Good morning: Growth in the wider house market may be slowing but, fuelled by the government’s Help to Buy scheme, the newbuild market continues to soar. Full-year results this morning from Barratt Developments reveal that pre-tax profits rose 9 per cent in the year to June to a better than expected £835.5 million on the back of a 4 per cent rise in revenue to £4.87 billion. Total completions over the year rose to 17,579, the highest in more than a decade. Markets snap The Nikkei closed down 0.51 per cent this morning at 22,580.83. At 6.42am Brent crude was trading at $77.8 a barrel and the pound was trading at $1.285 against the dollar and at €1.109 against the euro.

Source: The Times September 05, 2018 07:52 UTC