HOUSE PRICE RISES PREDICTED TO REMAIN BELOW INFLATION

House prices in London are predicted to fall by 1.5 per cent this year, while price rises across the country will not keep up with low inflation until 2021, according to a poll of property market specialists by Reuters (online only). Uncertainty around the country's departure from the EU is reported to be a factor in deterring buyers, with prices nationally predicted to increase by 1.0 per cent this year, following by rises of 1.5 per cent and 2.3 per cent in 2020 and 2021.

This news comes as UK Finance published its latest Mortgage Trends Update yesterday revealing there were 29,100 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in September 2019, up 1.6 per cent compared to the same month in 2018. The data also showed there were 17,740 new remortgages with further borrowing in September 2019, 5.9 per cent more than in September 2018.

DATA BREACHES DRIVE FIRMS TO CYBER INSURANCE

The Financial Times, (online only) reports cyber cover is one of the fastest growing parts of the insurance industry with high profile data breaches and cyber-attacks persuading companies to obtain additional protection. It's understood this reported growth has been led by the US, but is now moving towards Europe as a result of GDPR data rules that came into force in 2018. Meanwhile, biometric authentication including fingerprint and facial recognition technology is increasing in popularity as a preferred method of payment authorisation with almost 50 per cent of consumers using biometric technology on their smart phones to authorise payments - up from 35 per cent the year before, according to Deloitte's 2018 mobile consumer survey (Financial Times, online only).

NEWS IN BRIEF

The Institute of Directors (IoD) has called on the government to set out a formal code of conduct for board members at large companies to help restore trust in business (The Times, p42).

Mastercard's latest index of female entrepreneurs finds British women are starting businesses faster than previous years but do not receive the same funding or support as their male counterparts (Telegraph, B3, £, print only).

Data from Accenture reveals the majority of consumers (87 per cent) are planning to spend more this Christmas than in 2018, with 57 per cent revealing political uncertainty will not have any impact on their spending behaviour (City AM, p2).

WHAT THE COMMENTATORS SAY

Writing in the Financial Times (£, FT Special Report, p4-5) financial editor Patrick Jenkins explores staff retention and promotion within the financial services sector, commenting that ?detoxifying a male-centred workplace is an amorphous exercise?. Mr Jenkins argues that target setting, data measuring and pay incentives are some of the initiatives needed to see advances in diversity across financial services. Featuring specific schemes from different financial organisations, Mr Jenkins also stresses the importance of eliminating flipside penalties.