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☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ Britain's Hunt: GDP figures show there's 'no room for complacency'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, April 13 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday there was no room for complacency in tackling low growth and high inflation after data showed the economy stagnated in February, hurt by strikes among public workers. "The growth numbers show there is absolutely no room for complacency. Inflation is higher than we want, growth is lower than we want," Hunt said, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund (IMF) summit in Washington. "But when it comes to the longer term prospects for the economy, what I'm hearing from my finance minister colleagues here in Washington is confidence in the resilience of the British economy, a belief that we're on the right track." Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] The logo of the Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in Zurich, Switzerland March 20, 2023. While the nation's central bank and financial regulator publicly declared that Credit Suisse was sound, behind closed doors the race was on to rescue the nation's second-biggest bank. The Swiss National Bank declined to comment while the finance ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Battered by years of scandals and losses, Credit Suisse for months had been battling a crisis of confidence of its own making. By Wednesday, two days later, Credit Suisse was swept up in a full-blown crisis.

March 19 (Reuters) - Talks over rescuing Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) rolled into Sunday as UBS AG (UBSG.S) sought $6 billion from the Swiss government to cover costs if it were to buy its struggling rival, a person with knowledge of the talks said. The guarantees UBS is seeking would cover the cost of winding down parts of Credit Suisse and potential litigation charges, two people told Reuters. Credit Suisse, UBS and the Swiss government declined to comment. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration moved to backstop consumer deposits while the Swiss central bank lent billions to Credit Suisse to stabilise its shaky balance sheet. There were multiple reports of interest for Credit Suisse from other rivals.

☆ UK finance minister, Bank of England governor in contact over Credit Suisse - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt walks at Downing Street in London, Britain, November 17, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoLONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey are in regular contact this weekend over the fate of Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S), according to a source with knowledge of the matter. UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) is mulling a takeover of its embattled Swiss rival Credit Suisse, other sources told Reuters on Saturday, amid a crisis of confidence in the bank that risks destabilizing the global financial system. A spokesperson for the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority, which oversees lenders, declined to comment. Credit Suisse's UK entity, Credit Suisse International, has $60 billion of risk weighted assets, according to the company's latest filings.

☆ UBS reportedly seeks $6 billion in government guarantees for Credit Suisse takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The $6 billion in government guarantees UBS is seeking would cover the cost of winding down parts of Credit Suisse and potential litigation charges, two people told Reuters. One of the sources cautioned that the talks to resolve the crisis of confidence in Credit Suisse are encountering significant obstacles, and 10,000 jobs may have to be cut if the two banks combine. Credit Suisse, UBS and the Swiss government declined to comment. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration moved to backstop consumer deposits while the Swiss central bank lent billions to Credit Suisse to stabilize its shaky balance sheet. UBS was under pressure from the Swiss authorities to carry out a takeover of its local rival to get the crisis under control, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

☆ UK drops plan to tax sovereign wealth funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt has dropped a plan to tax sovereign wealth funds investing in Britain, according to a government document. The report, detailing the measures in a budget plan announced by Hunt on Wednesday, said "the government has carefully considered" responses to its consultation on the immunity of sovereign funds from direct taxation. The FT said business and trade minister Kemi Badenoch had urged the Treasury to drop the proposals out of concern that sovereign funds might pull out of projects in Britain. Sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East and elsewhere have been big investors in some British infrastructure projects as well as in commercial property. Writing by William Schomberg; editing by William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ FTSE 100 gains as British banks bounce back; Rentokil rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UK's blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) gained 0.4%, rebounding from its steepest fall in over a year on Wednesday. British banks (.FTNMX301010) gained 1.8%, after falling 5.6% in the previous session. Rentokil Initial (RTO.L) jumped 6.1% to the top of the FTSE 100 after the pest control services provider lifted its medium-term outlook after posting a better-than-expected annual profit. The more domestically-focussed FTSE 250 midcap index (.FTMC) were subdued, though asset manager Bridgepoint Group (BPTB.L) rose 2.9% after reporting a higher revenue for 2022. Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Uttaresh VenkateshwaranOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Uneasy calm descends after SVB-triggered turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Dhara Ranasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The European Central Bank is still leaning towards a half-percentage-point rate hike on Thursday, despite turmoil in the banking sector, given high inflation, a source close to its Governing Council told Reuters. European stocks slipped 0.9% (.STOXX) in early trade but held above three-month lows reached on Monday as panic gripped world markets following SVB's collapse last week. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.9%, having slid 1.7% on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei index was flat (.N225) while an index of Japanese banks, which has slid 8% this week, jumped over 3% (.IBNKS.T). There had been worries that stronger-than-expected data might lead the Fed to go for jumbo-sized hikes to battle inflation.

☆ Morning Bid: Pride and prudence expected in UK budget
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Hunt, who was drafted in last year after former Prime Minister Liz Truss's mini budget in September shook UK markets, is due to speak at 1230 GMT and is expected to stay away from big tax cuts or spending increases. That may sour risk appetite for investors after the relief rally got a leg up on Wednesday from China's economic activity data that showed gradual, but uneven recovery. Rising expectations that the Fed will not go back to jumbo hikes after Tuesday's inflation data also helped lift sentiment. European stocks may struggle to sustain the rally with futures indicating the market is due for a slightly higher open. Reuters GraphicsKey developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:Economic events: Inflation data for Sweden and FranceEurozone industrial production data; UK budgetReporting by Ankur Banerjee; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK Budget: Hunt sets out his plan for growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt set out his budget on Wednesday, seeking to snap the world's sixth-biggest economy out of its run of stagnant growth. HUNT ON GROWTH"The OBR forecast we will not enter a recession at all this year with a contraction of just 0.2%. HUNT ON TECHNICAL RECESSION"Today the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that because of changing international factors and the measures I take, the UK will not now enter a technical recession this year. HUNT ON BOOSTING UK INVESTMENT AFTER SVB COLLAPSE"I will return in the Autumn Statement with a plan to deliver that. HUNT ON PENSION TAX"Today I will increase the pensions annual tax-free allowance by 50% from 40,000 pounds to 60,000 pounds.

☆ Sunak's swimming pool makes a splash in UK budget
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In the middle of Britain's worst cost-of-living crisis in generations, special equipment had to be installed to provide enough power for Sunak's swimming pool at a cost of tens of thousands of pounds, the Guardian newspaper reported. Early in his budget speech, Hunt touched on the topic of swimming pools and the costs they and other community facilities faced during a time of high energy bills. "When times are tough, such facilities matter even more," he said, but his words were nearly drowned out by raucous laughter from Labour Party lawmakers set off by the mere mention of swimming pools. Television cameras failed to capture Sunak's reaction, though a reporter for the Daily Mirror said the prime minister maintained a "masterful poker face." "We look forward to the prime minister promoting the swimming pools policy," Starmer said.

☆ Why the UK spring budget won't fix the economy's problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

London CNN —The last time a British finance minister unveiled a “budget for growth,” UK financial markets crashed and mortgage rates shot up, threatening to tip an already weak economy into a deep recession. But he will deliver his budget against essentially the same gloomy backdrop: the UK economy is stuck in the doldrums. John Springford, deputy director at the Centre for European Reform, estimates that Brexit had cost the UK economy 5.5% of GDP by June 2022. SVB could depress UK bank lendingAnother factor that could weigh on the UK economy in the near term: Silicon Valley Bank. “It is likely that UK financial conditions will remain tighter (or potentially significantly tighter) over coming months than they would have been without the US banking troubles,” Pickering said in a research note Monday.

☆ UK abolishes tax threshold on pension allowance to encourage people to work longer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Machinist Yasemin Mehmet, aged 68, poses for a photograph on the factory floor of Fashion-Enter Ltd in London, Britain, February 15, 2023. The capped amount of money that can put in their pensions in one year without paying tax will also rise to 60,000 pounds from 40,000 pounds, he said. The move is designed to stop people, particularly doctors and other professionals, quitting the workforce or reducing the hours they work when their pensions surpass the tax thresholds. "I do not want any doctor to retire early because of the way pension taxes work," Hunt said. ($1 = 0.8279 pounds)Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; editing by William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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 overhauls childcare, pensions and welfare to get people working
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday expanded access to childcare and announced an overhaul of the welfare system under measures aimed at alleviating a tight labour market that has hampered the outlook for growth. In what he described as "the biggest change to our welfare system in a decade," Hunt said disabled benefit claimants would be able to seek work without losing financial support. "Today, I bring forward reforms to remove the barriers that stop people who want to from working," Hunt told parliament. Hunt said working parents with children over nine months old would be entitled to 30 hours of free childcare a week by Sept. 2025, expanding the existing scheme for three- and four-year-olds. The government said that in 2025, the cost of providing extra childcare for parents would be 4.5 billion pounds and reducing the taxes on high earners' pensions would cost more than 1 billion pounds.

☆ Hunt, hemmed in by debt, set to focus on growth in UK budget
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Instead, hemmed in by his promise to lower the burden of Britain's 2.5 trillion pounds ($3.0 trillion) of debt, Hunt will seek to tackle some of the causes of Britain's long-term economic funk. "In the autumn we took difficult decisions to deliver stability and sound money," Hunt is due to say, according to excerpts of his budget speech. "Today, we deliver the next part of our plan: a budget for growth," he adds. Labour's would-be finance minister, Rachel Reeves, sought to keep the heat on Hunt by calling for urgent action now. In an attempt to soften that tax hit, Hunt has hinted at new incentives for business investment.

"HSBC is Europe's largest bank, and SVB UK customers should feel reassured by the strength, safety and security that brings them," Britain's finance minister Jeremy Hunt said. The Bank of England said it had organised the sale to underpin confidence in the financial system and minimise any fallout for British technology firms. "This acquisition makes excellent strategic sense for our business in the UK," HSBC CEO Noel Quinn said in a statement. The Bank of England said SVB UK had a total balance sheet size of around 8.8 billion pounds. Other potential buyers for SVB UK had included Bank of London, which said on Sunday it had submitted a formal proposal.

☆ 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.

The Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) logo is seen through a rain-covered window. LONDON — HSBC on Monday announced a deal to buy the U.K. subsidiary of the U.S. tech startup lender Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed on Friday. HSBC confirmed that its U.K. ring-fenced subsidiary, HSBC UK Bank, had agreed to acquire SVB U.K. for £1 ($1.21). The sale, facilitated by the Bank of England in consultation with the U.K. Treasury, will protect the deposits of SVB U.K. clients, the Treasury said in a statement. "The U.K.'s tech sector is genuinely world-leading and of huge importance to the British economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs," he added.

☆ UK races to minimise damage from Silicon Valley Bank collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

"We will bring forward immediate plans to ensure the short-term operational and cashflow needs of Silicon Valley Bank UK customers are able to be met," Hunt said. Talks were held over the weekend involving Hunt, Sunak and Bailey to discuss the issues faced by British tech companies affected by the collapse, the British Treasury said. More than 250 UK tech firm chief executives signed a letter addressed to Hunt on Saturday calling for government intervention, a copy seen by Reuters shows. Hunt reiterated comments by the BoE that overall Silicon Valley Bank has a limited presence in Britain and does not perform functions critical to the financial system. The BoE said on Friday that it was seeking a court order to place SVB UK into an insolvency procedure.

The Treasury said late on Saturday that Hunt would offer financial incentives for parents with young children, disabled people and others to rejoin the workforce in his tax and spending budget plan on Wednesday. The government said it hopes the announcements this week will get hundreds of thousands of people into work. Hunt also plans to allow disabled people and those with long-term health conditions to work without removing their supplementary financial support, the Treasury said. "A Conservative government will always cut taxes when we can, but we won't run out of money. We will be responsible with the public finances," he told Sky News.

☆ UK government should focus on younger workers, not just over-50s, employers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Unlike in most other rich countries, Britain's labour force is still notably smaller than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. But the CIPD pointed to the high number of younger people who were outside the labour market. "It's important that the current focus on addressing the decline of over-50s in employment doesn't obscure the need and opportunity to get more young people into work," CIPD economist Jon Boys said. In January he urged those who had retired early to do more than just play golf. However, many people who have retired early are not under financial pressure to go back to work, while those who are unwell can face long waits for medical treatment.

☆ UK finance minister Hunt says he can't rush into tax cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said he wanted to lower tax rates for individuals and especially businesses in the longer term but warned it would take time because the economy needed to grow more quickly first. Hunt, who is due to present his budget on Wednesday, said in an interview broadcast on Saturday that lower tax rates were only possible once the economy was on a sustainable path to growth. "What we're trying to do is to increase the productive capacity of the economy and a highly taxed, highly regulated economy has less productive capacity," he said. Hunt hinted that he would first look at measures to encourage business investment through incentives. Reporting by Sarah Young Editing by William SchombergOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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