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 [...]
Stamp duty cut set to boost property market as analyst ‘highly sceptical’ of demand-side push September 26, 2022 Cuts to stamp duty are set to give the UK property market a boost of more than 25 per cent as thousands of Brits look to cash in. Research from Barrows and Forrester suggests – based on previous stamp duty holidays – that up to a million homes could be sold due to the cut. [...]
Attention turns to Starmer as Labour conference kicks off tomorrow September 24, 2022 Attention has turned to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer as the party’s annual conference kicks off tomorrow. Taking place in Liverpool from Sunday until Wednesday, the conference will provide an opportunity for Starmer to assert himself as the next prime minister. Supporters hope Starmer will use the meeting to mark the stark divide between his [...]
Treasury denies allegations of gambling with economy as pound falls below $1.10 September 24, 2022 The Treasury has denied allegations of gambling with the UK’s economy as the pound fell below $1.10 for the first time in almost 40 years following yesterday’s mini-budget. Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said Britain will go on an “unsustainable path” of borrowing following the reforms – the most radical in [...]
Half of tax cuts in Kwarteng’s mini-budget will go to richest five per cent, Resolution Foundation claims September 23, 2022 Half of the Chancellor’s planned tax cuts will go to the richest five per cent of the country, a leading think-tank has said. In sharp criticism of today’s raft of new policies in the mini-budget, the Resolution Foundation hit out at Kwasi Kwarteng for having “blown the budget”. This comes after Kwarteng announced a tax [...]
Kwarteng tightens rules around universal credit to ‘get Britain working again’ September 23, 2022 Kwasi Kwarteng has tightened rules around universal credit in a bid to “get Britain working again”. As it stands, universal credit claimants working up to 12 hours a week at the National Living Wage are at risk of cuts if they don’t take steps to increase their earnings nor meet regularly with a work coach. However, [...]
Pound plummets to 37-year low against dollar ahead of Kwarteng’s mini-budget September 23, 2022 The Pound has plummeted to a fresh 37-year low against the dollar ahead of the Chancellor’s mini-budget today. Sterling dropped below $1.12 against the backdrop of a new low for consumer confidence, while FTSE 100 fell early. The pound has been on a poor recent run, with it announced this week the UK borrowed more [...]