Property market on hold

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.

Homes not being sold

With the property market on ice during lockdown, 373,000 home sales are on hold. That’s £82 billion worth of property which isn’t being bought or sold, according to Zoopla. All the uncertainty surrounding coronavirus makes it hard to know when the market will go back to normal. But some experts have predicted that UK house prices could fall by as much as 10% this year.

Banks profits drop

HSBC has seen its profits fall by half in the first three months of the year, as it grapples with the economic fallout of coronavirus. The London-based bank said it expects that more of its loans are unlikely to be paid back. However, it said it won’t let any staff go during the outbreak. Santander also reported an 82% fall in profits, for similar reasons.

Betting ads banned

You won’t see or hear any betting or gambling ads for the rest of lockdown, thanks to new rules designed to protect people at risk of problem gambling. TV and radio ads will be replaced by safe messages from addiction charities. However, they'll still be allowed to advertise on social media and other channels.

Energy industry at risk

The offshore oil and gas industry in the UK is facing an uncertain future, with 30,000 jobs potentially at risk (paywall). Demand for oil has collapsed and there’s nowhere to store the surplus, so prices have tanked. In a report due to be published today, the trade group Oil and Gas UK says the government must act now to save jobs and protect the country’s energy supply.