Crypto News: The London Rush: House Price Dip

Hi, I'm Leo from Bloomberg UK's breaking news team, catching you up on this morning's business stories.

I hope you had a great bank holiday weekend (and didn't get soaked in Spain like my editor).

House prices have fallen month-on-month for the first time this year, suggesting the market may be stagnating due to high mortgage rates.

Nationwide said the average price of a home dropped 0.2% last month after 0.7% gains in each of the two previous months. Economists had expected a small increase on the month.

Generally, the market may have turned a corner, but the recovery will likely be bumpy, as Bloomberg Intelligence points out. In addition to interest rates, there'll be an increase in supply as more sellers put their properties on the market — which should help limit price increases.

What's your take? Ping me on X, LinkedIn or drop me an email at lkehnscherpe@bloomberg.net. Oh, and do subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted business journalism on the UK, and beyond.

Inflation in UK stores dropped to its lowest level in more than two years — partly thanks to supermarkets cutting prices to lure shoppers.

Superdry shares plunged nearly 50% at the open after its founder Julian Dunkerton last week said he won't offer to buy the struggling retailer.

Shareholders of the London-listed fund managed by billionaire Dan Loeb's Third Point, can now tender more than 25% of the stock they hold, in a redemption offer triggered by the company's shares trading at a discount to their net asset value. Loeb is also taking part in the offer.

Finally, illness and cost cutting have reduced the number of British royals who can appear at public functions. "Don't scoff. It's important," says Bloomberg Opinion's Howard Chua-Eoan.

Iran says Israeli strike on its compound killed two generals.
Bitcoin sinks on ebbing Fed rate-cut bets and cooling ETF demand.
McKinsey is offering some staff nine months' pay to leave firm.

Here's your daily snap analysis from Bloomberg UK's Markets Today blog:

As the UK enjoyed a long Easter weekend, the US was still busy publishing data that could have big implications for markets.

On Friday, the Fed's preferred metric of inflation came in line with expectations, but some blow out manufacturing data on Monday was more significant, causing the amount of Fed easing priced into swap contracts for this year to slide to around 65 basis points, and leaving the odds of a June cut around 50%.

Interestingly though, bets on Bank of England rate cuts are still fairly solid, showing around a 62% chance of a June move, and more than 70 basis points of cuts this year. That compares with 65% and 73 basis points on Thursday.

That might be a sign that traders really are starting to think the BOE is willing to go before the Fed when it comes to cuts — something that was unthinkable even a month ago.

— David Goodman

Check Bloomberg UK's Markets Today blog for updates all day.

We should find out this week whether Vodafone's planned combination with Three UK is getting a full-blown antitrust probe as the companies' deadline to come to an agreement with the CMA expires.

Tomorrow we'll get results from meat packaging firm Hilton Food. The Cambridgeshire-based company saw its volumes grow over the Christmas period, and investors will now likely focus on how the turnaround of its Seafood business is progressing.

Swiss watchmaker Favre Leuba plans to unveil more than two dozen timepieces this year, in a bid to expand its appeal beyond India.

Which Indian conglomerate recently owned the Favre Leuba brand until 2023?

[Last Thursday's answer: Water companies plan to invest £10 billion to cut sewage spills by 40% until the end of the decade.]

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