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☆ UK budget deficit undershoots forecast in Sept: ONS
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A view of the financial district in London, Britain, September 23, 2023. REUTERS/Matthew Childs/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Britain recorded a smaller-than-expected budget deficit of 14.347 billion pounds ($17.37 billion) in September, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to public sector net borrowing, excluding state-owned banks, of 18.3 billion pounds. Government borrowing between April and September, the first half of the 2023/24 financial year, totalled 81.7 billion pounds, 15.3 billion pounds more than in the first half of the previous financial year. British finance minister Jeremy Hunt is due to give a mid-year update on his budget plans alongside new borrowing forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on Nov. 22.

Persons: Matthew Childs, Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, David Milliken, William James Our Organizations: REUTERS, National Statistics, Hunt's Conservative Party, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

After many companies were wrongfooted by the speed and breadth of prohibitions on Russia, banks are drawing up contingency plans in case geopolitical tensions between the West and China escalate, seven finance industry sources said. The U.S. Treasury Department, which runs the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Britain's Foreign Office and Barclays did not respond to requests for comment. Three senior London-based bankers, who declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said their boards had discussed the possibility of stronger Western sanctions on China in future. Scenarios from major cyber-attacks through to a military intervention in Taiwan could potentially trigger further prohibitions on China, one lawyer who advises banks said. One of the bankers said sanctions on Russia had "removed naivety" among businesses and prompted the industry to think more deeply about China risks.

Persons: Neil Whiley, Whiley, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Leigh Hansson, Reed Smith, Banks, Biden, Sinead Cruise, Stefania Spezzati, Lawrence White, Michelle Price, Catherine Evans Organizations: Banking, UK Finance Bank, British, Reuters, UK Finance, HSBC, Barclays, JPMorgan, U.S . Treasury Department, Office, Communications, Standard Chartered, Standard, London underwriters, Thomson Locations: China, Western, Britain, U.S, Russia, West, Taiwan, Beijing, London, Ukraine, United States, British, Asia, Washington

MANCHESTER, England, Oct 2 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt poured cold water on growing calls for tax cuts within the governing Conservative Party on Monday, saying he could not commit to any "inflationary" reduction before the next election. But his message was overshadowed by calls from senior Conservative lawmakers, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's predecessor, for tax cuts to try to close the gap in opinion polls with the opposition Labour Party before an election expected next year. He said any tax cuts this year would be inflationary, making it more difficult to achieve Sunak's pledge made in January to halve inflation by the end of the year. Yes, but it means difficult decisions and we're prepared to take those difficult decisions," Hunt told Sky News, adding that voters understood "how difficult these decisions are". "So ahead of this year's Autumn Statement, we must make the Conservative Party the party of business once again, by getting Corporation Tax back down to 19%.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, Rishi Sunak's, Sunak, we're, Liz Truss, Alistair Smout, Elizabeth Piper, Andrew MacAskill, Kylie MacLellan, Sachin Ravikumar, Sarah Young, Emelia Sithole, Catherine Evans Organizations: Conservative Party, Conservative, Labour Party, Times, Sky News, Labour, Corporation, Tax, Thomson Locations: MANCHESTER, England, British, Manchester

☆ British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt rules out short-term tax cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Jeremy Hunt, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, speaks on the second day of the the Conservative Party Conference on October 02, 2023 in Manchester, England. Christopher Furlong | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesMANCHESTER, ENGLAND — U.K. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt on Monday ruled out tax cuts in the short-term, arguing that to reduce them now would be inflationary. "Right now we're focused on bringing down inflation," Hunt said on the second day of the Conservative Party Conference currently underway in Manchester, England. Hunt has previously argued that tax cuts are "virtually impossible," and could only be afforded if the government took some "difficult decisions." Hunt also unveiled plans for tougher benefit restrictions in a bid to make savings on the government's welfare bill.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Britain's, Christopher Furlong, Hunt, Margaret Thatcher, Liz Truss, Truss, Rishi Sunak, flack Organizations: Conservative Party Conference, Getty, Getty Images, Finance, Conservative Party, Tories, Labour Party, Conservative, British Locations: Manchester, England, Getty Images MANCHESTER, ENGLAND

☆ Britain's finance minister to announce higher minimum wage
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMANCHESTER, England, Oct 1 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt on Monday will announce a rise in the minimum wage in his annual Conservative party conference speech, where he is expected to ignore a growing clamour for tax cuts within his party. On Monday Hunt will announce that the living wage, the minimum wage for workers over 23 years old, will rise to at least 11 pounds ($13.42) an hour from 10.42 pounds. Prior to Hunt's speech, former Prime Minister Liz Truss will put pressure on the government to lower taxes in her only expected intervention at this year's conference. A year ago as prime minister, she had to scale back her tax-cutting plans in a U-turn at conference, and the market turmoil she sparked forced her resignation in October. However, since then she has stuck to her message that lower tax, especially for businesses, is part of what Britain needs to spark growth.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Jessica Taylor, Handout, Michael Gove, Hunt, Rishi Sunak's, Liz Truss, Alistair Smout, Elizabeth Piper, Andrew MacAskill, Emelia Sithole Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Conservative, Bank of England, Low, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Rights MANCHESTER, England, British

"The discussion about where the tax burden should fall I think is one that we need to take, not now, but in a little bit (of) time," Gove told Sky News. "I would like to see the tax burden reduced before the next election," he said, adding that workers should be the focus of any such reductions. "Rishi Sunak is desperate for people to think he’s in charge," said Jon Ashworth, a member of leader Keir Starmer's team. Liz Truss, Sunak's predecessor, and other senior Conservative lawmakers signed a letter on Saturday saying they would not support "any new taxes that increase the overall tax burden". "We're not in a position to talk about tax cuts at all."

Persons: Michael Gove, Phil Noble, Gove, Sunak, Rishi Sunak, Opinium, Labour's, Jon Ashworth, Keir Starmer's, Liz Truss, Jeremy Hunt, We're, Elizabeth Piper, Alistair Smout, Andrew MacAskill, Kirsten Donovan, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Britain’s, REUTERS, Conservatives, Labour Party, Sky News, Conservative, Labour, for Fiscal Studies, Thomson Locations: Manchester, Britain, MANCHESTER, England

☆ UK economic recovery picks up steam, overtaking 'sick man' Germany — for now
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesLONDON — The U.K.'s economic performance since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic has surpassed that of France and Germany, according to new data revisions published on Friday. A previous ONS estimate in August had suggested that U.K. GDP was still 0.2% below pre-pandemic levels, making it the slowest recovery among advanced economies. British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said in a statement Friday said the revised data "once again proves the doubters wrong." Still a 'flatlining economy' The U.K. economy has proven surprisingly resilient so far. "Unfortunately this snapshot of economic data is not significant enough to change the overall picture of a flatlining economy," said PwC economist Jake Finney.

Persons: Germany —, Jeremy Hunt, Jake Finney Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, National Statistics, British, IMF, Bank of England Locations: Canary, London, France, Germany, British, Europe, Italy

☆ Warner Bros to expand British studios' production capacity by over 50%
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The exterior of the Warner Bros. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 21 (Reuters) - Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) on Thursday said it planned to expand production capacity at its Leavesden studios near London by more than 50%, adding 10 new sound stages to the facility where much of the "Barbie" blockbuster and HBO's "House of the Dragon" were filmed. Hunt told Reuters in a telephone interview that the investment would total 245 million pounds ($301 million). Warner Bros said it would increase the value of Leavesden's annual film and television production by 200 million pounds ($245.9 million), bringing it to 600 million pounds ($737.6 million a year, Warner Bros Discovery said. Hunt said the Leavesden project "is a huge vote of confidence in the UK" and will benefit from longstanding British tax breaks for local film and television production.

Persons: Alyssa Pointer, Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, Warner Bros, David Lawder, Chris Reese, Michael Perry Organizations: Warner Bros . Discovery, REUTERS, Warner Bros Discovery, British Finance, Reuters, Warner, Warner Bros, Thomson Locations: Warner Bros . Discovery Atlanta, Atlanta , Georgia, U.S, London, Los Angeles, California, Silicon

☆ Dollar eases as risk appetite improves on China's measures
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] U.S. Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. The China-sensitive euro was up 0.25% at $1.0799, just off a 10-week low touched last week against the dollar. The Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar also got a lift from those measures. "The U.S. dollar is softening against most other G10 currencies today as risk appetite improves on the back of China support measures," said Jane Foley, head of FX strategy at Rabobank. The Canadian dollar slipped 0.07% to 1.359 per dollar ahead of the Bank of Canada's policy meeting this week, with the central bank expected to hold rates.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jane Foley, Christine Lagarde, Isabel Schnabel, Foley, Jeremy Hunt, Sterling, Joice Alves, Ankur Banerjee, Sharon Singleton, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Australian, New Zealand, Rabobank, European Central Bank, ECB, FOCUS, Reserve Bank of Australia, Canadian, Bank of, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, FOCUS British, U.S, London, Singapore

☆ UK finance minister Hunt says inflation is on track to come down
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Saturday inflation was on track to halve by the end of 2023, vowing to focus on the goal as he laid out his priorities ahead of the reopening of parliament after the summer break. Britain's inflation rate is forecast to fall to about 5% by the end of the year - half January's level - and meeting the target would mean one of the five key pledges Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made to voters for 2023 would be met. Hunt said in a statement issued on Saturday that pressure on household budgets would start to ease as inflation cools. "We are on track to halve inflation this year and by sticking to our plan we will ease the pressure on families and businesses alike," Hunt said, ahead of lawmakers returning to parliament on Monday. For July, Britain's annual consumer price inflation rate cooled to 6.8% - still the highest rate among the Group of Seven economies.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Mairead McGuinness, Yves Herman, Rishi Sunak, Hunt, Sunak, Sarah Young, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Financial Stability, Financial Services, Capital Markets, REUTERS, Labour Party, Conservative Party, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, British

☆ British Museum seeks recovery of some 2,000 stolen items
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] An employee poses as he views examples of the Parthenon sculptures, sometimes referred to in the UK as the Elgin Marbles, on display at the British Museum in London, Britain, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Around 2,000 artefacts including gold jewellery and gems had been stolen from the British Museum over a long period of time, but recovery efforts were already under way, the museum's chair George Osborne said on Saturday. Museum director Hartwig Fischer said on Friday he would step down after admitting to failings in its investigation into the theft of items from its collection. A "forensic" inquiry was being conducted to find out what had been stolen, Osborne said. "We've already started to recover some of the stolen items," he added, without giving any details of what had been recovered or how.

Persons: Toby Melville, George Osborne, Stone, Hartwig Fischer, Osborne, we're, I'm, Paul Sandle, David Holmes Organizations: Elgin, British Museum, REUTERS, BBC, Police, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, British

☆ British Museum director quits over stolen treasures
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A sign for the British Museum which houses the Parthenon sculptures is seen in London, Britain, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The director of the British Museum said on Friday he would step down after admitting to failings in its investigation into the theft of items from its collection. "It is evident that the British Museum did not respond as comprehensively as it should have," he said in a statement. Fischer said that he withdrew remarks made about the art dealer who first alerted museum bosses to the stolen items. Earlier this week, Fischer said Ittai Gradel, an antiquities dealer, withheld information about the scale of the stolen items when he contacted the museum.

Persons: Toby Melville, Hartwig Fischer, Fischer, Ittai Gradel, George Osborne, Osborne, Andrew MacAskill, Sachin Ravikumar, Angus MacSwan, Andrew Heavens Organizations: British, REUTERS, British Museum, Police, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ British Museum director quits over stolen items
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A sign for the British Museum which houses the Parthenon sculptures is seen in London, Britain, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - The director of the British Museum said on Friday he was stepping down with immediate effect after admitting to failings in the museum's investigation into the theft of items from its collection. "Over the last few days I have been reviewing in detail the events around the thefts from the British Museum and the investigation into them," he said in a statement. "It is evident that the British Museum did not respond as comprehensively as it should have." The museum's board of trustees, chaired by former British finance minister George Osborne, accepted Fischer's resignation.

Persons: Toby Melville, Hartwig Fischer, George Osborne, Osborne, Andrew MacAskill, Sachin Ravikumar Organizations: British, REUTERS, British Museum, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ Cooler inflation unleashes monster rally in UK markets, dents pound
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

British annual consumer price inflation fell to a lower than expected 7.9% in June, below a forecast for a decline to 8.2%. June's rate was a long way off last October's 41-year high of 11.1%, but far above the BoE's 2% target rate. "Some good news on UK inflation at last, coming in below expectations for June and most importantly the core inflation rate fell more than thought," Neil Birrell, who is chief investment officer at Premier Miton Investors, said. British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said there was still a long way to go to reduce inflation towards target. Meanwhile, interest-rate derivatives showed traders no longer believe UK rates will have to rise above 6% to temper inflation.

Persons: Barratt, Taylor Wimpey, Neil Birrell, Sterling, Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, Jeremy Batstone, Carr, Raymond James, Danilo Masoni, Alun John, Dhara Ranasinghe, Andrew Organizations: Reuters, Premier Miton Investors, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: United States, European, Milan

☆ UK's Hunt to detail plans to steer pensions into growth investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt will spell out on Monday long-awaited plans to encourage pension funds and other asset managers to invest in high-growth sectors, the Treasury said on Sunday. But the pensions industry has said it opposes mandatory investment quotas. Financial services lobby group TheCityUK said government policy should aim for pension funds to invest in growth and in turn deliver higher returns. "On average, Australian and Canadian pension funds currently provide better performance. Hunt was also expected to reiterate that bringing down high inflation remained his priority, saying there could be "no sustainable growth without first eliminating the inflation that deters investment and erodes consumer confidence".

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, TheCityUK, Muvija, William Schomberg, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Treasury, Reuters, Financial Times, Thomson Locations: British, London's

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - As Thames Water's financial troubles raise questions about such investments, Britain will next week try to persuade pension schemes to plough billions of pounds into infrastructure and start-ups in its next leg of post-Brexit reforms. British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt will on Monday set out the government's latest thinking on getting cash locked up in pension pots to work in the economy. The Conservative government's long-trailed policy focuses on persuading pension schemes to invest a portion of their money in infrastructure, start-ups and 'green' technology. But the problems at Thames Water, which is battling for survival under 14 billion pounds ($18 billion) of debt, would leave some pension schemes that had made large investments in it embarrassed, said independent pensions consultant John Ralfe. The finance ministry had no immediate comment on Hunt's speech, but the pensions industry has already said it opposes mandatory investment quotas.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, John Ralfe, Ralfe, Nobody, Huw Jones, Alexander Smith Organizations: Thames, British, Conservative, Amsterdam, London, EU, Thomson Locations: Britain, London's, New York, London

☆ UK's Hunt says banks agree to ease mortgage payments strain
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said he had agreed new measures with banks and other mortgage lenders on Friday to help homeowners who struggle to meet the cost of fast-rising interest rates. "We agreed some very important things for people who are worried about their rates going up," Hunt said, a day after the Bank of England raised interest rates to 5.0% to fight high inflation. The measures include allowing people who reduce their payments, such as by extending the period of their mortgage or moving to interest-only, to go back to their original package within six months with no impact on their credit rating. Another measure sought to help people at risk of losing their home, with banks agreeing to a minimum 12-month period before a repossession without consent takes place, Hunt said after meeting representatives of the lenders. Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Muvija M; writing by William Schomberg; editing by William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, Kylie MacLellan, William Schomberg, William James Our Organizations: Bank of England, Thomson Locations: British

"There has been significant upside news in recent data that indicates more persistence in the inflation process," the MPC said. BoE policymakers had given little indication that a half-point rate increase was under consideration in the run-up to Thursday's announcement. Expectations for BoE rate tightening have surged in recent days - sharply raising the cost of new mortgages - and before Thursday's decision financial markets expected the BoE's Bank Rate to peak at 6% by the end of the year. The central bank also noted that short-dated British government bond yields had risen sharply - pricing in an average level of Bank Rate of 5.5% for the next three years. Last month the central bank forecast that inflation would fall to just over 5% by the end of this year and be below its 2% target in early 2025.

Persons: BoE, Silvana Tenreyro, Swati Dhingra, Andrew Bailey, Jeremy Hunt, Joachim Nagel, Jerome Powell, David Milliken, Suban Abdulla, BRITAIN BOE Organizations: Bank of England, MPC, Reuters, Central, U.S . Federal, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Swedish, Norwegian, Britain

☆ UK supermarket Asda freezes prices of 500 products
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has set a 2023 target to halve overall inflation but the goal has been undermined as inflation has remained stubbornly high, particularly food inflation. Overall UK consumer price inflation ran at 8.7% in April, the most recent official data showed, while food and drink inflation was 19.1%, just below a 46-year high. Food retailers have said they expect prices to rise in 2023 overall but with the rate of inflation declining through the year. Last week the French government secured a pledge from 75 top food companies to cut prices on hundreds of products. Last month, British finance minister Jeremy Hunt met food manufacturers to raise concerns about the surge in food prices, but no formal price controls were proposed.

Persons: cornflakes, Rishi Sunak, Clive Black, Jeremy Hunt, Kantar, James Davey, Sarah Young, Mark Potter Organizations: Grocers, Asda, Tesco, Foods, Waitrose, Shore Capital, Thomson

☆ CNBC Daily Open: Markets lacked conviction
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Yeo Boon Ping | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Markets lacked conviction, while the debate over the U.S. debt ceiling remained roiled by passionate intensity. This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Markets lacked conviction, while the debate over the U.S. debt ceiling remained roiled by passionate intensity, to borrow the words of Irish poet W. B. Yeats. Subscribe here to get this report sent directly to your inbox each morning before markets open.

☆ CNBC Daily Open: Markets’ ‘lack of conviction’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Yeo Boon Ping | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

☆ Yellen hopeful of a solution to 'more difficult' debt ceiling showdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden, a Democrat, insists Congress has a constitutional duty to raise the limit without conditions to fund previously approved spending. POLARISATIONYellen said the first major standoff over the debt ceiling since 2011 reflected continuing U.S. polarisation after the presidency of Donald Trump. "Maybe this time is more difficult, but I'm hopeful that...we will find a solution." Despite the debt ceiling fight, Yellen said she remained convinced that the Biden administration had re-established U.S. leadership in the world and other G7 leaders were grateful they had turned "the dial 180 degrees relative to the Trump administration". "We should be talking about raising the debt ceiling.

☆ UK's Hunt says 'absolutely devastating' if US failed to raise debt ceiling
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NIIGATA, Japan, May 13 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Saturday it would be "absolutely devastating" if the United States failed to reach agreement to raise its debt ceiling and had its gross domestic product "knocked off track". A standoff between President Joe Biden and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which has raised the prospect of a first-ever U.S. debt default, posed a "very serious threat to the global economy," Hunt said. "It would be absolutely devastating if America, which is one of the biggest motors of the global economy, was to have its GDP knocked off track by not reaching agreement," he said. G7 members also agreed that any country that engages in economic coercion should expect a united response from advanced democracies, but gave no details on what that would entail. Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Writing by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ G7 agreed global financial system resilient but needs vigilance, Japan finmin says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, Germany's Finance Minister Christian Lindner, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, Joachim Nagel, President of Germany's federal reserve... Read moreNIIGATA, Japan, May 13 (Reuters) - Finance ministers and central banks from the Group of Seven rich nations agreed the global financial system is resilient but the need for vigilance remains, Japan's finance minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Saturday. "We reaffirm that our financial system is resilient, supported by the financial regulatory reforms implemented after the 2008 global financial crisis, including considerable increases in the levels of bank capital and liquidity, an international framework for effectively resolving failing institutions, and strengthened cross-border regulatory and supervisory cooperation," it said. British finance minister Jeremy Hunt told reporters at a separate event that G7 finance chiefs in Japan had "very frank and open discussions" about the challenges they face, including banking regulation. The ministers have wrapped up a three-day meeting in the Japanese city of Niigata. Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Leika Kihara; Writing by David Dolan Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Tech protectionism would risk new Dark Age, says UK's Hunt
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"The strategic choice the world faces is now do we all say 'we're going to do this on our own,' and go back to protectionism, which would bring global growth back into the Dark Ages?," Hunt told an event hosted by Politico. Hunt said Britain would remain competitive on innovation. "In the end, the thing that makes you competitive is the quality of your ideas not the amount of your subsidies," he said. Hunt also said it was not possible for countries to opt out of the race to develop artificial intelligence. Reporting by William Schomberg, Editing by Kylie MacLellanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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