Wednesday newspaper round-up: IMF, Currys', Mortgages

The International Monetary Fund has warned that a surge in oil prices caused by war in the Middle East could hobble the already ‘limping’ global economic recovery. The president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, said the conflict was ‘an economic shock we don’t need’. Israel’s war with Hamas adds to turbulence on financial markets already convulsed by worries about ‘higher for longer’ interest rates. - Daily Mail

Bidders are lining up a potential takeover of Currys’ Greek and Cypriot business. The electricals retailer said that a strategic review of Kotsovolos, which had begun in June, had elicited interest from “several potential buyers who in turn have submitted non-binding offers”. The FTSE 250 company said the board and its advisers were “evaluating” the bids and would provide a further update “when appropriate”. The news drove a rise in Currys’ shares of 2¼p, or 5 per cent, to 49¼p. - The Times

The proportion of homeowners taking out mortgages of 35 years or longer has jumped as borrowers try to offset the impact of higher interest rates, the Bank of England has warned. Threadneedle Street signalled yesterday that it was watching the developments in the mortgage market closely as homeowners look for ways to limit the steep rises they face in monthly mortgage payments. It said that the share of new mortgage lending on terms of at least 35 years had climbed from 4 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 to 12 per cent in the three months to the end of June. - The Times

Rural homeowners whose views and properties are blighted by new electricity pylons and cables could be offered home insulation, heat pumps and other energy efficiency measures by National Grid. Ben Wilson, National Grid’s chief strategy officer, said the company wanted people living alongside pylons and cabling to benefit from the infrastructure, which must be rolled out at scale as part of the shift to net zero. - Daily Telegraph