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Bitcoin (BTC-USD) held steady above $96,600 (£77,591) on Thursday, bolstered by cautious optimism surrounding the incoming Trump administration's crypto policies. This stability follows a recovery from a dip to $92,000 in the final week of 2024.

The cryptocurrency’s recent price action reflects profit-taking after a remarkable 2024 rally, during which it surged over 111% throughout the year.

Bitcoin rose by almost 4% to $96,465 on Thursday, according to CoinGecko data.

While the price remains below its 17 December all-time high of $108,000, bitcoin's resilience underscores strong underlying demand, particularly from institutional finance via US-based spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Read the full article here

Muhammad Naeem Aslam from Zaye Capital Markets tells us what to expect from gold this year:

Tesla (TSLA) has maintained its position as the world’s largest maker of electric vehicles, delivering 1.79 million cars in 2024. However, the company’s achievement marks the first annual decline in deliveries in its history, as it faces an increasingly fierce challenge from China’s BYD (BYD).

The US automaker’s 2024 sales figures, reported Thursday, narrowly outpaced BYD’s total of 1.76 million units, securing Tesla’s lead in overall deliveries. Yet, when it comes to the production of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), the tables have turned. BYD surpassed Tesla, manufacturing 1.78 million BEVs compared to Tesla’s 1.77 million.

My colleagues in the US bringing us the latest from Wall Street:

British factory output contracted at the fastest rate in 11 months in December, amid concerns about rising taxes on business from last year’s October Budget and a worsening global economy.

The S&P Global UK manufacturing PMI survey, watched closely by economists, recorded a reading of 47.0 in December, from 48.0 in November.

Any reading above 50 indicates that activity is growing while any score below means it is contracting.

Manufacturers said they were concerned about future cost increases, partly driven by rising taxes announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves last year.

Companies will pay more in national insurance contributions (NICs) from April, while the minimum wage is also set to rise, which will make it more expensive to employ people.

Firms also cited a weakening global economic outlook, as exports fell due to lower demand in Europe, Asia and the UK.

Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “A stalling domestic economy, weak export sales and concerns about future cost increases led to the steepest contraction of UK manufacturing production for almost a year in December.

“Manufacturers are facing an increasingly downbeat backdrop. Business sentiment is now at its lowest for two years as the new Government’s rhetoric and announced policy changes dampen confidence and raise costs at UK factories and their clients alike. SMEs are being especially hard hit during the latest downturn.

“This is sending a winter chill through the labour market. December saw the sharpest cuts to staffing levels since February.

“Some companies are acting now to restructure operations in advance of the rises in employer national insurance and minimum wage levels in 2025.”

The number of first-time buyers with a mortgage is estimated to have rebounded in 2024 from a decade low, jumping by nearly 14% annually.

Yorkshire Building Society estimated that across the UK there were 330,000 first-time buyer mortgage transactions during 2024, which would be a 13.8% increase compared with the previous year.

The year 2023 marked a decade low for first-time buyer lending, amid pressures from the cost-of-living crisis and higher interest rates, the society said.

Coventry Building Society has confirmed it has bought The Co-operative Bank.

The deal brings together two long-standing institutions, creating a financial powerhouse with assets totalling approximately £89bn and a combined customer base of around 4.5 million members across the country.

Under the terms of the deal, The Co-operative Bank will become a subsidiary of Coventry Building Society. This marks a new chapter for the 152-year-old Co-op Bank, which will now be brought back into mutual ownership — a status it lost in 2009 after being partially acquired by US hedge funds.

Coventry Building Society chief executive, Steve Hughes, said: “We’re excited about what it means for our future.

“Bringing together our two values-driven organisations will result in a mutually owned business that’s deeply passionate about its members, customers, and communities.

“We’ll use our combined experience of almost 300 years to do more of the things that matter to you.”

2025 looks set to be (another) challenging year for the property market. Affordability is still a key issue with house prices being affected across the country because of higher mortgage costs.

As a result, estate agent Savills has suggested that there will be a 4% average increase in property prices across the whole of the UK in 2025, compared to the 2.5% increase predicted by Knight Frank.

The latter flags that “the more affordable markets in the north” will experience the strongest house price growth in the coming years, with the North West, North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, and Scotland all predicted to see house prices rise be 5% next year.

In contrast, the South will experience much lower growth. The South West and East of England will see prices up by 2.5%, with London and the South East only faring marginally better with a 3% growth.

Read more from Yahoo Finance UK

The Bank of England (BoE) decided to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.75% in its final monetary policy decision of the year, leaving borrowers and markets uncertain about whether 2025 will bring cuts or continued caution.

Traders are betting that the BoE will reduce interest rates twice this year, lowering the base rate from 4.75% to 4.25% by the end of 2025.

“It is anticipated that there will be at least two 0.25% reductions in the base rate [this] year. These cuts could provide some much-needed relief for affordability, particularly for first-time buyers and those looking to remortgage,” said Rosie Hooper, chartered financial planner at Quilter Cheviot.

Read more from Yahoo Finance UK

Vodafone (VOD.L) has kicked off the year with a significant transaction, completing the sale of its Italian business to Swisscom (SCMN.SW) for €8bn (£6.6bn) in cash. The deal marks a major step in Vodafone's ongoing strategy to streamline operations and reduce its considerable debt load.

The mobile telecoms giant, which last year completed a merger between its UK arm and Three UK, plans to allocate the proceeds from the Italian sale toward debt repayment. In addition, Vodafone will embark on a further €2bn share buyback once its current buyback programme is concluded.

Under the terms of the deal, Vodafone will continue to provide certain services to its Italian unit for a period of up to five years. This arrangement will generate an estimated annual fee of €350m for the first year, adding a steady revenue stream for the FTSE 100-listed company (^FTSE) in the near term.

The sale to Swisscom is part of Vodafone’s broader strategy to simplify its operations and focus on core markets, particularly in Europe and Africa.

Wall Street is brimming with optimism as investors predict continued gains for the US stock market in 2025, building on two years of robust performance that have far exceeded expectations, according to Reuters.

The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) surged 23.31% in 2024, its second consecutive year of gains surpassing 20%. Despite a recent dip in momentum, the index has been buoyed by the resilience of the US economy, a solid earnings backdrop, and excitement surrounding technological advancements, particularly in artificial intelligence.

Over the past two years, the S&P 500 has soared by 53.19%, marking its biggest two-year percentage jump since 1998 and cementing its position as a major global financial engine. Analysts attribute much of this growth to a combination of factors: moderating interest rates, the ongoing impact of pro-business policies, and the dominance of megacap technology stocks, which have driven much of the broader market’s rise.

Looking ahead, investors are betting that these tailwinds will persist into 2025, with expectations that corporate profits will remain solid, inflation will remain manageable, and incoming pro-growth measures from President Donald Trump will help sustain market momentum.

As the new year unfolds, attention is now turning to how the economy will adjust to potential shifts in fiscal policy under Trump's incoming administration, with investors hoping that further regulatory and tax reforms will encourage further investment in US. companies.

Lidl has hailed a jump in sales over Christmas as shoppers turned to the discount retailer to buy their champagne and party food.

The discount supermarket chain revealed that sales increased by 7% year-on-year, as turnover surpassed £1bn over the four weeks to 2December.

It said it was a “record” festive period for the retailer.

The figures represent continued solid growth at the retailer, which grew its share of the UK grocery market in 2024 as it attracted more shoppers and opened more stores.

In December, industry analysts at Kantar reported that Lidl was the fastest growing bricks-and-mortar grocer over the past quarter, as it closes in on Morrisons’ position as the UK’s fifth largest supermarket group.

Nevertheless, the latest festive performance reflected slower growth than the 12% increase in sales over the same four week period a year earlier, when it also benefited from higher food and drink inflation.

Lidl GB said on Thursday that it welcomed almost 2 million more customers than ever before over the key festive season.

UK house prices increased by 4.7% annually in December, ending the year on a strong footing, Nationwide Building Society has reported.

Annual growth accelerated from 3.7% in November.

Property values increased by 0.7% month on month in December, taking the average house price to £269,426.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “UK house prices ended 2024 on a strong footing, up 4.7% compared with December 2023, though prices were still just below the all-time high recorded in summer 2022.”