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The former foreign and health minister was appointed on Friday after Truss sacked Kwasi Kwarteng, her close ally. Under the new policy, most of Truss's 45 billion pounds of unfunded tax cuts will go and a two-year energy support scheme for households and businesses - expected to cost well over 100 billion pounds - will now be curtailed in April. Hunt said halting the planned tax cuts would raise 32 billion pounds ($36 billion) every year. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoBut the response from bond investors who would fund the tax cuts was violently negative and borrowing costs surged. After scrapping one of the tax cuts, Truss fired Kwarteng on Friday, saying she accepted her plans had gone "further and faster" than investors were expecting.

Hunt, appointed on Friday to fix the public finances after Truss's economic plan hammered the value of British assets, said the country needed to generate confidence and stability before it could seek to grow the economy. He said changes to planned tax cuts would raise 32 billion pounds ($36 billion) every year. While he had been expected to reverse some of the tax cuts, the change to the energy support scheme had been unexpected. Truss had announced a two-year subsidy scheme to support households and businesses through the period of surging energy prices, costing 60 billion pounds in six months. Hunt would still deliver a fuller medium-term fiscal plan as scheduled on Oct. 31, alongside forecasts from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, the Treasury said.

☆ UK finance minister seeks to stem bond rout by rushing forward tax plan
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The chancellor will make a statement later today, bringing forward measures from the Medium-Term Fiscal Plan that will support fiscal sustainability," the finance ministry said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSterling was up about 1% against the dollar in trading in Asia. Hunt met Truss over the weekend to overhaul her original economic proposals. No chancellor should seek to do that," the former foreign and health minister told BBC television in an interview broadcast on Sunday. Goldman Sachs said on Sunday it expected Britain's economy to shrink by 1.0% in 2023, a more severe contraction than its previous forecast of a 0.4% shrinkage, as Truss's tax cuts were reversed.

☆ UK PM Truss met with chair of committee in charge of leadership contests - Guardian
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Chairman of the 1922 Committee Graham Brady congratulates Liz Truss, as she is announced as Britain's next Prime Minister at The Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London, Britain September 5, 2022. REUTERS/Hannah McKayLONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Liz Truss met earlier on Monday with lawmaker Graham Brady, who heads up the committee in charge of running Conservative Party leadership contests, The Guardian reported, citing sources from Truss's office. "Truss was with Sir Graham Brady during Labour's urgent question in HoC (House of Commons) - as per No 10 sources," Guardian Political Editor Pippa Crerar said on Twitter. "They tell me it was a pre-planned meeting - rather than crisis talks." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Sachin Ravikumar, writing by William James; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Vodafone and Altice in German tie-up to bring fibre broadband to homes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Britain's Vodafone (VOD.L) and France's Altice said they would create a joint venture in Germany named FibreCo to provide faster fibre broadband to up to 7 million homes over a six-year period. Vodafone said in a statement on Monday that FibreCo, which will provide fibre-to-the-home connectivity, would invest up to 7 billion euros to build the network, and that the project was in line with its plan to upgrade Vodafone's existing hybrid fibre cable network. Both companies will own 50% in FibreCo in a deal that will be subject to regulatory approval and expected to close in the first-half of 2023. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK's Hunt to delay another tax cut to plug 72 billion-pound black hole, the Sunday Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Britain's new finance minister Jeremy Hunt is to delay a planned reduction to the basic rate of income tax by one year after the country's fiscal watchdog warned that the public finances were in a worse state than expected, the Sunday Times reported. The newspaper said Hunt would put off for a year a plan to reduce the basic rate of income tax next April, to save 5 billion pounds ($5.6 billion) a year. It said Hunt needed to plug a black hole in the public finances of 72 billion pounds. ($1 = 0.8953 pounds)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Kate Holton; editing by Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Harry Potter actor Robbie Coltrane dies aged 72
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Actor Robbie Coltrane talks during a media preview of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Diagon Alley at the Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida June 19, 2014. REUTERS/David Manning/FilesLONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Robbie Coltrane, the larger-than-life Scottish actor who played Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, died on Friday at the age of 72, his agent said. Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling led the tributes on Twitter, writing: "I'll never know anyone remotely like Robbie again. "Robbie Coltrane, Scottish entertainment legend - you will be hugely missed," she wrote. British actor and broadcaster Stephen Fry - who narrated the British version of the Harry Potter audio books - wrote that he had met Coltrane almost exactly 40 years ago.

Two days later, a chastened Truss addressed her first news conference as prime minister to admit she had gone "further and faster" than markets expected and sacked her friend and finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng to try to appease her lawmakers. With her credibility in tatters, she is now fighting for her political survival. "But it is clear that parts of our mini budget went further and faster than markets were expecting. Truss has also lost an important ally and, according to one person close to her, an important source of support in Kwarteng. But a veteran Conservative insider said it was simply a case of survival.

To replace him, she appointed Jeremy Hunt, a former foreign and health secretary who had backed her rival Rishi Sunak in this summer's race to become Conservative Party leader. He is the fourth finance minister in as many months in Britain, where millions are facing a cost of living crisis. Kwarteng becomes Britain's shortest serving finance minister except for a predecessor who died suddenly in office in 1970. Christopher Chope, a veteran Conservative lawmaker and Truss supporter, said the party was now a laughing stock. "The markets have lost trust in the Conservative Party - and who can blame them?"

The battered pound and government bonds rallied on Thursday as Prime Minister Liz Truss's government began re-examining a package for unfunded tax cuts that has sent borrowing costs surging and forced the Bank of England to intervene. Asked if the government was preparing to change course, he told Sky News: "I saw the prime minister yesterday. The prime minister and the chancellor are absolutely determined to deliver on the growth plan. The sense of chaos at the heart of government has fuelled speculation as to whether Truss and Kwarteng can survive. Truss was elected by the members of the party, and not the broader electorate, as the fourth prime minister in six politically turbulent years in Britain.

☆ Bank of England says stress test shows UK counterparties 'resilient'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The Bank of England said on Thursday that the central counterparties (CCPs) in Britain's financial system were "resilient" after publishing the conclusions of its first public stress test for ICE Clear Europe, LCH and LME Clear. "While the stress test was exploratory, with no pass-fail assessments, the results are evidence of the overall resilience of the UK CCPs," BoE Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said in a statement. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe BoE said it checked whether the CCPs were resilient to a market stress scenario and to the simultaneous default of the two largest clearing member groups. The exercise started in October 2021 and was designed to be as severe as the worst historical market stress scenario experienced by each CCP up to that point. "We will engage these CCPs on our findings, which will help the Bank target its supervision and inform CCPs' approach to risk management," Cunliffe said.

☆ UK's Kwarteng, asked about new U-turn, says no change in his position
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"My total focus... is on delivering on the mini-budget and making sure that we get growth back into our economy." Sky News and other media said earlier on Thursday that Prime Minister Liz Truss was considering a possible U-turn on the plan not to raise corporation tax. Truss's office said there was no change in the plan. The BBC asked Kwarteng if he would be finance minister and Truss would still be prime minister this time next month. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWriting by William Schomberg Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"The chancellor will come to the despatch box," he said when asked by Sky News whether the corporation tax plan would definitely stay. Newspapers reported that some lawmakers who never wanted Truss to replace Boris Johnson as leader in the first place already wanted her out. "I think that changing the leadership would be a disastrously bad idea, not just politically but also economically, and we are absolutely going to stay focused on growing the economy," Cleverly said of Truss. But a fire-sale in the government bond market has driven up borrowing costs and mortgage rates and forced the Bank of England to intervene to protect pension funds. read moreMeanwhile, as Truss battled with the turmoil, she met King Charles for a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace between monarch and prime minister on Wednesday.

☆ UK's Truss considering corporation tax u-turn next yr -Sun
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Liz Truss is considering raising corporation tax next year, in a reversal to the mini-budget that has roiled financial markets, the political editor of the Sun newspaper said on Thursday. Truss's economic package included a move to scrap a planned rise in corporation tax from 19% to 25% next year. "No final decision has been made.. but there's deffo (definitely) movement," the Sun's Harry Cole said on Twitter. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Kate Holton; editing by Sarah YoungOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK's Truss not planning any further changes to economic plan - spokesperson
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Liz Truss is not planning any further changes to her economic plan and she has full confidence in the OBR independent forecaster to do its work accurately, her spokesperson said on Thursday. Asked whether Truss stood by her promise for no further U-turns on last month's plan, or mini-budget, her spokesperson said: "Yes ... the position has not changed." "The OBR is the government's official forecaster and the prime minister has said on a number of occasions she values their scrutiny and respects their independence." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Alistair Smout, writing by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

British financial markets have been under strain since Sept. 23 when finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng announced 45 billion pounds ($50 billion) of tax cuts, without saying how they would be paid for. The Institute of Fiscal Studies think-tank has said the strategy will require 62 billion pounds of spending cuts or tax rises to stop the public debt growing - a daunting proposition after more than a decade of tight government spending. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterTruss and Kwarteng say their tax cuts will boost economic growth and restore the public finances over the medium term. Asked if she was sticking to a pledge not to cut spending made during the Conservative leadership contest, she said: "Absolutely, absolutely." Her spokesman later said that although public spending overall would rise, "there will be deeply difficult decisions to be taken given some of the global challenges we're facing".

We think the rebalancing must be done," Bailey said at an event organised by the Institute of International Finance. "My message to the funds involved and all the firms involved managing those funds: You've got three days left now. Bailey was keen to distinguish between the temporary, financial stability nature of the latest intervention and previous quantitative easing stimulus. HEAVY LOSSESInflation-linked gilts, typically held by pension funds and known in the market as linkers, suffered a massive sell-off on Monday as the end to the BoE's programme on Friday approached. Simeon Willis, chief investment officer of pension consultants XPS, said he had seen pension funds selling "across the board" to find liquidity.

☆ Minnesota candidate on coming out as queer midcampaign: 'I felt it was important'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Julie Moreau | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Moriarty, a candidate for Hennepin County attorney — whose jurisdiction includes Minneapolis — came out as queer on the campaign trail in January. “It could be a risky thing, coming out publicly during the campaign, but I felt it was important,” Moriarty told NBC News. She spent over three decades as a public defender in Hennepin County, and in 2014 she became the county’s first female chief public defender. “I had been talking about race and the policies of the current public attorney. I got accused of calling a justice partner a racist in public.”Moriarty wasn’t reappointed as chief public defender after that, she said.

☆ Heathrow Airport warns on demand outlook for travel
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Britain's biggest airport Heathrow warned that the demand outlook for the coming winter was uncertain given the growing economic headwinds plus the impact of a new wave of COVID-19 and the escalating situation in Ukraine. Heathrow, situated west of London, said while it expected peak Christmas days to be very busy, the overall outlook was uncertain. During September, Heathrow said 5.8 million passengers passed through the airport, 15% below levels seen in 2019, showing that travel was recovering from pandemic lows but was held back by a cap on departures introduced by the airport to cope with labour shortages and congestion. The airport is due to remove the 100,000 daily cap at the end of October. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton and Paul SandleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fire-fighting Bank of England forced to buy inflation-linked bonds
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Citing a "material risk" to financial stability arising from a rout in British government bonds - known as gilts - the BoE said it would buy up to 5 billion pounds ($5.51 billion) of index-linked debt per day, starting Tuesday. Rather than increase the existing commitment to buy up to 10 billion pounds of gilts each day, as announced on Monday, the purchases will run alongside existing purchases of long-dated conventional bonds, now worth up to 5 billion pounds. British inflation-linked gilts - known as linkers - suffered a massive sell-off on Monday, despite the BoE doubling the maximum size of its buy-backs of conventional long-dated gilts. "Dysfunction in this market, and the prospect of self-reinforcing 'fire sale' dynamics pose a material risk to UK financial stability." To halt freefalling prices, the BoE was forced to pledge to buy as much as 65 billion pounds ($73.63 billion) of long-dated government bonds, known as gilts.

☆ Britons turn to electric blankets and candles as winter looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Sarah Young | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Market research released on Tuesday showed that grocery inflation hit another new record of 13.9% in September, deepening the cost-of-living crisis, while BRC-KPMG data showed people were investing in items to help them save cash. Nine out of 10 people surveyed by Barclaycard in Britain from Sept. 23-26 said they were concerned about household energy bills. Over half of those surveyed by Barclaycard said they were planning to cut down on discretionary spending so they can afford their energy bills this winter, with nights out most likely to be canned. Rival JD Wetherspoon's said last week that its sales had been boosted by young people drinking cocktails and spirits. Coffee and sandwich chain Pret A Manger said on Tuesday that it would raise staff pay for a second time this year.

☆ UK spy agency watching for any signs Russia considering nuclear weapons
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

After more than seven months of war, Jeremy Fleming, director of the GCHQ spy agency, told BBC Radio that Russia was running short of munitions, friends and troops. Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far stayed within established military doctrine of not using nuclear weapons, Fleming said, but his agency would be looking out for signs that this could change. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"I would hope that we will see indicators if they started to go down that path," he said, without saying what those indicators could be. "They're seeing just how badly Putin has misjudged the situation," he will say, according to excerpts from his speech. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Sachin Ravikumar, Kylie MacLellan, Kate Holton, Michael Holden and Elizabeth Piper, Editing by Andrew CawthorneOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK's Kwarteng, seeking to calm markets, brings forward budget date
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Kwarteng said the new date for his medium-term fiscal statement would allow the independent Office For Budget Responsibility (OBR) enough time to assess updates to official data and for a full forecast process to take place. British Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng speaks during Britain's Conservative Party's annual conference in Birmingham, Britain, October 3, 2022. Junior Treasury minister Andrew Griffith said market practitioners he had spoken to received news of the new date for the fiscal statement warmly. HALLOWEENThe new date for the fiscal plan leaves Kwarteng and Truss with little more than two weeks to settle divisions in her cabinet over cuts to government spending. Truss was no longer expected to appoint Antonia Romeo to run the Treasury, the FT said, citing senior government figures.

☆ Ex-BoE boss Carney says UK tax cuts under-cutting BoE inflation fight
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Mark Carney attends a news conference at the Bank Of England in London, March 11, 2020. Peter Summers/Pool via REUTERSLONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney criticized the new British government's plan to cut taxes for under-cutting the attempts of the central bank to curb inflation and sowing chaos in financial markets. "Unfortunately having a partial budget, in these circumstances - tough global economy, tough financial market position, working at cross-purposes with the Bank - has led to quite dramatic moves in financial markets," Carney told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Thursday. The pound sank and British government bond yields soared, forcing the BoE to revive its bond-buying programme in an emergency move on Wednesday to shore up pension funds. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWriting by William Schomberg; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Liz Truss broke her silence on Thursday following nearly a week of chaos in financial markets triggered by her plans for tax cuts, saying she was willing to take "controversial" decisions to reignite growth. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"But I'm prepared to do that as prime minister because what's important to me is that we get our economy moving." Truss became prime minister on Sept. 6 after winning the leadership of the governing Conservative Party with promises to cut taxes. "This is the right plan that we've set out," Truss said, adding it would put Britain's economy on a better trajectory for the long term. Some financial analysts have said the government might have to bring forward that announcement to settle the nerves of investors.

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