Average age of first time buyer climbs to 34

Katy AustinTransport correspondent BBC At a rail yard near Milton Keynes, a group of men in orange outfits are making final checks on huge slabs of railway track, preparing them so that they are ready to be installed over Christmas and New Year. At a time when many commuters stop work to enjoy celebrations with…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. United Arab Emirates state energy company Adnoc has emerged as the frontrunner to buy Russia’s controlling stake in Serbia’s sole oil refinery, as Belgrade grows increasingly frustrated with Moscow’s foot-dragging under US sanctions. Adnoc, or…

Faarea MasudBusiness reporter Getty Images Boxing Day sales have seen a muted start as shoppers continued to shun bricks-and-mortar stores in favour of online. By 3pm, visits to UK high streets were down 1.5% on 2024, while shopping centres saw a 0.6% fall, according to data from MRI Software. MRI’s footfall data showed retail parks…

Users of the second-hand shopping app Vinted have taken to social media in outrage over severe delays in receiving their orders via one of the firm’s partner couriers. Posts seen by the BBC describe parcels not being collected from InPost UK lockers or left stuck in transit without updated tracking information. Some customers were notified…

Netflix has offered $27.75 a share, or $82.7bn (£61.2bn) in total, for Warner Bros’ studio and streaming networks – including brands such as Warner Bros, New Line Cinema, and HBO Max – leaving the rest of the firm to be spun off as an independent company.