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Falling house prices may seem like a good thing – but it’s renters who are paying the priceWith first-time buyers unable to get a mortgage and landlords hiking up rents, it’s a vicious cycleUK house prices are falling. In the year to February, prices fell by 1.1% to reach their lowest level for over a decade. The drivers are clear: inflation and rising interest rates are combining to put off mortgage borrowers. Approvals are at the lowest rate since 2009.Without hefty government intervention, the current negative trajectory will continue. If inflation remains above wage growth, buyer confidence will remain low. On the other hand, if wages start to accelerate, the Bank of England will almost certainly ramp up interest rates to avoid further inflation, which will also dampen the demand for mortgages.Falling prices may seem like a good thing: the average home in England currently costs around nine times the average annual disposable household income. However, they would have to fall by a massive amount to return to the level of affordability – around 4.5 times income – that preceded the last major bubble of the late 1990s. Such a collapse would almost certainly cause a financial crisis and disastrous recession.A more gradual decline in prices is the more likely outcome. Buyers without big deposits will continue to lose out due to high mortgage rates and post-crisis regulation sensibly limiting risky lending. The market will carry on favouring existing homeowners who can access lower mortgage rates and cash-buying investors seeking somewhere to park their wealth. The proportion of people continuing to rent – in a private rented sector characterised by low-quality, insecure tenures – will continue to rise and home ownership to decline.And it is renters who will continue to suffer most from current conditions. Landlords are ramping up rents to compensate for rising interest rates on their mortgages. Or they may sell up: there is evidence of landlords exiting the buy-to-let market, which may reduce the stock of rental properties available. Owners may sell up or switch to short-term holiday lets, which bring higher yields. Either way, the supply of decent, affordable rental property will deteriorate.New supply is also being hit as the private construction sector business model is based on selling developed land at a higher value than it was originally purchased for. Already we are seeing signs of the mothballing of development sites as house prices fall. Housing associations are also cutting back as their budgets come under increasing post-pandemic pressure.Every previous crisis since the 1980s has seen a similar policy response: subsidies for would-be homeowners, whether in the form of equity loans, subsidised mortgages or tax breaks to reflate the housing market. These policies have helped developers, landlords and banks, whose business models depend on ever increasing property prices. But they have done nothing to address the affordability problems for both first-time homeowners and renters. Rather, demand-side subsidies like help to buy push up house prices, lifting them further out of the reach of those on lower incomes.What could be done differently this time? Rather than driving up demand and inflating house prices, steps could be taken to increase the supply of good quality, affordable housing, in particular for renters.In the short term, the government could explore more innovative options to convert planned or existing stock into affordable rental properties, as suggested by the New Economics Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The latter argues that stalled developments could be acquired by the government and converted into socially rented housing, enabling a more rapid build-out rate than the private sector is capable of.The government should also consider giving city councils the power to purchase buy-to-let properties from landlords seeking to exit the market and, where needed, upgrade them and make them available for social rent. Such policies are being undertaken with considerable success in other European cities, such as Berlin, Paris and Barcelona. In the latter, following the enactment of a public sector right to first refusal when rental housing is sold, the city has acquired 1,324 units by investing €145m (£128m) so far, buying existing buildings in the city centre, correcting geographical imbalances and stopping speculative investments.These policies will only be effective in the longer term with wider reforms that rebalance market power away from landlords and investors. The obvious place to start is reform of a property taxation system that incentivises speculative investment. Much more punitive taxes on second homes and short-term holiday lets would free up property for renters at more affordable prices, and should stop investors taking advantage of the current falls in house prices by snapping up properties on the cheap. The government should also significantly increase the capital grant available for construction of new socially rented housing, and provide more secure long-term contracts in the private rented sector.The UK housing market is currently rigged in favour of homeowners, investors, banks and private developers focused on investing in housing as a financial asset. The latest downturn is a huge opportunity to reverse this dynamic – and prioritise the right to secure affordable homes for all.
Mi percepción es que hay prisa por acabar con el ladrillo como "motor de la economía". Probablemente porque el diagnóstico ya está más que claro, la cura también y hay un acuerdo global para darlo por finiquitado. Cuantos más recursos se sacrifiquen para mantener este modelo caduco, más recursos se restan (poniendo en riesgo?) al nacimiento del próximo...eso es evidente.Ahora bien, la resistencia sigue siendo numantina. Por eso me parece difícil, a mí personalmente, anticipar ninguna deriva de acontecimientos. Lo lógico sería que en España se retrase hasta el año que viene...pero la incertidumbre es máxima. Igual hay que recurrir a forceps o cesárea de emergencia https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/03/falling-house-prices-renters-first-time-buyers-mortgages-landlords-rents?ref=biztoc.comCitarFalling house prices may seem like a good thing – but it’s renters who are paying the price
Falling house prices may seem like a good thing – but it’s renters who are paying the price
2 Drug Companies Can Legally Start Selling Cocaine, Heroin, and MDMAPosted by BeauHD on Friday March 03, 2023 @10:30PM from the how-about-that dept.An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard:CitarAt least two companies in British Columbia, Canada, say they've received exemptions from the federal government allowing them to produce and distribute cocaine, heroin, MDMA, or magic mushrooms. But it's not clear under what circumstances the companies will be able to sell the drugs, and B.C. Premier David Eby said he was "astonished" to hear the announcement. On Thursday, Sunshine Earth Labs, a psychedelics manufacturer announced that Health Canada, a federal government agency, is allowing the company to legally produce and distribute the coca leaf and cocaine; MDMA; opium; morphine, heroin and psilocybin, the active ingredient in shrooms. The company said it plans to "bring a safer supply of drugs to the global market."Meanwhile, cannabis extractions company Adastra announced it's now legally allowed to both produce and distribute psilocybin and cocaine. In a statement to VICE News, Health Canada said Adastra is licensed to produce the drugs for scientific and medical purposes but cannot sell products to the general public. "They are only permitted for sale to other licence holders who have cocaine listed on their licence, pharmacists, practitioners, hospitals, or the holder of a section 56(1) exemption for research purposes," the agency said.Both companies claim they received amendments under Health Canada's Dealer's Licenses, which grant manufacturers, doctors, and researchers exemptions to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, allowing them to legally possess and make banned drugs. In a news conference, Eby said the licenses were granted without consultation from the province. "It is not part of our provincial plan," he said, noting that he would be following up with Health Canada about the announcements. Adastra said it's license allows it to "interact with up to 250 grams of cocaine and to import coca leaves to manufacture and synthesize the substance."
At least two companies in British Columbia, Canada, say they've received exemptions from the federal government allowing them to produce and distribute cocaine, heroin, MDMA, or magic mushrooms. But it's not clear under what circumstances the companies will be able to sell the drugs, and B.C. Premier David Eby said he was "astonished" to hear the announcement. On Thursday, Sunshine Earth Labs, a psychedelics manufacturer announced that Health Canada, a federal government agency, is allowing the company to legally produce and distribute the coca leaf and cocaine; MDMA; opium; morphine, heroin and psilocybin, the active ingredient in shrooms. The company said it plans to "bring a safer supply of drugs to the global market."Meanwhile, cannabis extractions company Adastra announced it's now legally allowed to both produce and distribute psilocybin and cocaine. In a statement to VICE News, Health Canada said Adastra is licensed to produce the drugs for scientific and medical purposes but cannot sell products to the general public. "They are only permitted for sale to other licence holders who have cocaine listed on their licence, pharmacists, practitioners, hospitals, or the holder of a section 56(1) exemption for research purposes," the agency said.Both companies claim they received amendments under Health Canada's Dealer's Licenses, which grant manufacturers, doctors, and researchers exemptions to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, allowing them to legally possess and make banned drugs. In a news conference, Eby said the licenses were granted without consultation from the province. "It is not part of our provincial plan," he said, noting that he would be following up with Health Canada about the announcements. Adastra said it's license allows it to "interact with up to 250 grams of cocaine and to import coca leaves to manufacture and synthesize the substance."
CO2 Emissions May Be Starting To Plateau, Says Global Energy WatchdogPosted by msmash on Friday March 03, 2023 @04:22PM from the encouraging-feedback dept.Global carbon dioxide emissions are still rising but may at least be reaching a plateau, research from the International Energy Agency has shown. From a report:CitarCO2 from energy -- by far the biggest source of emissions -- increased by less than 1% in 2022. This was despite the turmoil in energy the markets caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The rise is smaller than the 6% increase in emissions from energy recorded by the IEA in 2021, a leap that came on the back of the rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic. However, a 7% reduction is needed every year to meet the goal of halving emissions this decade.Many experts had feared the soaring price of gas could push countries back towards using coal, which has much higher carbon emissions. But renewable energy seems to have been a big beneficiary, as countries opted for solar and wind power, and encouraged the take-up of heat pumps and electric vehicles (EVs). A mild start to Europe's winter also helped to save energy across the EU. Even a small increase in greenhouse gas emissions takes the world much further away from the path to net zero , the goal needed to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Scientists have warned emissions need to fall by nearly half in this decade, if the world is to have a good chance of holding to the 1.5C limit.
CO2 from energy -- by far the biggest source of emissions -- increased by less than 1% in 2022. This was despite the turmoil in energy the markets caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The rise is smaller than the 6% increase in emissions from energy recorded by the IEA in 2021, a leap that came on the back of the rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic. However, a 7% reduction is needed every year to meet the goal of halving emissions this decade.Many experts had feared the soaring price of gas could push countries back towards using coal, which has much higher carbon emissions. But renewable energy seems to have been a big beneficiary, as countries opted for solar and wind power, and encouraged the take-up of heat pumps and electric vehicles (EVs). A mild start to Europe's winter also helped to save energy across the EU. Even a small increase in greenhouse gas emissions takes the world much further away from the path to net zero , the goal needed to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Scientists have warned emissions need to fall by nearly half in this decade, if the world is to have a good chance of holding to the 1.5C limit.
Which sources does our global energy come from? How much is low-carbon?by Hannah Ritchie, November 30, 2021Today the global energy mix is made up of a diverse range of sources: biomass, coal, oil, gas, nuclear and a range of renewables including hydropower, solar and wind.In 2020, the global primary energy mix was made up of:Coal27.6%Oil31.7%Gas25.0%Nuclear4.4%Hydropower7.0%Wind2.6%Solar1.4%Other renewables0.5%This means that about 16% of our energy came from low-carbon sources: nuclear accounted for just over 4%, with the remaining 12% coming from renewable technologies.Note that these figures do not include traditional biomass, which can be a main source of energy in low-income countries. This is because this source is harder to quantify and only commercially traded energy is included in this data.