Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is the 45th and current president of the United States. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality. Trump was born and raised in the New York City borough of Queens, and received a bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School. He took charge of his family's real-estate business in 1971, renamed it The Trump Organization, and expanded its operations from Queens and Brooklyn into Manhattan.
The company built or renovated skyscrapers, hotels, casinos, and golf courses. Trump later started various side ventures, mostly by licensing his name. He owned the Miss Universe and Miss USA beauty pageants from 1996 to 2015, and produced and hosted The Apprentice, a reality television show, from 2003 to 2015. Forbes estimates his net worth to be $3.1 billion.
Homeowners warned of mortgage payments timebomb
manchestereveningnews.co.ukOver 1.6 million UK homeowners are facing a potential mortgage crisis as their fixed-rate deals are due to expire in 2024, which could lead to significantly higher monthly payments.
These homeowners have been benefiting from historically low fixed mortgage rates of around 2% or less in recent years. However, a series of aggressive interest rate increases by the Bank of England over the past 24 months has pushed the average two-year fixed mortgage rate above 5.5% as of July 2024, with some standard variable rates reaching as high as 9.49%.
This means that when these homeowners' fixed terms end, they could face hundreds of pounds per month in additional costs to remortgage, putting a severe strain on household budgets. "For 13 years, the Bank of England kept the base rate locked below 1%, and the thought of it suddenly ramping up to 5.25% was almost unimaginable," said Alastair Douglas, CEO of credit experts TotallyMoney. "People became used to cheap money - and rock bottom rates helped drive up property prices." Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that UK house prices rose by over 20% between 2020 and 2022, as rock-bottom interest rates fuelled a pandemic-driven property boom.
However, the rapid reversal of this trend has left many homeowners vulnerable. According to Moneyfacts, the average two-year fixed mortgage rate was a mere 1.99% in July 2022 but has since climbed to 5.52% by June 2024 following the Bank of England's interest rate hikes from 0.1% to 5.25%, aimed at tackling high inflation.
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