Weekly Market Update 06/12/2024
UK house prices rose at the fastest pace in two years in November, amid strong wage growth and lower mortgage rates. According to figures released by Nationwide, average house prices rose 3.7% in the year to November, higher than analysts’ expectations of 2.2% following an increase of 2.4% in the year to October. Nationwide’s figures show the average cost of a house in the UK is now £268,144.
On Thursday, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority approved the £16.5bn merger of Vodafone and Three UK. This was on the condition both companies sign binding commitments; to invest in the roll out of the 5G network across the UK and for customer protection, as the regulator raised concerns in September surrounding competition and higher bills for customers. The merger will see the number of operators in the UK drop to just three.
Bitcoin hit a new record high this week, as Donald Trump continues to gather more political and regulatory support for his upcoming second term. The cryptocurrency reached $103,800 per coin on Thursday, a 6.1% jump intraday, and a rise of over 50% since Trump’s victory in November. This is a long way from where the world’s largest cryptocurrency found itself around this time two years ago, following the collapse of FTX which saw the bitcoin price plummet to $16,000.
Andrea Wood, Chartered MCSI
Investment Manager
