IlluMyFi

The shift from live TV to video platforms has made toy makers and sellers rethink products and where to sell them

Letters to Santa used to be filled with ideas from the Argos catalogue or adverts on children’s telly, but for today’s kids raised on “swiping and streaming” YouTube is their shop window – which is why some are asking for a plastic toilet this Christmas.

The stakes are high for the toy trade at this time of year as consumers spend about £900m on dolls, games and action figures, equal to a quarter of annual sales.

Sentiment

Bearish/Bullish

21.12.24 12:00

by theguardian.com

UK house price predictions for 2025: with pay rising and rates falling, they’ll...

Nothing seems to stop the relentless march of property values, even with a stamp duty increase looming

It’s been a bumpy ride for the housing market in recent years, after Liz Truss’s disastrous mini budget of September 2022 created a surge in borrowing costs that have cost many households dearly.

But despite elevated mortgage and rent costs, the market this year has turned out to be “surprisingly resilient”, according to Nationwide building society. Experts had expected house prices to stay flat or fall, but average prices are expected to have risen by more than 3% in 2024, after falling by 1.4% in 2023.

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