Longer mortgage holidays?

Get straight to the good stuff every day with the Multiply Minute; a lightning-quick round-up of the money news and how it affects you.

Mortgage holiday extension?

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is in talks with the banks about extending the three-month mortgage holiday. 1.6 million homeowners have paused their payments since the scheme started in mid-March. Now, the government is worried about what will happen when the holiday ends in June, and wants to avoid a “cliff edge” for struggling families.

People can’t get loans

Lenders caught up in the coronavirus credit crunch have tightened their criteria for approving loans, leaving people in need of emergency cash. There’s not much support for so-called subprime borrowers since the consumer lending market has come to a standstill. In a snapshot of the market on 16th May, subprime borrowers could access just 0.17 of loans on average, down from an average of 1 in January.

Should I buy an antibody test?

The medical director of NHS England has cautioned against buying a coronavirus antibody test, saying it’s not known how good they are. Superdrug has an at-home test on sale for £69 which involves taking a blood sample and sending it off to a lab. Public Health England is currently testing all the tests for sale to see if they’re effective.

Care homes in trouble

Up to 1,000 care homes in the UK are struggling financially and could go bust*. Two have already shut their doors temporarily. The care sector is a £31 billion industry and employs more people than the NHS. But with the flow of new residents reduced to a trickle, their future is uncertain.

Free football

If and when the Premier League starts up again, matches will be played behind closed doors. With fans kept away from stadiums, bosses are looking at making matches free to view on TV. You usually have to pay for Sky or BT...or go to a pub. But a new agreement could mean we can watch it for free on Saturday afternoons.