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☆ 'Last chance saloon': UK finance minister expected to pledge pre-election tax cuts
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said earlier this month the U.K. would not enter a recession this year. LONDON — Economists expect U.K. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt to use a small fiscal windfall to deliver a modest package of tax cuts at his Spring Budget on Wednesday. However, the big questions over tax cuts remain heading into Wednesday's statement. Raja suggested the finance minister will err on the side of caution in loosening fiscal policy, favoring supply side support over boosting demand. "Therefore, tax cuts to national insurance contributions (NICs) and changes to child benefits are more likely to come in the Spring Budget (in contrast to earlier expectations of income tax cuts)."

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, Sanjay Raja, Raja Organizations: British, LONDON, Finance, Budget, Conservative, Labour Party, Treasury, Independent, Deutsche Bank, Bank of England

☆ UK posts record budget surplus in January
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Jeremy Hunt, UK chancellor of the exchequer, holding the despatch box as he stands with treasury colleagues outside 11 Downing Street in London, UK.. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesLONDON — The U.K. logged a record £16.7 billion ($21.1 billion) net budget surplus in January, according to official figures released on Wednesday. The Office for National Statistics noted that the country's public finances usually run a surplus in January, unlike during other months, as receipts from self-assessed annual income tax payments come in. Combined self-assessed income and capital gains tax receipts totaled £33 billion in January, the ONS said, down £1.8 billion from the same period of last year. Total government tax receipts came in at a record £90.8 billion, up £2.9 billion compared to January 2023. The figures on Wednesday mark the final set of public finances data before Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt delivers his Spring Budget, which outlines the government's fiscal policy for the year, on March 6.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Laura Trott, Hunt Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, National Statistics, Finance, Labour Party Locations: London, Covid, Ukraine

☆ London police fatally shoot man allegedly armed with a crossbow
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Police in the British capital shot dead a man who was reportedly trying to enter a property armed with a crossbow in the early hours of Tuesday, according to a statement. The man, who police say is thought to be in his 30s, “was threatening to harm residents inside the address,” reads the statement. Lucy North/Press Association/AP“Local officers attended and attempted to speak to the man but, after being threatened, armed officers were called and quickly attended the scene,” added police. “The man had got inside the property, and a police firearm was discharged,” continues the statement. Police and paramedics provided first aid but the man died at the scene, said police, adding that two people at the address suffered minor injuries.

Persons: “, Lucy North, ”, Seb Adjei Organizations: London CNN — Police, city’s Metropolitan Police, Press Association, AP “ Local, Police, Independent Office, Metropolitan Police Locations: Bywater, London, city’s, Southwark, England, Wales

☆ Why the UK government's tax cuts still leave workers worse off
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt that the U.K. economy would not enter a technical recession in 2023, while announcing the government's spring Budget. The U.K. National Insurance is a tax on workers' income and employers' profits to pay for state social security benefits, including the state pension. Touted by the Conservative party as the "largest ever tax cut for workers," the move nevertheless does not shield taxpayers from the effect of frozen tax thresholds that tip more of their income into higher tax brackets, as nominal wages rise. In March 2021, then-Finance Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the personal allowance (PA) and higher-rate thresholds (HRT) of income tax would be frozen for four years until April 2026. Alongside extending the freezes, Hunt in November 2022 froze the upper earnings limit for NI contributions and lowered the additional rate hold from £150,000 to £125,140 from April 2023.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Dan Kitwood, Rishi Sunak's, Hunt, Rishi Sunak, Torsten Bell, Paul Johnson Organizations: British, Getty, Finance, National Insurance, Labour Party, Rishi Sunak's Conservative, Insurance, Conservative, Treasury, Institute for Fiscal Studies

☆ European markets head for mixed open as sentiment falters
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Jeremy Hunt on the second day of the Conservative Party Conference on Oct. 2, 2023, in Manchester, England. U.K. public sector net borrowing excluding banks was £14.9 billion ($18.68 billion) in October, the second-highest level of borrowing for the month since records began in 1993. It was also higher than consensus forecasts and a March forecast by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility of £13.7 billion. Tax receipts were £2.7 billion higher year on year at £57.9 billion. It comes ahead of a government budget update Wednesday in which Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt may announce tax cuts as he seeks to prioritize growth, according to the BBC.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Ruth Gregory, Hunt, Gregory said, Gregory, Lindsay James, — Jenni Reid Organizations: Conservative Party Conference, Capital Economics, Quilter Investors Locations: Manchester, England

LONDON (AP) — Two of London's Metropolitan Police officers were dismissed from the force on Wednesday after a disciplinary panel concluded that they committed gross misconduct over the stop and search of two Black athletes. Bianca Williams and Ricardo Dos Santos, both professional sprinters, complained to the police watchdog that they were racially profiled by a group of police officers on July 4, 2020. The couple were driving home in London with their 3-month-old infant son in the back seat when police followed their car and pulled them over outside their home. The disciplinary panel heard the officers said they followed the athletes’ vehicle because of Dos Santos’ “appalling” and “suspicious” driving, and that they were doing their duty when they conducted the stop and search. But the panel concluded that two of the officers, Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks, lied about smelling cannibis during the incident.

Persons: Bianca Williams, Ricardo Dos Santos, Dos Santos, Jonathan Clapham, Sam Franks, Chiew Yin Jones, Williams, ” Dos Santos, “ We’ve, “ Organizations: London's Metropolitan Police, Games, Metropolitan Police, Police, Met Locations: London

☆ U.K. Police Officer to Be Charged With Murder in Shooting of Black Man
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Aaron Boxerman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

British prosecutors announced a murder charge on Wednesday for a police officer accused of fatally shooting a Black man in south London last year during a botched arrest operation, a rare move in a case that has prompted calls for greater police accountability. Chris Kaba, 24, was killed while driving his car through the south London district of Streatham Hill in September last year. The shooting prompted widespread outrage in London’s Black community amid plummeting public trust in the city’s police force, which has been dogged by accusations of racism and misogyny. Officers in unmarked vehicles then pursued Mr. Kaba for about 15 minutes without turning on their headlights or sirens, investigators said. After he turned left at an intersection toward a waiting marked police vehicle, armed officers exited their vehicles to arrest him.

Persons: Chris Kaba, Kaba Organizations: Independent Office, Police Locations: London, Streatham Hill, Black, Britain

Artificial intelligence is again in focus this week in Washington, as leading tech executives — including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella and Sam Altman — as well as labor leaders and civil society groups meet on Wednesday with lawmakers behind closed doors. The gathering is the first of a series of Schumer’s listening sessions before lawmakers start writing rules. “This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for Congress—we need AI experts, ethicists, labor leaders, civil rights groups, the world of academia, defense and beyond helping us with the work ahead,” he wrote Tuesday on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Two separate Senate hearings devoted to A.I. It includes an independent office to oversee A.I., licensing and safety standards, and making executives liable for their tech.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Sam Altman —, Chuck Schumer, ”, Richard Blumenthal, Josh Hawley Organizations: Elon, Democratic, Twitter Locations: Washington, New York, Connecticut, Republican, Missouri

☆ The Bank of England is facing major losses on its bond purchases — and it's set to get much worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In late July, the central bank estimated that it would require the U.K. Treasury to backstop £150 billion ($189 billion) of losses on its asset purchase facility (APF). It saw the BOE accrue £895 billion worth of bond holdings while interest rates were historically low. However, the pace at which the central bank has had to tighten monetary policy in a bid to tame inflation means the costs have risen more sharply than anticipated. watch now"First, interest rates have risen far above levels assumed in the fiscal watchdog's spring forecasts. "On the other hand, though, while QE gilts are not sold, the BoE pays Bank Rate on the ~£900bn reserves it created to buy them.

Persons: Dan Kitwood, BOE, Sanjay Raja, Raja, Imogen Bachra, BoE, Bachra, QE Organizations: Bank of England, Getty, Deutsche Bank ., Treasury, AFP, Deutsche Bank, Bank, NatWest, — Locations: —

☆ Pound's mini-budget dip made UK's Brexit bill dearer
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In previous years, the Treasury's "reportable losses" have ranged between zero and a few million pounds. This 855 million-euro payment cost Britain 764 million pounds on a day when 1 pound would buy only 1.12 euros. Back in April 2022, when the EU updated Britain's payment schedule for June through September, it assumed an exchange rate of around 1.18 euros per pound - equating to monthly payments of 719 million pounds rather than 764 million pounds. Still, that small net gain represents a sharp drop from March 2022 when it stood at 91.2 million pounds - with the payment on Sept. 30 a conspicuous loss-maker. Economists put the broader costs of the mini-budget episode - stemming from loss of investor confidence and higher market interest rates - in the billions of pounds.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Liz Truss's, James Murray, Kwasi Kwarteng, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, European Union, Britain, Treasury, Labour Party, Reuters, Thomson

☆ Fact Check-UK emergency services can’t track your location if you dial 55 in silent 999 call
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Emergency services in the United Kingdom cannot track someone’s location if the caller dials 55 during a silent 999 call, contrary to claims made online. One Facebook user (here) uploaded an image of text which reads: “If you ever find yourself dialling 999 and you can't speak press 55 and they can track where you are from dialling location - new technology. However, multiple British constabularies say on their websites that dialling 55 during a silent 999 call would not allow the police to track someone’s whereabouts (e.g., Metropolitan Police: here, West Yorkshire Police: here and West Midlands Police: here) or automatically send officers to that location. More information about the police’s ‘Silent Solution’ can be found here. Dialling 55 during a silent 999 call lets call operators know that someone is in danger and needs help, though it does not allow the emergency services to track a caller’s location.

Persons: ”, –, Read Organizations: Independent, Police, Reuters, National Police Chiefs ’ Council, Metropolitan Police, West Yorkshire Police, West Midlands Police, National Fire Chiefs Council, BT Locations: United Kingdom, England

☆ India train crash: Devastating scenes of despair after one of the worst train crashes the country has ever seen
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Ivan Watson Kunal Sehgal Deepak Rao Rhea Mogul | Ivan Watson | Kunal Sehgal | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Some of the coaches rolled to the other side,” the 32-year-old restaurant worker told CNN from a hospital in India’s eastern Odisha state. Their story is just one of hundreds unfolding across the country as India deals with one of the worst train crashes it has ever seen. Doctors confer as they attend to survivors of a train accident in a hospital in Balasore, India, on June 4, 2023. A drone view shows derailed coaches after two passenger trains collided in Balasore district in the eastern state of Odisha, India, June 3, 2023. In 2011, scores were killed when a train jumped tracks in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Persons: CNN — Manto Kumar, “, ’, Punit Paranjpe, “ I’ve, I’ve, Laluti Devi, ”, Abhishek Chinnappa, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Laxminaranyan, Stringer, Reuters Anushuman Purohi, ” Vaishnaw, Rafiq Maqbool, Narendra Modi, Modi’s, Vaishnaw, Kumar Organizations: CNN, Express, Getty, Mojo, India’s, Government Medical College, Howrah, Reuters, Sunday, Indian, Crime Records, AP Railways, Central Bureau of Investigation, Authorities Locations: India’s, Odisha, India, Balasore, AFP, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Kolkata, Bahanaga Bazar, Bangalore, Tamil Nadu, Balasore district, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh

☆ UK economy flat in February as strikes and inflation bite — and the IMF delivers reality check
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

LONDON — The U.K. economy flatlined in February as widespread industrial action and persistently high inflation stymied activity. Large-scale strike action has been carried out in recent months by teachers, doctors, civil servants and rail workers, among others — members of the sectors that were the largest contributors to the fall in February services output. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility no longer expects the U.K. economy to enter a technical recession in 2023 — defined as two consecutive quarters of contractions. "Industrial strike action was the primary root cause of stagnating growth in the U.K. over the month. Much of the population also remains mired in a cost-of-living crisis, as inflation continues to vastly outpace wage growth, exacerbating the threat of further industrial action.

☆ UK inflation rate breaks 3-month stretch of declines with surprise rise to 10.4%
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.K. inflation unexpectedly jumped in February, as food and energy bills continued to rise, placing further pressure on households. The consumer price index (CPI) increased by an annual 10.4%, above the 9.9% consensus forecast among economists in a Refinitiv poll and up from 10.1% in January. On a monthly basis, CPI inflation was 1.1%, exceeding a forecast of 0.6%. The surprise increase in February marked a break from three consecutive months of slowing price increases since the 41-year high of 11.1% reached in October. Last week, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility projected that U.K. inflation would plummet to 2.9% by the end of 2023 — a forecast Carter said was "increasingly ambitious" in light of the Wednesday print.

☆ Republican US senator doubles down on call for tighter Fed scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The Federal Reserve, the world's largest and most powerful central bank, does not have a truly independent IG to investigate it. I'm fighting to fix that and will be introducing a bill soon - that I believe will have bipartisan support," Scott wrote. The online column marked the second time in two days that Scott has vowed to push for an independent Fed IG. He also informed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell of his plans in a letter on Monday. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have pledged tighter oversight of banking regulators following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which has been followed by billions of dollars in losses for financial stocks.

[1/6] Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt holds the budget box on Downing Street in London, Britain March 15, 2023. The International Monetary Fund says our approach means the UK economy is on the right track." After the shocks of Brexit, a heavy COVID-19 hit and double-digit inflation, Britain's economy is the only one among Group of Seven nations yet to recover its pre-pandemic size, having already suffered a decade of near-stagnant income growth. "Despite continuing global instability, the OBR report today that inflation in the UK will fall from 10.7% in the final quarter of last year to 2.9% by the end of 2023," Hunt said. Many economists have said Hunt probably wants to hold back some fiscal firepower for closer to the next national election.

☆ UK will not enter a recession this year, Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt says in budget speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt that the U.K. economy would not enter a technical recession in 2023, while announcing the government's spring Budget. LONDON — British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said Wednesday that the U.K. economy would not enter a technical recession in 2023, as was previously anticipated. The updated outlook was based on new forecasts from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, Hunt said. A technical recession takes place when a country observes two consecutive quarters of contractions in its real GDP. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said that the U.K. economy was "proving the doubters wrong," following earlier predictions, including from the Bank of England, that the country was facing its longest-ever recession.

☆ UK's taxes are at a 70-year high. But its finance minister won't splash the cash at upcoming Budget
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

U.K. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt has said Britain should have a "20-year plan" to become the world's next Silicon Valley. Public sector borrowing has also undershot by around £30 billion year-to-date, economists noted this week, in part reflecting higher-than-expected tax receipts. This will lend credence to Hunt's aims of bringing public sector net borrowing below 3% by 2027/28. LONDON — British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt will deliver the government's Budget commitments on Wednesday against a better-than-expected economic backdrop, but economists expect him to stay cautious for now. The U.K. economy flatlined in the final quarter of the year to narrowly avoid entering a technical recession, though suffered a sharp slump in December.

☆ Former UK PM Liz Truss is blaming the left-wing 'economic establishment' for ousting her
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

British Prime Minister Liz Truss announces her resignation, outside Number 10 Downing Street, London, Britain October 20, 2022. Henry Nicholls | ReutersLONDON — Former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss is blaming a "powerful economic establishment" for bringing her chaotic 44-day tenure to an end last year. Truss was elected leader of the Conservative Party in September, defeating her eventual successor Rishi Sunak, after garnering 81,326 votes from party members following the ousting of Boris Johnson. She was acting as if winning a majority of the Conservative Party membership gave her economic credibility, and it most clearly doesn't." Current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government vowed to restore this credibility upon taking over in October, and quickly reversed Truss' entire economic agenda.

WASHINGTON — After a grueling five-day, 15-ballot floor fight for speaker, House Republicans on Monday night will face what's expected to be the first of many tough legislative battles ahead: Passing a package of rules that will govern how they run the House over the next two years. These are the easy part[s], the speaker vote and the rules vote," Gonzales said on Fox News on Monday. Because of their razor-thin majority, McCarthy’s leadership team can only afford to lose four GOP votes on the rules package for the new Congress. GOP leaders, including new Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, indicated Monday that they believe Republicans will be able to stick together and pass the rules package. "Obviously the rules package is the first piece allowing us to get started with our agenda to fight for the American people," Scalise told reporters.

☆ UK PM Sunak seeks ‘constructive’ union talks as government readies contentious anti-strike laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Jan. 6: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to the media as he visits Harris Academy in Battersea. LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is preparing to meet union leaders this week for what he hopes will be "constructive" talks as he seeks to halt nationwide industrial action, even as his government prepares controversial anti-strike legislation. His comments came just a day after his government announced new anti-strike laws in a bid to "enforce minimum service levels" across key public services, including the National Health Service, schools, rail networks, nuclear commissioning and the fire service. The legislation, which Sunak's government plans to introduce in Parliament within the next few weeks, would allow bosses to sue unions for disruption and sack employees who participated in industrial action. The full details of the plan may be laid out as soon as Thursday, according to The Times newspaper, but the initial announcement was met with outrage by union leaders.

☆ 77 members of the 117th Congress violated a federal conflicts-of-interest and financial transparency law
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

77 members of Congress violated the STOCK Act in the 117th session of Congress. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 is designed to curb insider trading and requires timely disclosure of financial trades. But a decade on, Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike routinely violate the STOCK Act: 40 Republicans and 37 Democrats in the current Congress violated the law, per Insider's tally. Some members of Congress violated the law more egregiously than others. GOP Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas, for example, violated the STOCK Act multiple times and waited months to disclose up to $17 million in trades.

☆ UK inflation falls from 41-year high as fuel price surge eases
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Brexit has added more than £200 to the average U.K. household food bill, according to a new study from the London School of Economics. LONDON — U.K. inflation came in slightly below expectations at 10.7% in November, as cooling fuel prices helped ease price pressures, though high food and energy prices continued to squeeze households and businesses. However, Carter suggested inflation may finally be passing its peak, after the U.S. also posted a better-than-expected CPI print on Tuesday. The market is pricing a 50 basis point interest rate hike from the Bank on Thursday, taking the benchmark rate to 3.5%. However, inflation remains well above target.

☆ A Republican congressman from Colorado is the latest to violate a federal conflict-of-interest and transparency law
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Republican congressman from Colorado has violated the federal STOCK Act. Rep. Doug Lamborn and his wife traded stocks valued at up to $120,000 but was months late disclosing them. In August, Lamborn and his wife traded stock worth between $68,000 and $120,000 in NetApp, a data management company. "During the recent political campaign, Congressman Lamborn mistakenly lost track of filing deadlines," Sebastian said. Congressman Lamborn strives to file disclosures accurately and on time and has a history of doing so.

By contrast, the median forecast for a similar poll on the U.S. Federal Reserve is exactly where futures currently price the Fed's terminal rate next year - 5.0%. Any reversion of terminal rate pricing to consensus or below could see the pound wobble again. "That said, we have been stressing downside risks to our terminal rate projection, given the constant dovish messaging from the MPC. BoE poll question on Terminal Rate Risks? Central Bank Rate Hike CampaignSterling volatilityThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

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