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 [...]
Ex Bank of England governor Mark Carney: Government ‘undermining’ financial institutions September 29, 2022 Sir Mark Carney, the former Bank of England Governor, has said the government’s mini-budget tax cuts are “working at some cross-purposes” with monetary policy. The economic accused Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng of “undercutting” financial institutions, after last week’s mini-budget sent markets into turmoil, and the pound plummeting. Speaking to the BBC, his comments came [...]
UK already in recession but market chaos will make it worse, KPMG forecasts September 29, 2022 The UK is already in a recession that is likely to be intensified by turmoil in financial markets, new forecasts published today reveal. Surging inflation – running at a 40-year high of 9.9 per cent – has squeezed households and businesses, forcing them to cut spending and likely steering the economy into reverse in the [...]
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 [...]
Ex Bank of England deputy governor: Impact of cuts from mini-budget may spell end for NHS September 28, 2022 A former deputy governor of the Bank of England has warned the NHS faces an existential threat as a result of government tax cuts and fiscal plans. Sir Charlie Bean, who is also a member of the Office for Budget Responsibility, said the government has lost confidence of markets and “the thing about credulity is [...]
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 [...]
House prices may tumble a fifth if Bank of England hikes rates steeply, economists warn September 27, 2022 House prices could tumble as much as 21 per cent if the Bank of England is forced to hike interest rates steeply in response to the government’s tax and borrowing splurge fuelling inflation, City economists have warned. Mortgage affordability – the ratio of a home purchase loan to the size of the borrower’s income – [...]
Sterling crash: Plenty of blame to go round but much of it falls on the Bank September 27, 2022 The British economy has been through a lot in recent years but a full-scale currency crisis still wins points for novelty. But for all the sound and fury of yesterday’s market movements and the so-called sterling crash, the panic is overdone. Much of the blame for yesterday’s excitement lies, rightly, with the government. This newspaper [...]
London’s FTSE 100 squeezes out gain as house builders tumble September 26, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 squeezed out a small gain today despite investors ditching house builders in response to the Bank of England signalling it will hike interest rates sharply. The capital’s premier index edged 0.03 per cent higher to below the 7,020.95 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250, which is more aligned with the health [...]