UK commercial property values and rents are projected to «tumble off a cliff edge» in the first quarter of 2023, as estate agents warn offices will fare worst as prices fall. A survey of more than 400 commercial agents forecast a 2.9 per cent decrease in prices per square foot across the industry in the first three months of the year, with offices falling 3.1 per cent. «Where we saw the market stop still, we will see the market finding its level, people working out where things are, where value is,» he said. Listed vehicles have already seen this valuation drop in their share prices, with real estates investment trusts such as Land Securities and British Land falling by a fifth or more this year. According to the RIB estate report, offices are expected to suffer the most significant sales price falls, with nearly a third of respondents expecting them to come down by more than 5 per cent. In addition, the survey projected a 1.3 per cent fall in rents per square foot over the period, w

  Devin Finzer, 32, CEO of OpenSea, said that the crypto industry had seen «some setbacks», referencing the fall of FTX. This cryptocurrency exchange collapsed into bankruptcy in November, helping to trigger a fall in the value of digital assets. Conversely, OpenSea soared in value as NFTs, which can be online collectables and digital art built on the same blockchain technology as cryptos, became a hype-fuelled market over the past two years. But the head of the New York-based company insisted that NFTs have a bright future, and consumers will continue to spend to acquire digital images. «It is not necessarily the case that NFTs will always be bought and sold denominated in cryptocurrency, as they are today,» he said. «There are a variety of reasons why that makes sense in the current ecosystem, but, as we get broader and more accessible, there is no reason that NFTs could not at least be denominated in US dollars». OpenSea has seen monthly trading volumes in crypto ether fall 95 per c

  Presidential meetings of the South American Mercosur alliance were usually sedate affairs until Uruguay decided to «open up to the world» under its pro-business leader ,  Luis Lacalle Pou .  Hard at work negotiating new deals outside the regional bloc since taking office in March 2020 ,  Lacalle Pou’s ambitions are running up against the other Mercosur members ,  who are closing ranks on Uruguay as political alliances shift .  Those tensions erupted at the summit in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo this month amid accusations of foul play and unsportsmanlike tactics on news that Uruguay had independently applied to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership days previously ,  a trade alliance including Australia and Japan .  «Uruguay needs to choose if it is with Mercosur , » Argentina’s foreign minister ,  Santiago Cafiero ,  said at the summit ,  in which Uruguay transferred the Mercosur presidency to Argentina . The three other Mercosur members have called for regional unity ,  threatenin

The Federation of Small Businesses, a lobby group, said a survey of members found that successful applications for bank loans and other financing had dropped «precipitously». Less than half of applications were successful in the third quarter of 2022, compared with nearly two in three before Covid-19, said the FSB in a report. The lobby group found the smaller a business was; the less likely its request for a bank loan was to be approved. Interest rates on loans offered to small companies have been rising as the Bank of England tightens policy in response to high inflation. Nearly a third of small businesses that applied for finance in the third quarter was offered an interest rate of 10 per cent or more. «As a country, we cannot afford to have a repeat of the post-crisis credit crunch scenario, where the dreams of thousands of entrepreneurs and business owners were crushed by a withdrawal of finance options, leaving them unable to continue and deepening the UK’s economic woes,» said M

Over the past 20 years, China has risen from obscurity to become a global leader in the car parts industry. Its growth was fuelled by European and American carmakers that farmed out the production of an increasing number of their components to China to save costs and establish links with the world’s largest car market. But international groups have now launched a quiet yet concerted effort to cut their reliance on China’s sprawling network of components makers, according to industry executives and supply chain experts. The first is the uncertainty caused by China’s zero Covid-19 policy that forces plants to close at short notice. «The longer the pandemic stretches, the more uncertainty there is,» Volvo Car boss Jim Rowan said earlier this year when announcing the Geely-backed carmaker was increasing its use of non-Chinese components. But the second is a longer-term concern about a more significant political decoupling in the event of a breakdown in China’s relations with the internatio

  Some of the UK’s largest banks have agreed on measures with the government to help struggling borrowers as they brace for a surge in late mortgage payments. The so-called forbearance measures used during the financial crisis are an attempt by banks including HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest to avoid repossessions and more pain for borrowers on top of soaring inflation and high energy bills. The move follows a meeting this month between Jeremy Hunt and the UK’s largest banks when the chancellor made clear that lenders would need to help homeowners repay debt. It highlights the difficult time ahead for borrowers, with about 1.8mn people in Britain needing to remortgage next year as their fixed-rate deal ends, leaving them with the prospect of much higher costs. UK lenders are already preparing to set aside further provisions in their full-year results in February to cover the expected increase in loan losses as more borrowers struggle with their mortgage repayments. He said the situa

  The eurozone economy is set to shrink next year as high inflation, and potential energy shortages drag down output and trigger a reversal in the fortunes of the labour market, according to a Financial Times poll of economists. Almost 90 per cent of the 37 economists surveyed said they thought the region was already in recession, and most forecast gross domestic product would contract over the next year. «Gas markets in Europe remain a key risk,» said Chiara Zangarelli, an economist at Morgan Stanley. Most economists thought Europe was past the worst of its energy crisis, sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. «The tail risk of gas rationing has likely been avoided this winter, but the energy supply for the next winter is still open,» said Sylvain Broyer, chief economist for Europe, Middle East and Africa at S&P Global Ratings. European countries have managed to lower their dependence on Russian gas imports by turning to Norway, the US and the Middle East and switching to altern

 The suit threatens the viability of a levy that the European Commission said would raise €25bn «to help bring down energy bills». Exxon’s German and Dutch units filed the lawsuit yesterday at the European General Court in Luxembourg. Exxon had spent $3bn on European refining projects in the past ten years, increasing output «at a time when Europe struggles to reduce its energy imports from Russia», Norton said. Norton added that Exxon was now weighing «future multibillion-euro investments» in the continent. Exxon was not opposing those, Norton said. However, if the European General Court decides to rule on Exxon’s suit, any judgment would be subject to appeal at the European Court of Justice, meaning proceedings will likely stretch through much of next year. The tax takes effect from December 31, with a levy of at least 33 per cent on any taxable profits in 2022-23 that are 20 per cent or more above average earnings from 2018-2021. Exxon, one of the largest petroleum suppliers in Euro

  Ambient computing   Amazon’s phrase for tech that listens unobtrusively in the background, like Alexa, its virtual digital assistant. The opposite of the immersive experience envisaged by Mark Zuckerberg with the Facebook founder’s vision for a metaverse. Anchor day   A single day of the week (often Wednesdays) when employers encourage all employees normally working from home to attend the workplace — to engage, collaborate, bond, socialise and maybe even “to double-click” (qv) Architect  To architect is to design. London Stock Exchange Group used this lexicological abomination to proclaim its joint venture with Microsoft, which it said would be a “new collaboration to architect LSEG’s data infrastructure”. Baby bank  Philanthropic organisation dispensing free nappies and toys in response to the cost of living squeeze, often sitting alongside  food banks. There are 200 in the UK. Bullwhip effect  The phenomenon of a small kink at one point in the supply chain leading to amplified eff

  Shares in Tesla fell sharply yesterday after a report that the electric carmaker plans to extend a reduced production schedule at its Shanghai factory into the new year. As Wall Street reopened after the Christmas holiday, Tesla reversed by 11.4 per cent, or $14.05, to $109.10 in New York. The business, led by Elon Musk, started in 2022 with a market value of more than  $1 trillion . However, its shares have fallen by almost 73 per cent, and its value stood shy of $342 billion yesterday. Investor concerns have hit Tesla. The carmaker plans to maintain curbs on output in Shanghai next month, according to the Reuters news agency, halting production  between January 20 and 31  as part of an extended break over the Chinese New Year. It is unclear why Tesla is taking this step, having also opted to pause most work at the plant towards the end of this month. As a result, America’s S&P 500 retreated 0.4 per cent, or 15.57 points, to 3,829.25. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite decl

  The chief executive of one of Europe’s biggest insurers has warned that cyber attacks, rather than natural catastrophes, will become uninsurable as disruption from hacks continues to grow. Insurance executives have become more vocal about systemic risks, such as pandemics and climate change, that have tested the sector’s ability to provide coverage in recent years. As a result, for the second year in a row, natural catastrophe-related claims are expected to top $100bn. But Mario Greco, chief executive at insurer Zurich, told the Financial Times that cyber was a risk to watch. «First off, there must be a perception that this is not just data . . . This is about civilisation. These people can severely disrupt our lives». Spiralling cyber losses have prompted emergency measures by underwriters to limit exposure. As well as pushing up prices, some insurers have responded by tweaking policies so that clients retain more losses. In addition, there are exemptions written into policies for c

  A UK developer of onshore wind farms is threatening the government with legal action unless it scraps or amends a new windfall tax on low-carbon electricity generators that will help subsidise household energy bills. The Cheshire-based company is the first low-carbon electricity generator to threaten legal action against the government’s planned levy. The levy is intended to capture some of the «exceptional» revenues that low-carbon power generators have been making as wholesale electricity prices, which closely track those of gas, soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Hunt’s tax on low-carbon power generators will come into force on January 1 and is intended to raise more than £14.2bn by its expected withdrawal date of March 31 2028 by adding a 45 per cent charge on wholesale electricity sold at an average price in excess of £75 per megawatt hour. He said the levy was discriminatory as it only applies to low-carbon electricity generators, including solar, wind, nuclear and

  TSMC is in advanced talks with crucial suppliers about setting up its first potential European plant in the German city of Dresden, a move that would allow the world’s largest chipmaker to capitalise on booming demand from the region’s car industry. The trip will be the second in six months by TSMC executives, and a final decision on whether to invest billions of dollars in a plant, which could begin construction in 2024, is expected to follow soon after, the people said. Last year TSMC was asked by customers to consider building a plant in Europe but halted an initial review following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the people said that growing demand from Europe’s carmakers for a supply of locally manufactured chips had prompted TSMC to revisit the idea. TSMC’s talks with several materials and equipment suppliers are focused on whether they can also make the investments needed to support the plant. « We wouldn’t let walk alone in the desert,» said one executive from a supplier th

  The share of US ad revenues held by Facebook’s parent Meta and Google owner Alphabet is projected to fall by 2 . 5 percentage points to 48 . 4 per cent this year ,  the first time the two groups will not hold a majority share of the market since 2014 ,  according to research group Insider Intelligence .  This will mark the fifth straight annual decline for the pair ,  whose market share has fallen from 54 . 7 per cent in 2017 and is forecast to decline to 43 . 9 per cent by 2024 .  Worldwide ,  Meta and Alphabet’s share declined 1 percentage point to 49 . 5 per cent this year .  Jerry Dischler ,  head of ads at Google ,  told the Financial Times that fierce rivalry from new entrants reflects an «extremely dynamic ad market» . Regulators in the US and Europe have added antitrust scrutiny ,  such as pursuing Google for allegedly promoting its products over rivals’ .  In December ,  Facebook owner Meta was served with a complaint from EU watchdogs over concerns that the social network’s

Although still mild compared with the US and Europe, inflation in Asia’s most advanced economy gained pace on the back of a historic fall in the yen against the dollar and price rises in food and electricity bills. Official statistics released yesterday showed that the core consumer price index, which does not include volatile fresh food prices, rose 3.7 per cent in November from a year earlier, exceeding the Bank of Japan’s 2 per cent target for the eighth consecutive month. Kiichi Murashima, an economist at Citigroup, echoed the BoJ’s outlook, estimating that core inflation was likely to slow sharply once government curbs on gas and electricity charges took effect. While core CPI was expected to rise 4.3 per cent in January, it was expected to slow to the 1 per cent range from August, according to the brokerage. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet also approved yesterday a record budget totalling ¥114.4tn for the fiscal year from April as Japan significantly increased its defence

 Spending by US households and businesses stalled in November. However, a slight easing in price pressures left inflation at levels unlikely to make the Federal Reserve soon pause its aggressive campaign to raise interest rates. According to commerce department data released yesterday, personal spending rose 0.1 per cent in November from a month earlier. That missed economists’ expectations for a 0.2 per cent rise and was down from an upwardly revised 0.9 per cent jump in October. The slight increase in spending was accompanied by a series of other economic figures yesterday, including a slowdown in the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge in November and a muted growth in a popular proxy for business investment. An index of consumer sentiment remained near a historical low, but its accompanying survey showed Americans were more optimistic about inflation easing in the year ahead. The personal consumption expenditures price index, which measures how much consumers are paying for goods and s

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  Ambitious plans to build a €2.5bn undersea hydrogen pipeline between Spain and France are exposing divisions over the best way to transport energy from southern Europe to the continent’s northern industrial heartland. Green hydrogen’s potential is unproven as it is not yet produced commercially. However, it struck a deal with the port of Rotterdam in September to create a «green hydrogen corridor» to bring the fuel from Spain to northern Europe. Initially, from 2027, the corridor will be a shipping route as Cepsa plans to convert green hydrogen into ammonia and then transport it by boat from the Spanish port of Algeciras. The green hydrogen will come from planned Cepsa plants in Campo de Gibraltar and Palos de la Frontera that will produce up to 300,000 tonnes of fuel a year. The EU aims to produce 10mn tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030 and match it with the same volume of imports, according to plans for REPowerEU, an energy transition fund. Iberdrola, Spain’s biggest energy compa