On April 23, 2024, the UK Day will focus on:
● UK stocks closed at record highs on expectations that the central bank would cut interest rates earlier
● Rightmove: Asking prices for UK properties have risen to near all-time highs
● British train drivers will strike for 3 days in May
● Studies have found that British Airways may be cheaper than low-cost airlines when the additional costs are included
● The UK will introduce a new law to ban the sale of wet wipes made of plastic
UK stocks closed at record highs on expectations that the central bank would cut interest rates earlier
On April 22, the FTSE 100 index rose to 8,023.87 points at the close, breaking the record high of 8,014.3 points set in February last year.
The news pointed out that this was because market investors expected the Bank of England to cut interest rates earlier and more sharply, which led to the fall of the pound exchange rate (the pound fell to a five-month low of 1.23 against the dollar on April 22), but also boosted financial markets, including the British stock market.
The market expects the Bank of England to cut interest rates for the first time in August this year.
Rightmove: Asking prices for UK property have risen to near all-time highs
Rightmove's latest data released on April 22 showed that the asking price of UK property rose to a near-record high in April, driven by large properties.
In the four weeks to mid-April, the average asking price for newly listed properties rose to £372,324, up 1.1% and just £570 below the record high in May last year.
Rightmove noted that the main driver of this was the increase in prices for four-bedroom single-family homes and other large homes, which rose by 2.7% on a monthly basis.
Rightmove data also showed that average asking prices across all property types in the UK rose 1.7% year-on-year in April, the highest annual increase in 12 months.
The average asking price for a property in London is now £696,120, up 1.4% in a month, or £9,272, and up 2.8% compared to the same period last year.
British train drivers will strike for 3 days in May
On April 22, the British Aslef union recently announced that drivers of 16 railway companies will hold a new strike in May to express their dissatisfaction with wages.
The strike is scheduled for Tuesday, May 7 – Thursday, May 9, and train drivers will refuse any form of overtime work from May 6 to 11.
The railway companies that will be involved in this round of strikes include:
5月7日：c2c, Greater Anglia, Great Northern, Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern, Gatwick Express, South Western Railway main line and Island Line
5月8日：Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway and West Midlands Trains
5月9日：LNER, Northern Trains and TransPennine Express
Studies have found that British Airways may be cheaper than low-cost airlines when the extra costs are included
A new study by consumer advocacy group Which? found that after calculating "hidden fees" such as baggage allowances and seat selection, low-cost carriers such as Ryanander, Wizz and easyJet are not advertising low prices. On some of Europe's most popular tourist routes, British Airways may offer better value for money.
Which? conducted a price analysis of three routes from London Airport to Malaga, Athens and Naples in April 2024 (returning a week later) and compared fares (including cabin baggage allowance and seat selection fees) on five airlines, including British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair and Wizz Air, to find that British Airways was cheaper than Ryanair and Wizz Air on two of the three routes.
Looking at the average prices for the three routes, cabin baggage and seat selection fees account for 49% of Wizz Air's total fares, 27% of easyJet's total fares, and 20% of Ryanair's total fares.
"It's easy to think that low-cost airlines will always be the cheapest option, but if you want to sit next to your kids or bring a few extra pieces of clothing, then you should probably do a little more comparison," says Rory Boland, travel editor at Which?. ”
For the Which?'s study, Ryanair called it "fake news." easyJet said: "Customers will only pay extra when they need to. ”
The UK will introduce a new law to ban the sale of wet wipes made of plastic
British Environment Secretary Steve Barclay announced this Monday (April 22) that the UK will enact new laws by the end of July this year to ban the sale of wet wipes made of plastic.
In England, shops have an 18-month grace period to phase out the sale of plastic wipes, meaning the ban won't take effect until mid-2026. Similar legislation will be introduced in other parts of the UK this autumn.
Barclays said the law was introduced to protect the marine ecology and at the same time, to prevent the sewer system from being easily clogged.