The British Bankers’ Association said its members gave the green light to 44,657 mortgages in January, up from 43,581 in December and the highest number since January last year, when 45,794 were granted. The BBA said low mortgage rates were also driving strong interest from existing home-owners in remortgaging. Source: Reuters
A rally was held outside the office of the United Nations in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Monday to protest against measures of the Saudi-led coalition to hold and prevent ships carrying oil products from docking at Yemen’s ports, the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency reports as the warring parties in the nearly four-year-long conflict hold UN-brokered peace talks in Sweden. Source: Oil Price
A Chinese court has banned the sale and import of most iPhone models in a stunning decision amid the trade war between the United States and China. Source: CNN
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro said on state television that Venezuela would put in place in 2019 a program to sell all its oil production in the Petro cryptocurrency, which the leader is touting as the first state-backed oil-backed digital currency. Source: Oil Price
