Truss and Kwarteng mini-budget to ‘deepen’ UK recession October 4, 2022 Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s decision to slash taxes and ramp up borrowing without costing their plans will make the looming UK recession worse, City economists predicted today. Soaring mortgage rates driven by lenders passing on higher market yields pushed up by a lack of confidence in prime minister Liz Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s [...]
Kwarteng u-turn bodes ill for many tough fights to come October 3, 2022 The Kwarteng u-turn on tax doesn't suggest measures on planning or infrastructure will be any easier to get past restive backbenchers
IFS warns ‘massive spending cuts will still be needed’ despite Kwarteng U-turn October 3, 2022 The Chancellor’s U-turn on his plans to axe the 45p tax rate will do little to ease the pressure on the UK’s public finances and the mammoth spending cuts needed to get borrowing back on track, think tank experts have warned. Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said the about-turn on [...]
Kwarteng to U-turn on scrapping 45p tax rate: ‘We get it – we have listened’ October 3, 2022 Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will U-turn on scrapping the 45p tax rate amid opposition from his own MPs and former ministers. The government is to row back on the policy following vocal opposition from former cabinet ministers Michael Gove and Grant Shapps. On Sunday, the Prime Minister said she was “absolutely committed” to the policy. Posting [...]
Think-tank: Kwarteng budget “less out of control than the market thinks” September 30, 2022 ONE of the country’s leading economic think-tanks has described estimates that Kwasi Kwarteng’s package of tax cuts in last week’s mini budget could cost £45bn as a “gross exaggeration.” The package has gone down badly with both markets and politicians, with the cost of UK borrowing spiking due to concerns over runaway government spending. However [...]
Govt must decide which ‘unpleasant combination’ of investment and benefit cuts will fuel mini-budget September 30, 2022 The government will have to decide which “unpleasant combination” of investment and benefit cuts will fuel its mini-budget stimulus package. a leading think tank has said. Prime Minister Liz Truss is appearing to stick with to Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget plans, despite the Tories sinking in the polls overnight with YouGov saying Labour now has [...]
UK borrowing costs surge and FTSE tanks after Truss and Kwarteng back mini-budget September 29, 2022 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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]