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☆ UK Treasury minister rejects IMF concern over tax-cutting budget
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Chris Philp, Britain's chief secretary to the Treasury, said he disagreed with concerns raised by the International Monetary Fund about the government's tax-cutting budget that has roiled markets, saying it would lead to long-term economic growth. "I saw the IMF comments. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe 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. Asked if the government regretted its handling of the economy, Philp said interest rates had been rising around the world in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Kate Holton and Muvija M Editing by William SchombergOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK's Truss presses on with 'controversial' economic plan, says it's the right course
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Liz Truss defended her economic plan that has roiled financial markets, saying on Thursday she was willing to take "controversial" steps to reignite growth and would not reverse course despite the turmoil. "This is the right plan that we've set out," she said in a series of interviews with local BBC radio stations. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"We are facing difficult economic times. But what is absolutely right is the UK government has stepped in and acted at this difficult time." But I'm prepared to do that as prime minister because what's important to me is that we get our economy moving."

"Were dysfunction in this market to continue or worsen, there would be a material risk to UK financial stability," the BoE warned. One source at the Treasury said Kwarteng would not resign, and the government would not reverse its policy. A second person familiar with the situation said Truss still backed Kwarteng and they would announce further economic reforms soon. One source at the meeting said Kwarteng had asked the assembled finance bosses what they could do to calm markets. U.S. bond giant PIMCO said it would have less confidence in sterling than it did before last Friday's announcement.

"Were dysfunction in this market to continue or worsen, there would be a material risk to UK financial stability," the British central bank said. By 2:48pm (1348 GMT) it was trading down 0.5% at $1.0679, a fall of 12% in the last three months. The BoE said it would return to its plan to sell bonds and its launch was only postponed until the end of October. RESTORE ORDEROn Monday the BoE said it would not hesitate to raise interest rates and was monitoring markets "very closely". But the slide in bond prices continued unabated on Wednesday, prompting the BoE to make its move.

"Were dysfunction in this market to continue or worsen, there would be a material risk to UK financial stability," the central bank said in a statement that immediately eased pressures on soaring British government bond yields. The Bank of England said on Monday it would not hesitate to raise interest rates and was monitoring markets "very closely". Earlier on Wednesday 30-year British government bond yields rose above 5% for the first time since 2002. "An irresponsible, destructive fiscal policy." In his remarks on Tuesday, BoE Chief Economist Pill said financial market upheaval would have a big impact on the economy and would be factored into the Bank's next forecasts.

☆ Reversing UK confidence crash requires policy U-turn: economists
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Andy Bruce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Commuters, reflected in windows of an office, walk across London Bridge toward the financial district, in London, Britain, September 26, 2022. "The first step in regaining credibility is not saying incredible things," Summers said on Twitter on Tuesday. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSummers pointed to surging interest rates of long-dated British debt as a "hallmark of situations where credibility has been lost". On Monday the Bank of England and Treasury released statements in the hope of reassuring investors, with the central bank saying it would not hesitate to raise interest rates if needed. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEditing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Global rates, retail banking included in Bank of England stress test
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A general view of the Bank of England (BoE) building, the BoE confirmed to raise interest rates to 1.75%, in London, Britain, August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska/File PhotoLONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Banks' ability to cope with rising global interest rates and the resilience of their retail divisions to market shocks will be under scrutiny in this year's "stress test", the Bank of England said on Monday. It will test "ring-fenced" retail arms of banks on a standalone basis for the first time, the BoE said. There will be a separate stress test of misconduct costs. The test has no pass or fail mark but a bespoke "hurdle" for each bank.

☆ UK Labour's Reeves: 'incredibly worried' by fall in the pound
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterLONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The financial policy spokeswoman for Britain's opposition Labour Party said she was incredibly worried about the fall in the pound overnight, saying it put pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates. Sterling tumbled nearly 5% to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar on Monday, before partly recovering, as the fall-out from the new government's fiscal plan on Friday continued. "I started my career as an economist at the Bank of England and like everyone else I'm incredibly worried about what we've seen, both on Friday with market reactions to the chancellor's so-called mini-budget, and also the reactions overnight," Rachel Reeves told Times Radio. "It also puts more pressure on the Bank of England to increase interest rates," she added. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Kate Holton and Kylie MacLellan; editing by David MillikenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK bond prices collapse after sterling hits record low
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - British government bond prices collapsed on Monday, pushing yields to their highest in over a decade, amid speculation that the Bank of England might need to take emergency action after sterling hit a record low against the U.S. dollar overnight. Two-year gilt yields rose as much as 54 basis points on the day to 4.533%, their highest since September 2008, and at 0754 GMT were 44 basis points up on the day at 4.43%. Five-year gilt yields jumped more than 44 basis points to 4.503%, their highest since October 2008, while benchmark 10-year yields hit their highest since April 2010 at 4.215%. read moreBond market veteran Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor to Allianz, said Kwarteng either needed to reverse course, or to prepare for an emergency BoE rate hike. The BoE raised interest rates by half a percentage point to 2.25% on Thursday - its second consecutive half-point hike, after not increasing rates by that amount since 1995.

☆ UK's finance minister says his economic strategy is not a gamble - BBC
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng speaks during the Government's Growth Plan statement at the House of Commons, in London, Britain, September 23, 2022. UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERSLONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Britain's new finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng said on Friday that the government's changes to tax, stamp duty and spending were not a gamble. "What was (a gamble) in my view, was sticking to the course we were on," he told the BBC in an interview after setting out the mini-budget earlier in the day. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Muvija M; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK's Kwarteng to scrap top rate of income tax, cut basic rate from April
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng steps outside Downing Street in London, Britain, September 23, 2022. Kwarteng said from April 2023 Britain would have a single higher rate of income tax of 40 per cent, scrapping an additional rate of 45% on income over 150,000 pounds ($168,000). He also said he would cut the basic rate of income tax to 19 pence in April 2023, one year earlier than expected. "That means a tax cut for over 31 million people in just a few months' time," he told parliament. "That means we will have one of the most competitive and pro-growth income tax systems in the world."

REUTERS/Toby MelvilleLONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Britain's new economic agenda of tax cuts and high spending do not represent a gamble because improved economic growth will pay for it, cabinet minister Simon Clarke said ahead of a major fiscal announcement on Friday. Close to 200 billion pounds ($225 billion) of tax cuts, energy subsidies and planning reforms are due to be announced by new finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng as part of Prime Minister Liz Truss's bid to spur growth. "The critical thing is we need to get the economy growing so that, frankly, the economic growth trajectory outstrips that of our debt." Truss has aspirations to double the long-run rate of British annual economic growth to 2.5%. Clarke said the metrics of success would be in improved economic growth.

REUTERS/Peter NichollsLONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Britain's main opposition Labour Party criticised the Conservative government's economic plans on Friday, describing the new prime minister and finance minister as "two desperate gamblers in a casino" who had run out of ideas. "The prime minister and chancellor (finance minister) are like two desperate gamblers in a casino chasing a losing run," she told parliament. Taking aim at the lack of independent scrutiny of the government's plans, Reeves described Kwarteng's statement as "a budget without figures, a menu without prices". While Labour and other opposition lawmakers were biting in their criticism of the government's fiscal statement, supporters of Britain's new government hailed its radicalism. Some said previous Conservative governments, in power for 12 years with five of them in coalition with the Liberal Democrats, should have adopted the policies a long time ago.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng walks outside Number 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain September 7, 2022. REUTERS/Phil NobleLONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - British finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng said on Thursday a 1.25 percentage point increase in payroll tax that took effect earlier this year would be reversed from Nov. 6, setting out the timeline for a previously promised move. To raise living standards for all, we need to be unapologetic about growing our economy," Kwarteng said in a statement. Kwarteng will also scrap from April 2023an increase to dividend tax rates which had been brought in alongside the payroll tax increase to raise contributions from those who are paid through different channels. The extra money needed to make up for the shortfall caused by cancelling the tax will come from general taxation, the Treasury said.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPin-drop silence fell over London's Hyde Park nearby as thousands of people, who for hours had picnicked and chatted, went quiet the second the queen's coffin appeared on screens erected for the occasion. Inside the abbey, lines of scripture were set to music that has been used at every state funeral since the early 18th century. Among those walking behind the casket was the queen's great-grandson and future king, nine-year-old Prince George. Those who had camped out in nearby streets were watching the service on smartphones, while hush descended along the Mall, one of London's grand ceremonial boulevards, as the funeral service was relayed live through loudspeakers. 1/35 The funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey.

Inside the abbey, lines of scripture were set to music that has been used at every state funeral since the early 18th century. Those who had camped out in nearby streets were watching the service on smartphones, while hush descended along the Mall, one of London's grand ceremonial boulevards, as the funeral service was relayed live through loudspeakers. 1/35 The funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey. The 40th sovereign in a line that traces its lineage back to 1066, Elizabeth came to the throne in 1952, Britain's first post-imperial monarch. "Queen Elizabeth II was without any shadow of a doubt the best known figure in the world, the most photographed person in history, the most recognisable person," historian Anthony Seldon told Reuters.

A woman stands in a queue to pay her respects to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, following her death, in London, Britain, September 15, 2022. They had come together to mark a moment in history - the passing of Britain's longest reigning monarch. "Sierra Leone, where I come from, was a colony under the British Empire so she means a lot to us." "Part of being British I guess is just having a queen or having Queen Elizabeth II on the throne." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEditing by Kate Holton and Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Plans for Queen Elizabeth's state funeral on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Jeff J Mitchell/Pool via REUTERSLONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - World leaders will join Britain's royal family, its political elite and members of the military, judiciary and charitable organisations at the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth on Monday. - The State Gun Carriage is a field gun carriage that has previously been used for the funerals of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, King George V, King George VI, Winston Churchill, and Lord Louis Mountbatten. - The coffin will be followed by King Charles and members of the royal family. The King's Guard in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace will give a royal salute as the coffin passes Queen Victoria Memorial. - The royal family will travel to Windsor by car.

☆ Factbox: World leaders to attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Canadian Prime minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Gregoire Trudeau attend the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey. Jack Hill/Pool via REUTERSRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterLONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth's state funeral will take place in London on Monday and a host of world leaders, royalty and other dignitaries will attend. Countries that have not been invited include Syria and Venezuela because London does not have normal diplomatic relations with those states. Britain has also not invited representatives from Russia, Belarus or Myanmar after it imposed economic sanctions on those countries. Related ContentFactbox: Plans for Queen Elizabeth's state funeral on MondayFactbox: Comments from crowds in London on Queen ElizabethFactbox: World leaders to attend Queen Elizabeth's funeralFactbox: Order of service for Queen Elizabeth's state funeralWindsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth's home and now final resting placeWestminster Abbey - traditional church for royals in life and death(This story was refiled to correct spelling of first name of Belize governor general)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterCompiled by Farouq Suleiman and Kate Holton Editing by Deepa Babington and Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Similar numbers fled in Greece as a blaze fuelled by gale-force winds raged in mountains north of Athens. ABOVE 40CIn Spain, where emergency crews were fighting fires in five regions, national weather service AEMET also forecast higher temperatures. REUTERS/Stelios MisinasTreasury Minister Simon Clarke said Tuesday's "remarkable, unprecedented" record served as "a reminder ... of the importance of tackling climate change." British engineers raced on Wednesday to fix train tracks that buckled in the heat after firefighters worked through the night to damp down wildfires. In southern Europe, far larger wildfires continued to rage.

Persons: Armando Silva, Stephen Belcher, Stelios Misinas, Simon Clarke, Tuesday's, Emmanuel Macron, Eugenio Giani, Christos Stylianides, Marc Fesneau, Manuel Lopes, Renee Maltezou, Angeliki Koutantou, Karolina Tagaris, Dominique Vidalon, Mathieu Rosemain, Sudip Kar, Gupta, Kate Holton, William James, Emma Pinedo, Catarina Demoney, John Stonestreet, Nick Macfie, Alex Richardson, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: China, Emergency, Science, Technology, Britain's Met, REUTERS, European Union, Fincantieri, Thomson Locations: Tuscany, Athens, ATHENS, LONDON, Europe, London, Italy, Lucca, Greece, China, Texas , Louisiana, Arkansas, Central U.S, Portugal, Spain, Portugal's, Murça, Trieste, Rome, Milan, Florence, Britain, Pallini, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Monfalcone, Penteli, Gironde, Paris, Madrid, Lisbon

☆ Royal Mail workers vote for major UK summer strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-19 | by ( Muvija M | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) - More than 115,000 postal workers at Royal Mail (RMG.L) have voted to strike over pay, trade union CWU said on Tuesday, putting them on course for what could be the biggest industrial action to hit Britain this summer. read moreRoyal Mail had offered a pay rise of 5.5% for CWU-grade workers, which it described as its biggest increase in years. "The vote can leave no doubt that postal workers are united, and that they are demanding the proper pay rise they deserve," the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said. If the strike were to go ahead, it would likely be the biggest industrial action taken by workers this summer in Britain, the union said. "In the event of industrial action, we have contingency plans to minimise customer disruption."

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