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Today's financial news sees property panic in London, an analysis of Ryaniar's future and a warning of the under-regulation of Bitcoin.

Property panic in London

The weakness of London’s property market was further exposed today.

There are new reports of sellers under pressure and realtors warning of difficult conditions ahead due to the effects of Brexit.

All but two of London’s 32 boroughs have seen asking prices drop in the past year according to property-website operator Rightmove. This comes as Brexit uncertainty continues to bite in the capital.

Estate agent Foxtons said revenue fell in the first quarter and the housing market in the city is “very challenging.”

“Sales volumes continue to be at record low levels and ongoing Brexit uncertainty is impacting consumer confidence,” the company said.

The Rightmove report showed that prices for newly marketed homes have dropped 2.5% in the past 12 months.

This means sellers are seeking an average of 16,157 pounds ($21,000) less for their properties.

In Kensington and Chelsea the average price is about 1.6 million pounds. But asking prices have come down 3.9%, or about 65,000 pounds.

Only in Barking and Dagenham and Bexley, among London’s least expensive areas, did prices gain in the period.

Miles Shipside is Rightmove’s director and housing market analyst. He says, “It’s a strikingly accurate reflection of the current London market that the only two boroughs have sellers asking prices higher than a year ago,” said

A difficult summer for Ryanair?

With the weather getting ever better it’s a reminder that summer holidays are on the way.

However, one airline has been forced to be cautious with its expected figures for the summer months.

Ryanair’s is Europe’s biggest budget airline. Yet it has seen its profits fall by nearly a third last year to €1bn (£880m) as fuel costs rose and fares fell.

For the current financial year, the carrier said it was “cautious” on pricing and had “zero” visibility for the second half of the year.

The figures exclude the loss of €139m from the Austrian airline Lauda, which it took over last year.

It said that while bookings in the first half of this year were slightly ahead of last year, “fares are lower and we expect this trend will continue through 2019”.

A bitcoin warning

Investment Bank JP Morgan has been analysing data on the purchase of cryptocurrencies in the UK.

It said that the recent surge in the purchase of bitcoin is reminiscent of the boom and bust patterns of 2017.

They are urging UK investors to be careful when they look to Bitcoin purchasing.

Investors believe that better regulations need to come into effect to prevent the rapid rise and fall in price of this alternative currency.

Bitcoin has become a crucial tool in an investor’s armoury. However, its sharp price swings have meant that it hasn’t proven to be the reliable investment tool its creators were hoping for.

London news