UK slumps to bottom of G7 economy league next year, OECD predicts November 22, 2022 The UK economy will languish behind its rich counterparts next year amid a tough inflation surge driven by worker shortages and an “untargeted” energy support package, a new report reveals. Britain’s economy will shrink 0.4 per cent next year, the worst performance of any country in the G7, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation [...]
FTSE 100 weighed down by China Covid-19 jitters November 21, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 was today weighed down by the re-emergence of tough restrictions to tame Covid-19 in China over the weekend. The capital’s premier index edged 0.12 per cent lower to 7,376.85 points, while the domestically-focus mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, climbed 0.68 per cent [...]
Flip flopping over tax hikes and spending cuts a ‘bruising episode’ for UK November 21, 2022 Flip flopping on UK economic policy has been “a bruising episode” for the country over the past few months, a top City economist said today. The huge swing in tax and spending decisions between former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and the current number 11 incumbent Jeremy Hunt has damaged the country’s financial credibility, according to Neil Shearing, [...]
UK ‘can’t afford’ another decade of lost growth, CBI warn November 21, 2022 The UK “can’t afford a repeat” of its severe economic underperformance since the 2008 financial crisis, the chief of the country’s top business group will warn chancellor Jeremy Hunt today. Responding to last week’s autumn statement, Tony Danker, director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), will slam the chancellor for failing to roll [...]
Hunt on course to miss fiscal targets despite £55bn of tightening, Deutsche Bank bet November 20, 2022 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is on course to miss his fiscal goals due to a weaker growth outlook than forecast by the UK’s budget watchdog, an investment bank has said. According to Sanjay Raja, senior economist at Deutsche Bank, the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) GDP growth forecasts are too optimistic. Last week, the OBR said [...]
Public finances in view after Hunt’s £55bn of spending cuts and tax hikes November 20, 2022 Traders will be keen to examine fresh public finances figures out this week to get a sense of the UK’s debt pile that pushed chancellor Jeremy Hunt into £55bn of spending cuts and tax hikes last week. London’s premier FTSE 100 index registered a solid performance last week, adding 0.92 per cent to close at [...]
Liontrust doubles down on current strategy in face of ‘challenging’ economic conditions November 18, 2022 Asset manager Liontrust today vowed to maintain its dividend as it doubled down on its current strategy in the face of “challenging” macro-economic conditions. The FTSE 250 asset manager’s chair said Liontrust remains “steadfast” in its belief that its current strategy is “the correct one” and that is being “implemented effectively as possible,” as he [...]
Market reaction to autumn statement a far cry from Truss and Kwarteng’s mini-budget November 17, 2022 Financial markets largely glossed over chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s £55bn worth of tax hikes and spending cuts today, a marked change from them spitting out his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget. London’s FTSE 100 closed broadly flat, edging 0.06 per cent lower, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index bumped 0.05 per cent high. Most of the [...]
Hunt targets highest earners in tax grab as chancellor raises £55bn November 17, 2022 The UK’s highest earners have been targeted as a part of Jeremy Hunt’s tax grab, with the top 45p threshold of Income Tax slashed. The top tax bracket has been reduced from £150,000 to £125,140, while he has also frozen the Income Tax thresholds for the two lower brackets in a stealth hike. Hunt announced [...]
OBR: UK is already in recession and taxes on course for post World War II high November 17, 2022 The UK is already in a recession that will burn a huge hole in the public finances, forcing the government to hike taxes to their highest level since just after the Second World War in the 1940s, the country’s fiscal watchdog warned today in forecasts published alongside Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement. The Office for Budget [...]