UK avoids recession with 0.2 per cent growth Economy The UK economy grew 0.2 per cent in the second quarter of this year as it bucked initial estimates of a 0.1 per cent contraction in the the three months to June, official figures showed today
Pound recovers losses as Bank interventions boosts confidence Sterling crisis The pound recovered its losses against the dollar for a short time this morning as moves by the Bank of England in recent days helped calm the fallout of Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax cutting mini budget last week.
UK borrowing costs surge and FTSE tanks after Truss and Kwarteng back mini-budget uk economy UK borrowing costs fired higher and the country’s largest listed companies tanked today after prime minister Liz Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng doubled down on their tax cutting and borrowing plans. London’s FTSE 100, home to the UK’s top companies, shed 1.77 two per cent. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index nose dived more than three [...]
Banks and housebuilders bear brunt of market chaos September 29, 2022 Wild swings in UK debt markets and concern over borrowers’ capacity to pay costlier mortgages have whacked London-listed housebuilders and banks this week. Britain’s biggest property developers have been among the hardest hit listed companies during this week’s market sell-off. FTSE 100-listed construction firms Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments have shed more than 20 per [...]
Bank of England launches £65bn emergency care package to tame UK market carnage September 28, 2022 The Bank of England today scrambled to head off a “material risk to UK financial stability” driven by higher UK borrowing costs. In a mid-morning statement to the City, the Bank said it is launching an emergency, time-limited bond buying scheme amid market chaos triggered by investor concerns over the UK’s fiscal and economic credibility. [...]
Analysis: Don’t confuse symptoms with causes, the Bank’s hand was forced September 28, 2022 Today’s emergency Bank of England support package for the City was triggered by turmoil in a very specific segment of the gilt market. Since last Friday’s tax cutting and borrowing bonanza, rates on UK government debt have been going through the roof. That has pushed bond prices down. The two move inversely. That, in turn, [...]
Explainer: Why has the Bank of England intervened in financial markets? September 28, 2022 The Bank of England today has stepped into financial markets to try to tame the surge in UK borrowing costs. This morning, it said it will launch a temporary bond buying programme lasting from today to 14 October. The package will be unlimited in scale and will target long-dated UK debt. It is similar to [...]
Rates on UK debt surge higher and pound slumps against US dollar September 28, 2022 Rates on UK debt surged higher today and the pound trailed the US dollar again driven by investors sweating over the government’s tax and borrowing splurge. The yield on the 30-year UK gilt jumped six basis points to 5.048 per cent, the highest since 1998. Investors were demanding a greater return ahead of the government [...]
Bank of England chief economist warns of ‘significant’ response to market turmoil September 27, 2022 The Bank of England’s chief economist today rushed to calm the City by promising a “significant” response to the UK market turmoil. Huw Pill said it is hard “not to conclude” the Bank must hike interest rates steeply at its next meeting on 3 November after markets were rocked by chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax cuts and [...]
IMF “monitoring developments” in UK after currency fall and mini-budget September 27, 2022 The International Monetary Fund gave Kwasi Kwarteng and Liz Truss a slap on the wrist this evening, with a spokesman saying it did not “recommend large and untargeted fiscal packages” amid inflation concerns. The warning from the IMF comes after another day of currency fluctuations, triggered by a so-called ‘mini budget’ of tax cuts announced [...]