juventus 4-2 on Tuesday. The Swede, who returned for a second stint at the club in January, was his usual outspoken self after converting a penalty which sparked Milan’s comeback from 2-0 down. He also hinted he would not extend his contract beyond the end of the season. “It’s no secret that I’m old but it’s just a number,” he said. “I wanted to feel alive and I just want to play. I…

China opened its powerful national security office in Hong Kong on Wednesday, turning a hotel near a city-centre park that has been one of the most popular venues for pro-democracy protests into its new headquarters. The office, which operates beyond the scrutiny of local courts or other institutions, will oversee the Hong Kong government’s enforcement of the sweeping national security legislation that Beijing imposed on the city last week. The legislation gives its agents, operating openly in the global financial hub for the first time, enforcement powers. It allows them to take suspects across the border for trials in Communist…

German logistics company DHL plans to cut as many as 2,200 jobs of U.K-based workers at Jaguar Land Rover factories, the Unite trade union said on Tuesday. The job cuts comprise just under 40% of the entire DHL workforce on the contract, the union said. DHL indicated that the half of the job cuts are due to a decline in car production and half are the result of anticipated “efficeincy savings”, the union added. “DHL must not attempt to make permanent full-time staff redundant while continuing to outsource work to sub-contractors,” Matt Draper, Unite national officer for logistics, said. Last…

Around four-fifths of German firms with foreign exposure have experienced a collapse in revenues as a result of the coronavirus crisis, and 93% expect global economic conditions to improve only in 2021 or later, according to a survey. The survey for the German Chambers of Commerce showed the devastation wrought by the epidemic on Europe’s largest economy, with 15% of the roughly 3,300 companies surveyed reporting a halving of their annual turnover. But the focus of the impact was shifting: whereas lockdown-related travel restrictions had a major impact on sectors including tourism and industry earlier on, now companies were increasingly…

The sight of Tottenham Hotspur team mates Hugo Lloris and Son Heung-min clashing at halftime during their 1-0 victory over Everton on Monday was “beautiful” and a sign that the team are growing up, manager Jose Mourinho has said. Goalkeeper Lloris and forward Son had to be held apart by team mates shortly after Everton’s Richarlison had gone close to an equaliser, with Lloris clearly angry at Son for not tracking back in the build-up to the chance. Mourinho said his players were fired up by his criticism of their limp performance in Thursday’s 3-1 defeat by Sheffield United and…

British house prices fell for a fourth month in a row in June as COVID-19 continued to depress the market, the longest run of monthly declines since 2010, mortgage lender Halifax said on Tuesday. Halifax said average house prices dropped by 0.1% in June after a 0.2% fall in May, and were 0.9% lower than in the first quarter of 2020. Compared with a year earlier, prices were up by 2.5%, though this was the slowest rate of growth since November 2019. “The near-term outlook points to a continuation of the recent modest downward trend in prices through the third…

Hong Kong’s national security law does not spell “doom and gloom”, its leader said on Tuesday, as she tried to calm unease over legislation that critics say could quash freedoms that have underpinned the city’s success as a financial hub. In an illustration of worries about the law, the video app TikTok said it was preparing to leave the Hong Kong market, and other tech firms said they have suspended processing Hong Kong government requests for user data. The sweeping legislation that Beijing imposed on the former British colony punishes what China defines as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with…

British finance minister Rishi Sunak earmarked 3 billion pounds ($3.75 billion) to improve the energy efficiency of homes and public buildings as part of broader plans to kickstart the economy and support jobs. Ahead of an announcement on Wednesday of its next moves to soften the hit from the coronavirus lockdown, the finance ministry said households would be given 2 billion pounds in grants — worth up to 5,000 pounds each — to cover two thirds of the costs of insulation and double-glazing of windows. The poorest families will receive up to 10,000 pounds without having to pay anything, the…