City braces for fresh inflation and borrowing figures October 16, 2022 The City is bracing for another busy week of new data illustrating the health of the UK economy. Last week, the FTSE 100 index fell 1.89 per cent to finish at 6,858.79 points after it was rocked by prime minister Liz Truss ditching chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng. The domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more [...]
Hunt says Truss has ‘changed’ as he warns of spending cuts and tax rises October 16, 2022 Jeremy Hunt has claimed Liz Truss has “changed” after the bruising last month as he warns of coming spending cuts and tax rises. The new chancellor said “spending is not going to increase by as much as people hoped” and that “taxes are not going to go down as quickly as people thought and some [...]
Analysis: Truss can’t buck the markets October 14, 2022 Around eight minutes is how long prime minister Liz Truss today allocated to explain why she sacked her chancellor for implementing her tax cuts and signed off her second mini budget U-turn. She clarified neither. She answered four questions and committed to her “mission” to boost growth in the UK at a Downing Street press [...]
Even a complete reversal of the mini-budget won’t fill the giant fiscal hole created October 14, 2022 In August, we were promised a new Budget under the new premiership of Liz Truss. In September, it was downgraded to a mini-Budget when the Government decided not to ask the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to mark its homework, or set out a new economic outlook. The market fallout from this disastrous decision [...]
Liz Truss appoints Jeremy Hunt as chancellor after Kwarteng sacking October 14, 2022 Jeremy Hunt has been appointed as the new chancellor after prime minister Liz Truss sacked Kwasi Kwarteng today following weeks of market turmoil triggered by last month’s mini budget. Hunt is the fourth chancellor this year. According to bookmaker Betfair, Truss is now odds on to step down as prime minister. Kwarteng wrote to Liz [...]
UK borrowing costs tank as mini budget U-turn rumours gather pace October 14, 2022 UK borrowing costs fell sharply today driven by chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and prime minister Liz Truss reportedly set to U-turn on more parts of their mini budget. The chancellor has today cut short his trip to the International Monetary Fund’s Washington meetings to hold emergency talks with Truss in London. Rumours of a second U-turn [...]
Truss mulls another tax cut U-turn after bruising day for PM October 14, 2022 Rumours that Liz Truss could U-turn on her tax cut plans intensified yesterday, with the Chancellor telling journalists “let’s see” when asked about the possibility of a change of course. Number 10 held crisis talks over whether to scrap more of the mini-budget as speculation over the Prime Minister’s future reached fever pitch in Westminster. Many [...]
Investors scramble to dump UK property funds as valuations dive amid widening Kwarteng mini-budget chaos October 13, 2022 Following last week’s bond market turmoil, which sent shockwaves through the City, investors are now scrambling to exit UK property funds. Since the new chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, presented his Mini-Budget at the end of September, the pace at which investors are pulling out of UK commercial real estate funds has accelerated. In the 10 days [...]
City braced for end of £65bn Bank of England bond market package October 13, 2022 The City is bracing for the Bank of England to pull its £65bn emergency support package for the bond market tomorrow, but experts said volatility could be tamed by existing backstops supporting the pensions industry. Britain’s debt market has been rocked by concerns over the government’s financial credibility after it launched £43bn of tax cuts [...]
US inflation tops expectations in sign Federal Reserve has more work to do October 13, 2022 US inflation climbed higher than expected on a monthly basis in September in a sign the Federal Reserve’s series of steep rate hikes are failing to tame the toughest price pressures. Inflation hit 0.4 per cent last month, above Wall Street’s expectations of a 0.2 per cent increase and higher than August’s print, figures from [...]