UK house-price inflation has slowed for four months in a row, but prices in London continue to rise faster than anywhere else 9.30am GMT The European Commission is toeing a diplomatic line ahead of Greek elections triggered by the loss of yesterday’s presidential vote.Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for economic and financial affairs, has been interviewed on French television this morning. Moscovici was criticised last month for interfering in the Greek presidential vote, by praising the Greek government.I want, we want, Greece to remain in the eurozone; it is good for the zone and it is good for GreeceI fully respect the democratic choices freely made by the peoples of Europe.We must preserve the euro, our single currency, which is a common good.The eurozone is today more solid than in 2009-10... There is nothing to fear 8.45am GMT Solid, not spectacular. That pretty much sums up retail analysts’ verdict on Next’s latest trading update.The retailer also gets credit for not resorting to Black Friday discounting.Just like last year, Next has managed to allay fears about the impact of the apparent discounting frenzy pre-Xmas on the High Street, delivering solid +2.9% sales growth in the period from Tuesday October 28th to Wednesday December 24th. Next’s initial view on 2015/16 is cautious, despite a relatively benign UK economic outlook, but it is still confident enough to declare another 50p special dividend and raise its indicative share buyback limit from £64.25 to £67, so there is plenty here for the City to be pleased with.Kicking off the festive reporting season, Next has posted a solid set of numbers, especially so given that they are measured against some tough year on year comparatives (last year total sales were up 11.9%).The figures are a vindication of Next’s refusal to engage in pre-Christmas discounting, including the popular Black Friday event. While this may have cost Next some sales growth over the reported sales period, we believe that it has not lost it much, if anything, in terms of profits. Indeed, this is reflected the profit guidance which is some £5m ahead of where it was in October. 8.33am GMT European stock markets, including the FTSE100, have opened on a downer.Market watchers are blaming oil prices, which fell to a new five and a half year low on Tuesday. 8.12am GMT Shares in Next are up 2.7% this morning, after it reported healthy sales in the run-up to Christmas.Next said total sales rose 7.7% in the year to 24 December. Full-price sales were up 2,9% in the final quarter, at the upper end of the company’s expectations. 7.57am GMT Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and the business world.The gap between the London property market and the rest of the country is growing wider, with house prices in the capital accelerating faster than anywhere else.This marks the fourth consecutive month in which annual growth has moderated, despite house prices increasing by 0.2% month on month in December. The 7.2% increase recorded over the year as a whole, is modestly lower than the 8.4% gain recorded in 2013.While cooling in the London market is a part of the story, this is not the main explanation for the slowdown evident in the UK figures in recent months. Indeed, annual price growth in the capital continued to outpace every other region in the UK, at 17.8% in Q4. Overall, 12 of the 13 UK regions saw the pace of annual price growth slow.If the economic backdrop continues to improve as we and most forecasters expect, activity in the housing market is likely to regain momentum in the months ahead. Supply side developments will be crucial in determining the trajectory for prices. There are encouraging signs that construction is starting to pick up. Hopefully, this will set the stage for house price growth gradually converging with income growth in the quarters ahead. Continue reading...
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