UK house price rises slow in year to September

 U.K house prices in September were 2.6 percent higher than a year earlier, the smallest annual rise since May and down from an upwardly revised increase of 3.1 percent in August, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Wednesday.

Private-sector rents for homes in October were 5.0percent  higher than a year earlier, down from a 5.5% annual increase in September and the smallest such rise since August 2022.

U.K consumers bracing for higher taxes from budget

UK consumers are bracing for higher taxes from the upcoming budget and the finance minister’s recent warning of shared pain to come, risks weighing on key Christmas demand, the boss of retailer Marks & Spencer said.

In the speech on Tuesday, UK finance minister Rachel Reeves signalled that the Labour government could break a pre-election pledge not to raise one of the three major taxes and said “we will all have to contribute” at the November 26 budget.

Consumers are now bracing for a fresh hit to their spending power from tax rises, compounding worries over the cost of living following years of high inflation, and prompting business leaders to amplify their warnings.

“Our customers are increasingly concerned about rising costs and higher taxes, and they’re worried about the budget,” CEO Stuart Machin told reporters.

“They did get more worried following yesterday’s speech,” he said, adding that the company had carried out an immediate phone survey of a pool of customers after Reeves spoke.

December is the key trading period for most UK retailers when they make a chunk of their profits and there are fears the timing of this year’s budget, a month closer to Christmas than last year, could constrain the festive spending.

Machin said M&S, which sells food, clothes, homeware and beauty, and has over 1,000 stores in Britain, expected a “good” Christmas, but he said the budget concerns could hit spending.