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House prices fell by 2.4% in the year up to July – but there are signs the market is showing ‘resilience’, according to the Halifax.

The fall in property values is less than the 2.6% annual decline it recorded in June, which was the biggest annual drop in more than 10 years.

Month-on-month, house prices slipped by -0.3% in July, which is the equivalent of around £1,000 in cash terms and the fourth consecutive decline on the mortgage lender’s index.

But Halifax said activity among first-time buyers was “holding up relatively well” and there were signs that borrowing costs were stabilising or even falling.

The lender said that while prices are expected to decrease further this year, the decline will be “gradual rather than precipitous”.

A typical property now costs £285,044, down from a peak of £293,992 last August, according to the index.

Halifax’s director of mortgages Kim Kinnaird said it showed that “in reality, prices are little changed over the last six months” when compared to the £285,660 average value recorded in February.

She added: “These figures add to the sense of a housing market which continues to display a degree of resilience in the face of tough economic headwinds.

“In particular, we’re seeing activity amongst first-time buyers hold up relatively well, with indications some are now searching for smaller homes, to offset higher borrowing costs.”

However, she said the buy-to-let sector “appears to be under some pressure” and it remained to be seen how many landlords might choose to exit the market.

The report also found stark regional differences in the market.

Prices remained “effectively flat” in the West Midlands, while in the South East property values fell by more than £15,500 – 3.9% – to an average of £382,489 in the year to July.

That trend was mirrored in Greater London, where prices dropped by 3.5% to £531,141.

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It comes as mortgage affordability remains stretched for many amid high-interest rates.

The Bank of England hiked rates for 14th time in a row to 5.25% last week as part of efforts to bring down inflation – and warned they are expected to remain at high levels for longer than markets previously anticipated.

But there was a bigger-than-expected drop in inflation in June and the Halifax said there were signs that borrowing costs were now “stabilising or even falling”, although mortgage rates are likely to remain much higher than in previous years.

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‘We recognise pain for families’

Ms Kinnaird said: “The continued affordability squeeze will mean constrained market activity persists, and we expect house prices to continue to fall into next year.

“Based on our current economic assumptions, we anticipate that being a gradual rather than a precipitous decline.”

Imogen Pattison, an assistant economist at Capital Economics, described the latest figures as a “modest drop” but said prices falls could speed up and continue into 2024.

She added: “While house prices are proving relatively resilient so far, the significant rise in mortgage rates is set to cause a renewed slump in demand, while previously tight supply conditions are easing.

“As a result, we expect house price falls to accelerate in the second half of the year.”

It comes after Nationwide reported the biggest fall in house prices in 14 years on its separate index earlier this month.

The building society said annual property values declined by 3.8% in July – the sharpest fall since July 2009.

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Harrods customers’ details stolen in IT systems breach

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Harrods customers' details stolen in IT systems breach

Harrods has warned its e-commerce customers that their personal data may have been taken in an IT systems breach.

Information like customers’ names and contact details was taken after one of Harrods’ third-party provider systems was compromised, the luxury London department store said.

Affected customers have been informed and reassured that the impacted data is “limited to basic personal identifiers”, a spokesperson said.

Account passwords or payment details were not affected in the breach.

“The third party has confirmed this is an isolated incident which has been contained, and we are working closely with them to ensure that all appropriate actions are being taken. We have notified all relevant authorities,” Harrods added.

“No Harrods system has been compromised and it is important to note that the data was taken from a third-party provider.”

This comes four months after the department store restricted internet access as a precautionary measure due to “attempts to gain unauthorised access” to some of its systems.

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Friday’s breach is “unconnected” to the attempts in May, the spokesman said.

Two men aged 19, a 17-year-old boy and a 20-year-old woman were arrested in July over their suspected involvement in cyber attacks on Harrods, Marks & Spencer, and the Co-op.

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They were arrested on suspicion of blackmail, money laundering, offences linked ot the Computer Misuse Act, and participating in the activities of an organised crime group, the National Crime Agency said.

All four have been bailed pending further inquiries.

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Nursery hackers: ‘There’s more to come’

It comes as hackers claim to have stolen pictures, names and addresses of thousands of children in a cyber attack on a nursery chain in London.

The group, calling itself Radiant, has released personal information about children and staff at the Kido nursery chain on the dark web and demanded a ransom from the company.

Radiant told Sky News on Friday it intends to imminently release the profiles of more children and employees.

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Trump trade war expands to cover many drugs, trucks and furniture

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Trump trade war expands to cover many drugs, trucks and furniture

Donald Trump has revealed a fresh round of trade tariffs on several key sectors, with the most punitive rate likely to affect UK businesses.

The US president used his Truth Social account last night to confirm that a new 100% tariff would apply to any branded or patented pharmaceutical product from 1 October.

He said that to escape the clutches of that duty, a company must have already broken ground on a new US factory.

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From the same date, a 50% tariff would be applied to all imported kitchen and bathroom cabinets while upholstered furniture faced a 30% rate.

A 25% tariff faced shipments of heavy trucks.

The president did not confirm whether the duties would be lower for nations to have agreed trade deals with his administration, including the UK and European Union.

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Each faces a blanket 10% and 15% rate on their exports respectively at the moment.

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It is likely, however, that the new duties will be applied in line with other, higher, sectoral tariffs that are currently in place above those agreed rates.

“The reason for this is the large scale “FLOODING” of these products into the United States by other outside Countries,” Trump said in his post.

The lack of detail around the application of the planned new tariff rules means further uncertainty for companies potentially affected.

Shares in pharmaceutical firms listed in Asia fell sharply overnight as industry bodies rushed to seek clarification on the new rules.

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AstraZeneca – the UK’s most valuable listed company – already has vast US manufacturing and research operations.

In July, as the threat of tariffs loomed large, it revealed plans for a further $50bn investment by 2030.

US figures show the country imported $233bn of drugs and medicines from abroad last year.

A 100% tariff rate, even on some of those shipments, risk ramping up the cost of US healthcare.

By imposing the 100% tariff rate, Mr Trump wants to bring prices down through encouraging domestic production.

US industry groups lined up to oppose the planned measures.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America said non-US companies were continuing to announce hundreds of billions of dollars in new US. investments. “Tariffs risk those plans,” it said.

The US Chamber of Commerce urged a U-turn on any truck tariffs.

It said the five nations to be worst affected – Mexico, Canada, Japan, Germany, and Finland – were “allies or close partners of the United States posing no threat to US national security.”.

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Many small firms reliant on Jaguar Land Rover have ‘weeks left’ before damage ‘untenable’

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Many small firms reliant on Jaguar Land Rover have 'weeks left' before damage 'untenable'

Small firms reliant on the production-halted British car maker Jaguar Land Rover, “may have at best a week of cashflow left to support themselves” with “urgent” action needed to support businesses.

Liam Byrne, the head of the influential Business and Trade Committee of MPs, wrote to Chancellor Rachel Reeves with the warning after meeting with the car maker’s suppliers.

“Larger firms, we heard, may begin to seriously struggle within a fortnight – and many are simply unclear how they will pay payroll costs at the end of October,” he said

“In short, many firms have merely “weeks left” before the financial impact on them becomes untenable and causes critical damage to key elements of the automotive supply chain.”

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Since 31 August, production has been halted across the car-making supply chain, with staff off work as a result of the attack.

More than 33,000 people work directly for JLR in the UK, many of them on assembly lines in the West Midlands, the largest of which is in Solihull, and a plant at Halewood on Merseyside.

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An estimated 200,000 more are employed by several hundred companies in the supply chain, who have faced business interruption with their largest client out of action.

Calls for government financial support had been growing, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday afternoon said, “I haven’t got an outcome here to give to you today”.

A partial restart

It comes as JLR announced some of its IT systems are back online after being hit by a cyber attack late last month though production is still not expected to start again until 1 October at the earliest.

“The foundational work of our recovery programme is firmly underway,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

As part of the partial restart, supplier payments can begin again.

“We have significantly increased IT processing capacity for invoicing,” the statement said. “We are now working to clear the backlog of payments to our suppliers as quickly as we can.”

The supply of parts to customers across the world can also now recommence.

After a workaround was reached on Tuesday to allow cars to move to buyers without the usual online registration, the financial system to process wholesale vehicles is back online.

“We are able to sell and register vehicles for our clients faster, delivering important cash flow”, the company said.

“Our focus remains on supporting our customers, suppliers, colleagues and our retailers. We fully recognise this is a difficult time for all connected with JLR and we thank everyone for their continued support and patience.”

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