BUSINESS LIVE: House prices boom; Aston Martin sales disappoint

House prices were 9.8 per cent higher in December than a year earlier, marking the sharpest annual increase since July 2007, monthly figures from mortgage lender Halifax show.

Prices rose by 1.1 per cent in December alone, the same increase as in November.

Aston Martin’s annual earnings are expected to be lower than initially forecast at £15million, owing to the group shipping fewer Valkyrie sports cars in the fourth quarter than planned.

The firm sold 6,182 cars to dealers in 2021, up 82 per cent, driven by demand for the luxury automaker’s first sport utility vehicle, the DBX.

Shell has overtaken Covid vaccine maker Astrazeneca to become the biggest company on the FTSE 100.

The oil giant was worth £132billion last night while the pharmaceuticals titan was valued at £131billion.

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