Bank of England likely to slow down QT programme, Investec economist says September 15, 2025 The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is likely to slow down its quantitative tightening (QT) programme over the next year, an Investec economist has said, as Britain’s central bank looks to quell concerns over rising gilt yields. “We doubt that the MPC will maintain the same pace of balance sheet reduction next year [...]
Rachel Reeves defends Labour against bond market selloff September 9, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has launched a defence of Labour’s economic record and blamed her Tory predecessors for the mass selloff in the gilt market despite growing criticism of the government’s fiscal policies. In a parliamentary session before MPs, Reeves said the government had made “fully funded and fully costed” plans to support its £190bn splurge [...]
Bank of England ‘under pressure’ to slow bond sales amid market tumult September 5, 2025 The Bank of England should slow its quantitative tightening programme and stop active sales of long-dated bonds entirely in the wake of this week’s bond rout that saw the cost of long-term borrowing soar to its highest level this century, a group of top economists has said. Markets were rocked by a global sell-off in [...]
Watch: Are we on the brink of a financial crisis? August 28, 2025 This might be the calm before the storm; the final stretch of a summer holiday that we might look back on as heady days before things turned very nasty indeed. Yesterday I interviewed the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Business Secretary – all lined up in the City AM studio. The video will be [...]
Borrowing costs surge as gilts close in on 27-year low August 26, 2025 Long-dated gilts plunged to a near 27-year low on Tuesday, bringing the UK’s fragile fiscal position into even sharper relief in the run-up to the government’s second Budget this Autumn. The yield on 30-year UK government bonds, which moves inversely to the price, jumped by as much as nine basis points to 5.63 per cent, [...]
‘Weak fiscal position’ pushes UK borrowing costs to 27-year high August 18, 2025 Government borrowing costs have jumped over the past two weeks, flashing warning signs for Chancellor Rachel Reeves. The 30-year gilt yield hit 5.57 per cent on Friday before falling back to stick around 5.54 per cent when trading began on Monday. Gilt yields are higher than levels seen in April after President Trump announced sweeping [...]
Rachel Reeves: It’s not progressive to pay off US hedge funds for debt July 22, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said there is “nothing progressive” about paying off US hedge funds which hold government bonds, hours after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed debt interest payments in June were double levels seen at the same time last year. In a hearing at the Economic Affairs Committee, Rachel Reeves said she [...]
Economists urge fiscal discipline after ‘rollercoaster’ week for bond market July 4, 2025 Economists have called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to exercise fiscal discipline after a “rollercoaster” week in the bond market exposed the precarity of the government’s finances. Yields on 10-year gilts briefly rose more than 20 basis points, the highest intraday rise since the ill-fated Liz Truss minibudget in 2022, after Reeves appeared distraught in the [...]
Keir Starmer refuses to rule out £40bn tax raid July 3, 2025 Keir Starmer has refused to rule out that this year’s Autumn Budget will be softer than the tax raid seen last year, which targeted business and homeowners in raising £40bn extra in receipts. The prime minister has previously said that the UK cannot “tax [its] way to growth” while under-pressure Chancellor Rachel Reeves vowed to [...]
Gilts back to where they were before Rachel Reeves’ tears July 3, 2025 UK government bonds have settled back to prices seen before Rachel Reeves was seen crying at PMQs as bond markets were soothed by Keir Starmer’s warm words about the chancellor. The prime minister said Rachel Reeves was a “great colleague” and re-affirmed she would be the chancellor for “a very long time to come”. Bond [...]