This is London: The £240,000 garage There is ample room for an Aston Martin - as long as your other car is not much larger than a Mini. But regardless of size, this ordinary garage has just netted one couple £240,000.

FT.Com: Britain’s vacant shop space increases by 45% The amount of empty shop space in Britain has jumped by 45 per cent in the past year, according to research by one of the country's top retail property agencies. The rise in voids will add to concerns about the consumer slowdown that began about a year ago. Void rates have increased from an average of 3.1 per cent in the late 1990s to 3.8 per cent last year. They have since risen to 5.5 per cent, according to Donaldsons property consultants. Donaldsons described this as a “relentless increase”.

Reuters: August consumer confidence slumps despite rate cut Consumer confidence deteriorated sharply to its lowest level in nine months in August, dragged down by a more pessimistic assessment of Britain's economy, a report showed on Wednesday. Consultancy GfK Martin Hamblin said its confidence barometer fell to -4 from -1 in July. That was the lowest since a reading of -4 in November and confounded expectations for stablisation at -1 thanks to August's Bank of England interest rate cut.

SkyNews: CONSUMER CONFIDENCE DIPS Consumer confidence fell sharply in August, hitting its lowest level in nine months. The barometer of confidence fell to -4 from -1 in July as Britons' assessment of the country's economic situation slumped, said consultancy GfK Martin Hamblin.

TimesOnline: 60% admit to ignoring their bank statements Research suggesting that three quarters of consumers are more likely to read the back of cereal packets than information sent to them by their financial service providers has led to calls for a simplification of financial correspondence.

Economist.com: Counting the cost Had you been told in late 2001—not long after that September's terrorist attacks, and when stockmarkets had been tumbling for 18 months or so—that the price of crude oil would more than triple within four years, you might well have predicted global economic meltdown.

Economist.com: The damage that Katrina could still wreak Hurricane Katrina is already known to have killed dozens along the Gulf of Mexico coast, with the death toll expected to rise as rescuers reach more affected areas. Besides its devastating cost in lives, Katrina could push the American economy—maybe even the world economy—into recession

Sky News: OIL PRICES EYED UP
Analysts are eyeing up the cost of oil after prices raced ahead to a record high $70.80 a barrel. The rise came after fears about the possible effect of Hurricane Katrina. There were initial concerns that the hurricane could do lasting damage to US Gulf Coast oil production and refining equipment, straining an industry already working nearly flat-out. However, BP later reported that its massive Thunder Horse construction appeared to have escaped unscathed, calming the market.

ThisisMoney: Car costs double in ten years THE cost of running a car has passed the £2,000-a-year mark for the first time, a survey has revealed. The average annual cost of motoring has doubled in the past ten years and is now around £2,053, excluding interest repayments on loans and depreciation of the cost of the car. With petrol and diesel prices soaring - the £4 gallon having become the norm - the biggest cost is fuel.

Telegraph: Payback time for credit card spenders Shoppers are spending far less on their credit cards, the Bank of England said yesterday, as they switch to less expensive forms of debt. The Bank said borrowing on plastic rose by £312m in July - less than half the average amount of £655m over the previous six months - while bank loans gained in popularity.

Telegraph: Forbes predicts oil will drop to $35 within a yearSteve Forbes, the billionaire business publisher, predicted that the oil bubble will burst inside a year and the price will plunge, as the impact of Hurricane Katrina sent the price of oil soaring to new record levels.

Independent: Car dealers look to September number plates to lift gloom The UK's car dealers are pinning their hopes on the release of September number plates this week, as sales of new vehicles fall further behind estimates for the year.

Independent: Mortgage lending hits a three-year low Hopes of a revival in consumer spending took another blow yesterday from figures showing that mortgage lending hit a three-year low last month, while retailers suffered another gloomy trading session over the key bank holiday weekend.

TimesOnline: Buy-to-let available, minimum investment of just £1 TO LOCALS in the Leeds suburb of Horsforth, No 5 Back Clarence Road is a cute-looking, stone-built one-bedroom terraced cottage perfect for a first-time buyer. To 65 web-surfing investors who have just snapped it up for £104,000 without setting foot in it, it is LS184JZ1 plc, a company with tradeable shares. Welcome to the pioneering world of internet-based buy-to-let investment, where investors can become micro-landlords for a fraction of the cost of buying an entire property

TimesOnline: Hurricane 'will force consumers to reduce fuel use' OIL prices soared to record levels yesterday as nervous traders ignored pledges of additional supplies from Saudi Arabia and instead worked feverishly to calculate the impact of Hurricane Katrina. The price of a barrel of US light crude touched $70.85 a barrel, five cents higher than Monday’s peak, while Brent in London jumped $3.55 to $68.42 when trading resumed after Bank Holiday Monday. Gas prices in the United States also rose sharply.

BBC NEWS | Business | Energy price rise for six million Six million people who buy their gas and electricity from Powergen face bigger bills from Wednesday. The company's domestic electricity charges are going up by seven percent and its gas charges are rising by 12%.

ThisisMoney: Mortgage lending continues to slide UK mortgage lending grew at its weakest rate in more than three years last month while consumer credit also rose less than expected, according to figures released by the Bank of England. The 12-month growth rate in house prices fell to 10.4% in July, down from 10.8% in June and the weakest increase since June 2002.

BBC NEWS | Business | UK borrowing slowdown continues Mortgage lending in the UK is rising at its slowest rate since January 2002, according to the Bank of England. Lending in July rose at a yearly rate of 10.4%. Last month bank and building society lending rose £6.45bn, the lowest cash increase for a little over three years.

FT.Com: UK mortgage lending rise weakest in 3 years The amount of outstanding mortgage debt rose at its slowest pace in three years last month while unsecured consumer credit also increased more slowly than expected, Bank of England data showed on Tuesday.

FT.Com: Clues from other times and places For the government and the Bank of England, the dream scenario on the housing market is a soft landing: a period of stable prices during which affordability improves as earnings catch up. As residential property values come off the boil, experts are turning to historical and international comparisons in search of clues to what the future holds.

Reuters: Retail sales fall in August - CBI Retail sales volumes fell again in August, dragging the underlying trend to its weakest in at least 22 years, an industry survey signalled on Tuesday. The Confederation of British Industry's distributive trades survey showed 27 percent of retailers reported sales volumes up on the year in August but 45 percent said they were down.

Reuters: July mortgage lending rise weakest in 3 yrs Mortgage lending saw its weakest monthly rise in more than three years in July while consumer credit also increased less than expected, official data showed on Tuesday. The Bank of England said mortgage lending rose by 6.451 billion pounds last month, compared to a forecast for 7.1 billion pounds and following a 7.064 billion rise in June. That was the weakest rise since June 2002.

Reuters: Sterling falls to 3-week low vs dollar after data Sterling fell to its lowest level in three weeks against the dollar on Tuesday after Bank of England data showed the lowest rise in mortgage lending in three years in July. Mortgage lending rose by 6.45 billion pounds last month, compared with June's 7.06 rise and forecasts for a 7.1 billion increase. Net consumer credit also rose less than expected.

SkyNews: PEOPLE CLUELESS ON DEBT A new financial education service has beern launched after research showed many people do not have a clue when it comes to mortgages and debt. A survey of 1,000 people for the Prudential found that more than half did not know how much debt or credit they had. A similar number did not know what a repayment mortgage was.

SkyNews: GLOOM HITS HIGH STREET Shops on the High Street are at their gloomiest since 1983, according to the latest survey from the CBI. A third of retailers believe the situation is going to get worse while one in five businesses believe overall business outlook will deteriorate in the next quarter. That is the first time in seven years that firms have been more despondent than hopeful about prospects.

ThisisMoney: Earn £70k a year as a brickie A SHORTAGE of skilled builders and a boom in Government spending on construction have ushered in the era of the £70,000-a-year bricklayer. A jump in public-sector building work has triggered a scramble for craft workers that has sent pay spiralling. Earnings could get another hefty upward shove when building work starts on the 2012 London Olympics complex, say industry sources.

TimesOnline: Retail slump to deepen after dismal summer AFTER a miserable summer, trading conditions on Britain’s high streets are going to deteriorate further, according to new sales figures from the CBI, the employers’ organisation, which show the worst trend for 22 years. Hopes that consumer spending was about to pick up have been dashed by the CBI’s quarterly survey, which shows little sign of any recovery for retailers threatened by the housing slowdown and the new quotas on imports of Chinese clothing.

TimesOnline: Hurricane Katrina whips oil price to a record high OIL soared to record levels yesterday as Hurricane Katrina forced the shutdown of half of the Gulf of Mexico’s crude output and more than two thirds of its natural gas production.The price of a barrel of US light crude leapt to $70.80 in overnight trading as oil companies scrambled to move personnel from offshore rigs and platforms. Reports that the hurricane had weakened caused oil to pull back from its early gains to end at $67.20, up $1.07 on Friday’s close.

BBC NEWS | Business | Dreary summer on the High Street Retailers have suffered one of their worst summers on the High Street in years - and the situation is set to remain bleak, according to the CBI. One in five retailers expect trade to worsen in the next quarter, the group said, against 13% who expect a rise.

BBC NEWS | Business | Oil close to highs as storm rages The price of oil has stayed close to record levels as Hurricane Katrina batters the US southern coastline. A barrel of light crude was trading at $68.48 in New York, before falling back slightly to $68.45 in Singapore. On Monday, the price surged to a record of $70.80 on concerns that Katrina would damage refining and extraction operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

FT.com: House prices wobble and have a long way to fall It has been almost a year since the average national house price started to stagnate.

Herald: Danger of negative equity for buy-to-let borrowers Is a scandal looming over the sale of buy-to-let mortgages? "Some borrowers may already be in negative equity without realising it," warns John Brown, residential director of DTZ Residential for mid-Scotland.

Reuters: Oil leaps above $70 as Katrina rips through US Gulf Oil prices surged to a record above $70 a barrel on Monday as one of the biggest hurricanes in U.S. history disrupted oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. The region is home to a quarter of total U.S. oil and gas production. U.S. crude oil futures jumped nearly $5 a barrel in electronic trade to touch a peak of $70.80 a barrel, the highest front-month price since the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) began trading the contracts in 1983.

Telegraph: B&Q struggling as housing slowdown puts brake on DIY B&Q, the country's biggest DIY retailer, is being hit harder than its arch rival Homebase in the worst trading year for the industry. The DIY and gardening sector is expected to see its first ever decline in consumer expenditure this year, according to research published today by Verdict.

BBC NEWS | Business | House prices down again in August House prices fell again in August, with the interest rate cut at the start of the month appearing to do little to revive the marketplace, figures show.

Telegraph: US debtors rush to beat bankruptcy deadline The number of Americans filing for bankruptcy is soaring, as hard-up individuals seek to beat the deadline for the introduction of tougher laws making it more difficult to write off personal debts.

Independent: Inflation may run out of control - King The Governor of the Bank of England has warned that inflation could spiral out of control if economic shocks such as an oil price spike jolted consumers' faith in stable prices. Addressing other central bankers, Mervyn King said monetary policy in the UK and US was vulnerable precisely because of its own recent success.

Guardian: 14th month of house price falls House prices fell for the 14th month in a row and show no signs of recovery in the near future, a survey shows today. Hometrack said national house prices fell by an average of 0.1% this month compared with July and have declined by an average of 3.7% over the past year. The national average price is £161,000, down from a peak of £167,000 in June last year.

Guardian: What I learned from Alan Greenspan - Mervyn King I want to describe the three important lessons that I have learned from Alan Greenspan [as chairman of the US Federal Reserve] during my time at the Bank of England. First, to be a successful central banker requires an extraordinary degree of objectivity. The key is to recognise that economics tells you how to think, not what to think. It is not a set of settled conclusions about issues. Above all, it is vital never to confuse the world with a model. The whole point of a model is to abstract from a wide range of factors in order to think clearly about one particular issue.

TimesOnline: Rate cut fails to put spark into housing market THE quarter-point cut in interest rates made at the beginning of this month made no immediate impact on Britain’s stagnant housing market. Instead of potential buyers being enticed back to the market, more have stayed away. According to Hometrack, which follows housing market trends through a network of estate agents, the number of new buyers edged down again, by 0.5 per cent.

SkyNews: MANY HOUSES NEEDING CASH English homes need £48bn of repairs and improvements, with a third of private properties failing to meet even basic standards, research has shown. Nearly seven million homes in England, including five million private houses, fall below the standards of decent accommodation, says mortgage lender Halifax.

Independent: Woolwich dismisses fears of property market crash Woolwich, the British bank owned by Barclays, became the latest organisation to dismiss fears of a crash in the UK residential property market yesterday, forecasting that the average house price will in fact more than double over the next 20 years, to around a third of a million pounds.

Bloomberg: Greenspan Says Housing Boom to `Simmer Down,' Prices May Fall The U.S. housing boom is sure to end eventually, slowing spending and possibly leading to a drop in home prices, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said. The housing boom will inevitably simmer down,'' Greenspan said in the text of a speech at the close of a two-day Kansas City Fed symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. ``As part of that process, house turnover will decline from currently historic levels, while home price increases will slow and prices could even decrease.''

BBC NEWS | Business | Katrina set to raise oil prices Oil prices are likely to rise further this week after Hurricane Katrina caused producers in the Gulf of Mexico to halt production at the weekend.

SkyNews: SPENDERS NOT SAVERS People in their 40s and 50s would rather spend their money now than save towards their retirement, a survey has claimed. Three out of 10 people in this age group say enjoying their cash now is a bigger priority for them than investing for their future, according to Insight Investment.

Independent: British IT jobs at risk as Euro merger draws closer Hundreds of British IT service jobs could be at risk when the expected merger of two of Europe's largest technology groups, Atos Origin and T-Systems, is unveiled.

In2Perspective: House prices still stagnating Hometrack's August survey of the national housing market reports a fall of -0.1%, following last month’s fall of -0.2%. The group says house prices have now been falling for 14 months and show little sign of imminent recovery.

Guardian: Households rein in their spending Spending by British households fell to the slowest rate for a decade as consumers tightened their belts in the face of higher borrowing costs, more expensive energy and a cooling housing market.

TimesOnline: Oil price hike 'will hit growth in UK' HIGH oil prices will knock Britain’s growth rate next year for the second successive year, forecasters say, pushing the economy even further away from Gordon Brown’s growth predictions.

TimesOnline:Tales of a Landlady: So, size really does matter Hello? Is anybody out there? Who’ll buy my house? Come on, guys! It’s a really good buy. Well, there’s an Aga. And it’s (quite) near the new Olympic “hub”. But estate agents in Islington all pull long faces when I turn up.

Guardian: Why Gordon's Golden Rule is now history Has the Bank of England, in its latest inflation report, underestimated the risks facing the economy?

The Observer: You have a right to fight blight It is a homeowner's nightmare. Your peace of mind, privacy and tranquillity are erased overnight because of a new air, road or rail scheme or a retail park being built nearby.

Scotsman.com: Home sweet home for first-time buyers - but not until 2025 Young people trying to get that first foot on the property ladder have been confronted by more bad news after being told they will have to wait until 2025 before buying a home becomes any easier.

The Observer: Playing the percentages The decision by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee to reduce the base rate by 0.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent this month should have come as welcome news to those with home loans.

Times Online: Fed chief reveals his thoughts on house price risks Deep in the thickets of the impenetrable syntax that characterises most of his speeches, Alan Greenspan usually plants a small gem of information that gives an important clue to his latest thinking about US monetary policy.

in2perspective: USA risks property crash Alan Greenspan, the United States’ central banker, has warned Americans that they risk a crash if they continue to drive property prices higher

Telegraph: Meet the IPODS (They're Insecure, Pressurised, Over-taxed and Debt-ridden) Politicians of all parties are cooking up trouble for the future by neglecting younger voters in favour of older ones, according to the author of new research that has branded 18- to 34-year-olds the IPOD generation - insecure, pressurised, over-taxed and debt-ridden.

smh.com.au: A mortgage belting for Sydneysiders Home loan affordability remains at "scary" levels in Sydney even though property prices continue to fall across the city, and it will weigh heavily on the economy for years to come, the housing industry has warned.

Telegraph: Punters aim to cash in even if house prices fall It was not long ago that dinner parties in the south-east were dominated by guests trying to out-do each other with claims about how much their homes had risen in value.

Guardian: Gate Gourmet beefs up its redundancy offer Some 2,000 catering workers - including 670 sacked staff - are to be offered enhanced redundancy payments by Gate Gourmet if they agree next week to quit the troubled company, which was at the centre of the dispute that crippled Heathrow a fortnight ago.

TimesOnline: Rise in consumer spending is at its weakest in decade SPENDING by consumers has fallen to its weakest level in a decade, dealing a blow to faltering economic growth, official figures for gross domestic product (GDP) showed yesterday.

TimesOnline: US heading for house price crash, Greenspan tells buyers WALL STREET shuddered yesterday after Alan Greenspan, the United States’ central banker, warned American homebuyers that they risk a crash if they continue to drive property prices higher. He said that the US house-price spiral had become an economic imbalance, threatening stability like the country’s trade gap or its budget deficit.

SkyNews: SHOPPERS STALL FURTHER The rise in consumer spending for the second quarter of the year was at its lowest annual rate in more than 10 years. Consumer spending rose by 0.2% after increasing by 0.1% in the first quarter, said the Office for National Statistics.

Guardian: Job cuts at toilet paper maker The maker of Velvet toilet tissue has warned that its UK workforce could bear the brunt of a restructuring set to cost 3,600 jobs. Svenska Cellulosa employs some 7,000 staff at 30 sites across the UK including in Edinburgh, London, Northampton, Darlington and Portsmouth. It said Britain, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands would be hardest hit.

Independent: Tax breaks on second homes could worsen rural housing shortage The Government has been warned that its plans to give tax breaks on second homes could deepen the shortage of affordable houses in the countryside.

WesternGazette: TOWN FACES FRESH BOUT OF JOB LOSSES The spectre of job losses cast a fresh shadow over Yeovil this week, following a shake-up at two of the town's largest employers. Honeywell Aerospace, which employs around 800 staff in Bunford Lane, confirmed 50 local jobs have been axed as part of a global streamlining process to cut five per cent of staff worldwide.

Times Online: Economic growth dampens rate cut hopes Economic data published today has prompted one prominent analyst to question the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee's decision to cut interest rates by 0.25 per cent last month, and suggest that inflationary pressures will prevent any cuts in the short- to mid-term.

ThisisMoney: Pay rises pegged at 3% PAY deals appear to be stabilising at 3%, with no sign of any change in the coming months, a report showed today.

ThisisMoney: First-time buyer joy - in 2025 FIRST-time buyers only have 20 years wait before they will be able to step on the property ladder, according to new research. Unlike today's troubled youngsters, first-time buyer in 2025 will benefit from a plethora of small starter homes built from Government subsidies and earnings growth outstripping property price rises.

Telegraph: Hundreds of EU textile firms fold Almost 200 textile firms are closing each week across the EU because of surging imports from low-cost countries, despite quotas imposed on Chinese clothing last month

ThisisMoney: Second-home plan under attack PLANS to let pension savings be used to buy a second home came under fire last night. Chancellor Gordon Brown's proposed changes could mean sizeable tax breaks for some wealthy buyers. There are fears that this will trigger sharp house price rises in rural areas, forcing locals out of the property market.

Guardian: Lloyds TSB to move 125 jobs to India Staff at Scottish Widows were told yesterday that 125 jobs are to be outsourced to India by the parent company Lloyds TSB to cut costs. The news shocked the 4,000 workers at the Edinburgh-based insurer, according to union officials at Amicus, who pledged to fight compulsory job losses.

Guardian: Diesel 'could cost £1 a litre by Christmas' The price of a litre of diesel could reach £1 before Christmas if oil prices continue to rise, analysts have warned. The average price of diesel is now 95.3p a litre, compared with unleaded petrol at 91.6p. Diesel costs are rising more quickly than petrol because of constraints in refining capacity, said Ray Holloway of the Petrol Retailers Association, which represents independent filling stations.

TimesOnline: Crude politics to keep oil price rising This week the price of a barrel of oil surged towards $70 a barrel, up more than 65 per cent on the start to the year and near the inflation-adjusted price last seen in 1980, shortly after the Iranian revolution.

Money Week: What Lies Ahead for US House Prices? Can you open a financial paper today without an article on the slowing housing market? Everyone is looking for signs of an impending fall in housing prices.

Money Week: The Future for UK Interest Rates It is self-evident from the voting figures — a 5:4 majority for a rate cut with the Governor voting against the 25bp reduction to 4.5% — that the decision made by the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England on August 4 was, as we had always expected, very finely balanced.

New York Times: Rents Head Up as Home Prices Put Off Buyers Rents are rising again across the country, squeezing tenants who are already coping with high gasoline prices and improving returns to landlords after a deep five-year slump.

ThisisMoney: Second homes boom predicted OR thousands of Britons, buying a second home has meant looking at places such as Spain, the Dordogne in France and Tuscany in Italy.In the UK, there was the West Country or the Cotswolds. Now, however, would-be buyers are turning their attentions to slightly less obvious areas - such as Bradford and the East End of London.

Sky News: FACTORY ORDERS FALTER Factory order books fell at their sharpest pace in nearly two years in August, a survey for the CBI has shown. However, companies still expect to raise output in the coming months. The Confederation of British Industry said its monthly manufacturing order books balance fell to -29 in August, its lowest since October 2003.

SkyNews: MORTGAGE DEALS FALL OFF Mortgage approvals for home purchases fell 6% in July. However, that was at a much slower rate than in previous months. Approvals - the number of loans agreed but not yet made - fell to 65,611 in July from a 12-month high of 70,750 in June, said the British Bankers' Association.

Guardian: Oil prices top $68 a barrel Crude oil prices broke through the $68 a barrel mark for the first time today after China reported a surge in oil imports in July. Storms that could damage production in the Gulf of Mexico also contributed to the latest bounce in prices. Gulf production accounts for around 30% of US output and refineries have shut down as a precautionary measure against hurricanes.

BBC NEWS | UK | Tax plan sparks rural homes fear Plans to give tax breaks on second homes could exacerbate the shortage of affordable housing in the countryside, a government watchdog has warned.

Telegraph: Surging oil price forces bosses to wield axe There was a sharp jump in the price of oil yesterday, as the CBI said British factories had slumped because of high energy prices. The employers body said it was "energy, not wages" that is biting into manufacturers, who are firing 20,000 to 25,000 staff every three months.

Guardian: Economic growth will slow to 13-year low, says CBI Britain's economy is likely to grow at the slowest rate for 13 years as the result of the slowdown in consumer spending and a new recession in the manufacturing sector, according to the CBI.

TimesOnline: High street slowdown fuels fears for stricken industry THE recession in manufacturing looked set to worsen yesterday after a survey of the sector showed that slowing consumer spending and soaring oil prices had caused new business to fall at its fastest rate for nearly two years.

BBC NEWS | Business | Oil prices shoot up to new record Oil prices have surged to fresh record highs again after a surprise drop in US petrol stocks added to worries about a gathering storm in the Caribbean.

Bloomberg: Oil Climbs as Storm May Threaten U.S. Rigs in Gulf of Mexico Crude oil rose for a third day in four in New York on concern a storm developing near the Bahamas may become a hurricane and threaten rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, the biggest source of U.S. production.

ICWales: Fears over 800 job losses in Pontypool FEARS that the Welsh automotive industry is about to take another blow grew last night as reports circulated that the future of the TRW plant in Pontypool is in doubt. Local politicians reacted with dismay to claims that the major employer in Pontypool yesterday started negotiations with workers over potential job losses. TRW, a global car parts manufacturer, employs 800 people in its Pontypool car brakes factory.

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Paper mill lays off 70 employees A Fife paper mill is cutting 70 jobs in an effort to stem heavy losses and save the rest of the plant.

Independent: BCC trims growth forecast as consumers spend less The British Chambers of Commerce have slashed their economic growth forecast for this year to 2 per cent, fuelling expectations that the Chancellor will have to cut his own far more optimistic estimate.

Guardian: Builder predicts housing recovery Shares in house-building companies rallied yesterday as Britain's largest home developer defied housing market sceptics by reporting record first-half figures.

Telegraph: 'Shoemaker to the stars' files for bankruptcy Charles Jourdan, shoemaker to the world's rich and famous for the past 80 years, filed for bankruptcy yesterday after collapsing under €9m (£6m) of debt. The company's 432 employees have been warned that they will lose their jobs unless a buyer can be found for parts of the business in coming days.

ThisisMoney: Northern slump hits home at Persimmon A SLOWDOWN in the housing market has finally caught up with Britain's most valuable builder, Persimmon, as it reported a 12% fall in sales from its northern division.

ThisisMoney: Ombudsman reports hike in IFA complaints THE Financial Ombudsman Service has reported a spike in the number of endowment mis-selling complaints involving Independent Financial Advisors. The FOS said 13% of all endowment complaints concerned IFAs last year, but it expects that figure to rise significantly during the current.

BBC NEWS | England | London | Tube firm announces 300 job cuts One of the companies responsible for maintaining the Tube is axing 300 jobs. Metronet said there would be no compulsory cuts as part of the restructuring and losses would mainly be administration and backroom posts.

Reuters: UK's Persimmon expects autumn boost to house sales British housebuilder Persimmon (PSN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) has seen an increase in confidence among house buyers and expects sales to pick up possibly as soon as September, Chief Executive John White said on Tuesday.

Telegraph: Bank fires 20 staff who monitor risks in the financial world The Bank of England is about to fire more than 10pc of its Financial Stability department, despite recently announcing that it wanted to boost its ability to prevent another banking collapse.

Guardian: Property market slowed in July Selling a property became harder in July, with the number of viewings before a sale up 50% on June's figure, estate agents said today. A survey by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) revealed that July lived up to its reputation as a traditionally quiet month for buying a home. Its members reported falls in the number of buyers on their books, the number of properties available and the number of sales agreed.

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Shropshire | Jobs could go at assembly plant Up to 90 jobs could go at a Telford manufacturing and assembly plant. Ogihara Europe Limited says jobs are at risk because of a reduction in sales and an increase in material costs.

ThisisMoney: Fixed rate deals edge up BORROWERS looking to fix their mortgage are being urged to get a move on as some of the best buy products on the market disappear. Despite interest rates falling this month, lenders have started to raise their rates on fixed deals following a shift in sentiment over the future of the economy.

BBC NEWS | UK | 'Planning' call for second homes People wanting to sell their properties to second-home buyers should be made to seek planning permission, the Liberal Democrats have suggested.

News.com.au: Boom forces youth exodus Young people are fleeing Sydney as they are priced out of New South Wales and lured by cheaper living elsewhere.

Times Online: Odds are still stacked against first-time buyers The beleaguered first-time-buyer mortgage market was rocked last week when Woolwich, the home-loans arm of Barclays bank, said it was pulling its Offset Together mortgage.

Times Online: Tough times for buy-to-let novices The buy-to-let boom is over, for the time being at least. Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that the number of new loans fell by 4% in the first half of the year. This follows an 18% decline in the second half of last year.

Times Online: Are we set for a recovery in house prices? The housing market has reached a crossroads, with some commentators detecting tentative signs of a recovery while others predict further gloom.

This is Lincolnshire: £1,000 a week off till price is right A couple desperate to sell their bungalow are so fed up they have pledged to cut the asking price by £1,000 a week until it's sold.

Times Online: Inflation rate is now slave to oil prices SHOULD Britain be starting to worry about inflation? After the stream of inflationary news stories last week, it is tempting to think so. On Monday, the oil price shot up to more than $65. On Tuesday, the official measure of inflation jumped to its highest level for eight years. Then on Wednesday came the most disconcerting development: Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, tried to warn the Monetary Policy Committee that a cut in interest rates could jeopardise the inflation outlook, but found himself outvoted for the first time in the history of the MPC.

ThisisMoney: Tough financial times for young Britons SO what is the problem with the youth of today? It is hardly a new question, but rarely has there been more cause to ask it. There are disturbing and concrete signs that the younger generations are in a serious quandary - and not just the 'happyslapping' hoodie wearers.

ThisisMoney: UK jobs threat after shipping firm takeover ERMAN travel giant TUI's £1.2bn purchase of Anglo-Canadian shipping company CP has raised the spectre of job cuts at the Gatwick-based firm. TUI may target jobs there in its quest to rationalise as its Hapag-Lloyd line becomes the world's fifth biggest containershipping business.

IC Wales: Bankruptcies prompt consumer debt fears THE number of consumer debtors resorting to bankruptcy, when compared to entrepreneurs and business people, has hit a new high. The proportion of bankruptcy cases represented by those whose debts are mainly personal loans and credit card balances rose by 70% in the year 2004/05, according to new figures.

Reuters: Property transactions fall in July-UK tax collector The number of property transactions in England and Wales edged down in July, Britain's tax collector said on Monday, but activity remained well above a low at the start of the year. Transactions fell to a seasonally adjusted 122,000 in July from 123,000 in June, HM Revenue and Customs said. That was down on 151,000 a year ago but above a low of 107,000 this January.

ThisisMoney: £9,000 bill for two late payments MONEY was always tight for John Bullen and his wife Freda, but the couple scrimped and saved to make sure they met their monthly repayments for a £13,000 loan.

Scotsman: Don't bank on more interest cuts THE latest inflation figures and the minutes of the last Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee meeting showing the governor voting against a cut in interest rates have brought us to a critical juncture in monetary policy. Britain could now be close to an economic 'worst of all worlds'. It is one that combines slowing growth, subdued consumer spending, rising unemployment, a housing market dead in many areas, rising inflation, pending tax increases and interest rate setters deeply divided as to what the response should be: rate cuts, no cuts - or even an increase.

Guardian: Mervyn King won't write off the threat of inflation, but his hawkish stance may be risky The buzzword of the moment is stagflation. Inflation is going up, growth is slowing down, the oil price has hit levels unforeseen a year ago. So this is the 1970s redux, right?

Independent: Hopes of more rate cuts recede as oil pumps up inflation The cost of living is running at its highest rate for eight years, official figures revealed last week. Soaring petrol prices lay behind the rise in inflation to 2.3 per cent in July, its highest since 1997, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Independent: Spiralling costs threaten British building projects Construction prices are set to rise by almost a third over the next five years, casting a cloud over a swathe of projects including the building of the Olympic village for London 2012.

Telegraph: There's no need to panic over inflation Last week the corpse seemed to be stirring. Inflation rose from 2 per cent to 2.3 per cent, leading to fears that we are on the brink of an inflation resurgence. Are these fears justified?

Times Online: Move fast to snap up cheap home loans FIRST-TIME buyers and homeowners looking for a new loan were urged this week to act fast to grab the best deals as lenders moved to increase the rates on fixed-rate mortgages. The trend for more expensive fixed-rate deals comes despite the Bank of England’s decision to cut the base rate to 4.5 per cent.

Financial Times: Inflation news crushes hopes of lower fixed-rate mortgage Homebuyers holding out for cheaper fixed-rate mortgage deals were on Friday urged not to wait as some lenders raised rates on their best buys or withdrew them after this week's surprise news of a spike in inflation.

Financial Times: Housing wealth falls for first time in a decade British net housing wealth has declined for the first time in a decade because of rising mortgage debt and falling house prices, according to an analysis by the Financial Times. In the second quarter, the net wealth tied up in British homes dropped by over £60bn. This was because falling house prices wiped close to £40bn off the value of the housing stock and total mortgage debt rose by over £20bn. The last time net housing wealth fell was in the fourth quarter of 1995.

Independent: Service industries twice as valuable as factories The business and financial services sectors are twice as valuable to the UK economy as the beleaguered manufacturing sector, official figures published yesterday showed.

Times Online: Company tax surge eases the strain on Chancellor A SURGE in revenues from corporation tax and national insurance helped to ease strains on the Government’s finances last month, but still left Gordon Brown on course to overshoot his borrowing plans for the financial year.

Guardian: Manufacturing share has fallen 30% The manufacturing sector's share of the economy has fallen by almost 30% since Labour came to power in 1997 and now contributes only half as much to output as financial and business services, the government said yesterday.

Silicon.com: 'Chav' towns hit by house-buying info websites The proliferation of websites providing house buyers with information on good and bad neighbourhoods could widen the divide between the richest and poorest places in the UK, according to new research.

BBC NEWS | England | Staffordshire | Group meets to discuss RAF losses A task force which was set up following the announcement of hundreds of job losses at RAF Stafford has met for the first time. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said 280 redundancies at the storage depot are planned by 2007. The task force is to press the MoD to let JobCentre Plus give early help to workers affected.

BBC NEWS | England | Cumbria | Threat to textile printing jobs Up to 62 jobs at a textile printing firm could be lost after plans for a major restructuring were announced. Staff at Stead McAlpin in Carlisle, which is part of the John Lewis Partnership, were told about the plans on Thursday. The company said changes were needed to secure the company's future, which had been in some doubt because of a period of difficult trading conditions.

BBC NEWS | England | Shropshire | Job losses at county timber firm Richard Burbidge Ltd, based in Oswestry, is blaming the cuts on a downturn in the DIY and housing market. The firm, which employs more than 400 people in Oswestry and Chirk, said up to 30 posts, mainly managerial and administrative, may be affected.