PM Liz Truss to announce energy plan: Borrow £150bn, restart fracking and freeze bills at £2,500 September 8, 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss is set to announce bold new proposals to tackle the energy crisis, including borrowing £150bn, freezing energy bills at £2,500 until 2024 and restarting fracking. The newly-minted PM’s plans come after she dismissed suggestions of a windfall tax on energy producers to pay for the borrowing, as questions are asked about [...]
London’s FTSE 100 hit by slumping energy prices and downturn jitters September 7, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 today was ensnared by investors fretting over a slowdown in the world economy and falling energy prices. The capital’s premier index dropped 0.86 per cent to 7,237.83 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, edged 0.05 per cent lower to [...]
Liz Truss energy price freeze would peg inflation, BoE chief economist says September 7, 2022 LIZ Truss’s plan to freeze energy prices would prevent inflation from scaling to its highest level since 1980, but interest rates may have to stay higher for longer, the Bank of England’s top wonk said today. Huw Pill, the monetary authority’s chief economist, told the commons treasury committee that the new prime minister’s cost of [...]
Pound sinks to lowest level against US dollar since 1985 September 7, 2022 The pound today sunk to its lowest level against the US dollar since 1985, driven by investors sweating over the health of the UK economy and a borrowing splurge. Sterling fell to $1.1406 briefly today, marking another dismal milestone for the currency. The last time the pound fell that low was when Margaret Thatcher was [...]
Kwarteng tells City chiefs that UK borrowing must increase to pay for energy package September 7, 2022 Kwasi Kwarteng has today told City chiefs that short-term UK borrowing must increase to pay for a £100bn+ energy package, but that “fiscal discipline” will return soon. The new chancellor said in a meeting with financial services executives that the government is “committed to taking decisive action to help the British people now”, but that [...]
Meet Liz Truss’s top team: Long-term ally Kwasi Kwarteng to hold UK’s purse strings as Chancellor September 7, 2022 Following yesterday’s Cabinet reshuffle, City A.M. introduces you to some of Liz Truss’s key ministers. Who are they? What has their journey been so far? Also check out the new Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, the new Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly as well as the new Business Secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg. Britain’s new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has the job [...]
The price cap freeze: It’s not good, but it’s not the worst September 7, 2022 With the Liz Truss facing a host of bad options, a transparent freeze on the energy price cap might be the least bad of the lot.
Independence is ‘vital’ for effective regulation, say watchdogs September 7, 2022 The UK's top financial regulators have doubled down on their continued independence from political influence today as they warned that pursuing short term growth by "lowering" regulatory standards could threaten financial stability.
London’s FTSE 100 jumps as Liz Truss mulls cost of living support package September 6, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 jumped today driven by investors being reassured by new prime minister Liz Truss preparing to ramp up support for households and businesses this week. The capital’s premier index added 0.18 per cent to reach 7,300.44 points, while the mid-cap domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the [...]
If Liz Truss thought winning was hard, governing will be a formidable task September 6, 2022 It will not feel like it to Liz Truss, but that was the easy bit. Political campaigns are always brutal, exhausting and emotional affairs; none more so than this summer’s long and fractious Conservative leadership contest. But the challenges of the last few months pale into insignificance against the enormity of what the new prime [...]