Taking Stock on Thursday 5th October 2023
Taking Stock: Is a look at today's top business news & investment views plus we cover the winners, losers, the most read company news & the most followed. Today this includes:
This data is worrying for the economy but not for the markets:
House-building slump brings biggest UK construction fall since 2020
Britain's construction industry saw the biggest slide in activity in more than three years last month, as higher interest rates led to one of the sharpest falls in house-building since the 2008-09 recession, a survey showed on Thursday.
The S&P Global/CIPS UK construction Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) tumbled to 45.0 in September from August's 50.8, its lowest since May 2020, when COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were in full force and a move further below the 50 level that divides growth from contraction.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a much more modest decline to 49.9, and the figure contrasts with the less gloomy picture for the larger services sector on Wednesday.
The house-building index dropped to 38.1 from 40.7 - its lowest since April 2009, apart from two months in 2020.
TOP BUSINESS STORIES
The average queue of tenants requesting to view a rental property in Britain has lengthened from 20 to 25 in five months, figures from Rightmove show.
In 2019, there were typically six telephone or email requests to see each place. That had risen to 20 by this spring, and five months on it is 25.
Agents described the mismatch between demand and supply as "just crazy".
It comes as the average advertised rent for a new let outside of London has risen to a record £1,278 per month.
Property portal Rightmove said these prices had risen by 10% in July to September, compared with the same period last year.
Average advertised rents on new lets in London also rose to £2,627 a month, 12.1% higher than a year earlier, it said.
Drop in consumers buying electric cars as new number plate released
The UK car industry has hit out over a lack of incentives for households to purchase a new electric car after sales dipped among private buyers last month.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported a 21% lift in new car sales generally during September compared with the same month last year.
It said that 272,610 vehicles were snapped up in total, with the Nissan Qashqai and Ford Puma leading the way in terms of the most popular models.
The cost of a certificate to own a large family car in Singapore has jumped to a fresh record high of S$146,002 ($106,619; £87,684).
The city-state introduced the 10-year certificate of entitlement (COE) system in 1990 as an anti-congestion measure.
Prospective car owners in Singapore must have a COE in order to be able to purchase a vehicle.
They are sold in auctions every two weeks, with the government controlling the number of certificates for sale.
With taxes and import duties, the system has made Singapore the most expensive country in the world to buy a car.
For example, a new standard Toyota Camry Hybrid costs around S$250,000 in Singapore, which includes the cost of a COE and taxes. That is about six times more expensive than in the US.