Friday newspaper round-up: Housing market, UK car production, fishing

The government has put the brakes on the housing market until the coronavirus restrictions are over, telling people to delay their home moves if possible and not to allow new viewings. In new guidance, the government said it was urging buyers and sellers to “adapt and be flexible” by agreeing new moving dates. – Guardian

British car production will slump to its lowest level since the financial crisis this year, the industry has warned, after the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of every large factory in the UK. Passenger car output will fall by 18% to only 1.1m in 2020, down from 1.3m last year, according to forecasts for the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) carried out by AutoAnalysis. It would be the lowest number since the depths of the financial crisis in 2009, when 999,460 cars were made in the UK. – Guardian

Last week whispers from Brussels that the EU may cave on the UK’s Brexit fishing demands were welcomed by many in the UK’s fishing communities. But now, even in the event that French trawlers are held at bay, the British fishing industry faces a graver threat. With restaurants and pubs forced to close their doors to halt the spread of coronavirus, fish prices at markets across the south-west have slumped. Harbours all along Cornwall and Devon’s coastline are packed with moored fishing boats. “This is a dire situation for us,” says Paul Trebilcock, CEO of the Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation. – Telegraph

Companies in every industry in Britain have been hit hard and expect the coronavirus crisis to be worse than the great recession, according to a Bank of England survey of businesses. “The situation has been described by many agency contacts as being worse than the financial crisis in 2008,” the Bank’s agents report said. Brexit, by comparison, does not come close. – The Times

Sir John Vickers, former chairman of the Independent Commission on Banking, has urged the Bank of England to block more than £7.5 billion of dividends to be paid out by banks. The intervention by Sir John, a former senior official at the Bank, heaps more pressure on Andrew Bailey, the governor, to force banks to abandon payout plans, starting with Barclays, which is pressing ahead with a promise to pay £1.03 billion next Friday. – The Times