The first interesting data point of the year isn’t a positive sign for the economy, with Nationwide reporting that house prices fell 0.4% in December. That may be down to some seasonal effects but was nevertheless far below expectations of modest growth. However, Nationwide declared that house prices in 2025 were “resilient” overall.
Whether it’s good news for the country as a whole that houses become more affordable or remain resilient, may be one of the themes of the coming year as more young people appear to be heading overseas in search of better prospects.
It’s been a quiet Christmas and New Year on the currency markets – that’s not always the case – with the many year-end reflection pieces in the media reminding us what a crazy year it has been in the global economy, with tariffs and the severe weakening of the dollar.
For anyone from the USA who started 2025 looking to invest in Europe, or avoid the incoming president, they have seen their buying power weaken by 12%. But while these have not been normal times in US politics or economics the truth is that any currency is similarly at risk in any given year.
Today we’re getting final Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) results for manufacturing across Europe, the UK and USA, on a day when it was reported that Chinese EVs (electric vehicles) built by BYD are expected to outsell Tesla sales. Part of that could of course be down by Elon Musk’s personal appeal, or lack of it, but it highlights the risks to western manufacturers.
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