Biden bounce

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Biden boosts markets

Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential election has boosted stock markets around the world, with Japanese shares hitting a 30-year high. The new president-elect was declared over the weekend, so today’s the first day for the markets to react to the result. Europe and the US are expected to follow suit.

Stamp duty holiday

70% of hopeful homebuyers think Rishi Sunak should extend the stamp duty holiday beyond 31st March 2020, according to MoneySuperMarket. With mortgage approvals taking longer there’s currently just a few weeks left for hopeful buyers to find a property and get the ball rolling. A quarter of buyers say they’ll call off their purchase if they can’t take advantage of the tax saving.

Pay rise

Over 250,000 people will get a pay rise today as the “real living wage” increases 20p to £9.50 an hour - and £10.85 in London. The real living wage is a voluntary rate that over 7,000 employers have signed up to. It’s higher than the National Minimum Wage, which is currently £8.72 an hour for anyone over 25.