Your commercial news round-up: The Sun, junior doctor strikes, mortgages, coronation, Threads

Reading time: five minutes

This week, like many in the UK, has been a hub for commercial news. We’re taking a look at The Sun’s handling of the BBC presenter story, the junior doctor strike, the coronation’s impact on the economy, Meta’s latest brainchild Threads and ever-increasing mortgage rates. Plus, don’t miss our latest Wrestle with PESTLE on no-deposit mortgages to dive deeper into our final story.

• The Sun has come under fire for its reporting of a BBC presenter accused of paying a young woman for sexually explicit images – the person accused is now known to be Huw Edwards. The newspaper is facing criticism over its commentary and ethical standards after it alleged Edwards had paid a 17-year-old for explicit images. However, the police concluded that there was no evidence to support this allegation or any genuine criminal misconduct. Yesterday (12 July), Edwards’ wife stated that the presenter is in hospital, “suffering from serious mental health issues” and “receiving inpatient hospital care, where he’ll stay for the foreseeable future”. The Sun has asserted that its initial claim wasn’t a suggestion of criminal activity: “We must also re-emphasise that The Sun at no point in our original story alleged criminality and also took the decision neither to name Mr Edwards nor the young person involved in the allegations.” It’s unclear what evidence The Sun has to support its claims or whether the situation will face any legal action.
   
• Junior doctors have begun a five-day strike in England, which will run until 18 July. Thousands of appointments and scheduled surgeries will be postponed during the walkout, while more senior doctors fill in to ensure emergency care faces limited disruption. However, senior doctors will be striking next week, on 20 and 21 July. Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers which represents trusts, spoke to the BBC: “The continuous period of industrial action is really damaging for the NHS in terms of first and foremost patients, but also cost.”
  
  Junior doctors have expressed shock at the government's refusal to talk ahead of the five-day strike, calling it “frustrating”. The strikes are taking place to raise awareness of more than 15 years of pay rises below inflation, with junior doctors fighting for a 35% pay increase to make up for this. The impact of this strike will add to the 600,000 NHS appointments in England that have already been cancelled or postponed due to previous strikes in the healthcare industry.
   
• Mortgage payments in the UK will rise by approximately £500 a month for almost one million households in the next three years, says the Bank of England (BoE). In its most recent report, the BoE said that mortgage holders may “struggle with repayments" on loans but reassured people that lenders are in a position to withstand a rise in customers defaulting on payments. Interest rates were raised by 0.1% in December 2021 to 5% in an effort to slow the rate at which prices rise. The report detailed how, as fixed-rate mortgage deals run out and buyers renew loans, mortgage repayments will inevitably rise. It’s forewarned that more than two million households will pay between £200 and £499 more per month by 2026, while a further one million will see payments increase by more than £500. The banks and building societies that have been tested include:
  •  Barclays;
  • Lloyds;
  • HSBC;
  • NatWest;
  • Santander UK;
  • Standard Chartered;
  • Nationwide Building Society; and
  • Virgin Money.
     
• The King’s coronation has caused the economy to shrink as GDP falls by 0.1% in May, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Lost work, caused by the additional bank holiday to celebrate the King’s coronation is thought to have sent UK economic growth into reverse. Industries shutting down activity on bank holidays (eg, financial and professional services) contributed to May’s drop in revenue. Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: “Despite the Coronation Bank Holiday, pubs and bars saw sales fall after a strong April. Employment agencies also saw another poor month.” Previously, bank holidays had more impact on GDP loss but in recent years, an increasingly digitalised economy and an increase in the number of businesses staying open has led to them having less impact. In the three months leading up to May, the economy registered zero growth, meaning a slight reduction in consumer spending in the coming months may see quarterly economic growth slip into negative territory.
   
• Threads, the latest addition to social media, has hit 100 million sign-ups in under five days. The app, dubbed a “Twitter killer”, has been growing rapidly since its launch on 5 July 2023. Mark Zuckerburg who created the Meta franchise that Threads falls under wrote via the app: “Threads reached 100 million sign-ups over the weekend, that’s mostly organic demand and we haven’t even turned on many promotions yet. Can’t believe it’s only been five days!” To create a Threads account, users must already have an account with Instagram; Threads can then automatically transfer the accounts users follow on Instagram to Threads. Twitter owner Elon Musk has threatened to sue Meta over its launch of a so-called “copycat” app. Twitter has undergone a fair level of change since Musk’s £38 billion takeover in 2022, such as job cuts and imposing viewing limits on users.

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