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☆ Britain, U.S. to work together on AI safety, says Sunak
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, June 8 (Reuters) - Britain and the United States have agreed to work together on artificial intelligence safety, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Thursday. "Today, the President and I agreed to work together on AI safety," Sunak said at a joint press conference with U.S. President Joe Biden. "The UK looks forward to hosting the first global summit on AI safety later this year, so that we can seize the extraordinary possibilities of this new technological age, and do so with confidence." Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William SchombergOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Joe Biden, Trevor Hunnicutt, Sachin Ravikumar, William Schomberg Organizations: British, U.S, Thomson Locations: Britain, United States

☆ UK housing market improves but slowdown seen as rates rise-RICS
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

RICS' house price balance, which measures the difference between the percentage of surveyors seeing rises and falls in house prices, increased to -30 last month from -39 in April. However, analysts are forecasting another slowdown for the housing market with markets largely expecting the BoE's Bank Rate to peak at 5.5% later this year, up from 4.5% now. Britain's housing market staged a recovery earlier this year after former prime minister Liz Truss's "mini-budget" caused turmoil in financial markets in September and sent the cost of fixed mortgage rates sharply higher to above 6%. Britain's biggest mortgage lender, Halifax, on Wednesday said house prices dropped by 1.0% year-on-year in May, the first annual decline since 2012. Some mortgage lenders, including Halifax and Nationwide Building Society have ramped up their fixed mortgage rates in response to the rise in borrowing costs in financial markets.

Persons: RICS, Tarrant Parsons, Liz Truss's, BoE, Suban Abdulla, William Schomberg Organizations: Bank of England, Royal Institution, Chartered Surveyors, Nationwide, Nationwide Building Society, Thomson Locations: April's, Halifax

☆ UK's Sunak wants to cut taxes by up to 2% before election, the Telegraph reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants to cut taxes by as much as 2 pence in the pound before the next national election which is expected in 2024, the Telegraph newspaper reported. Government officials believed that a slower-than-expected fall in Britain's high inflation rate would not prevent a tax cut from April, the paper said without citing its sources. Sunak has previously said he wants to cut taxes but only once the hole in the public finances has been fixed and he has also pledged to halve inflation this year. The Telegraph said the tax cuts under consideration could be introduced via Britain's National Insurance social security system or personal income tax. Many Conservative lawmakers want Sunak to cut taxes, even as demands grow for more spending on public services, including the health system.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, William Schomberg, Nick Zieminski Organizations: British, Telegraph, Government, Britain's National Insurance, Sunak's Conservative Party, Labour Party, Conservative, Thomson Locations: Britain's

☆ UK house prices fall by most since 2009, higher rates to bite-Nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - British house prices fell by the most since 2009 in the 12 months to May and the country's housing market faces further headwinds after a recent jump in borrowing costs, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Thursday. Compared with May last year, the average house price was down 3.4% after a 2.7% annual fall in April, Nationwide said. House prices edged down by 0.1% in May from April after a monthly 0.4% rise in April, Nationwide said. Martin Beck, an economist with the EY Item Club, a forecasting group, said the 4% fall in house prices from last August's peak was modest compared with the 7% rise in house prices over the past two years. Analysts at Capital Economics said prices would fall another 8% while Pantheon Macroeconomics said they would drop 4%.

Persons: Liz Truss's, Headwinds, Robert Gardner, Gardner, Martin Beck, BoE, Beck, William Schomberg, Muvija M, Paul Sandle, Christina Fincher Organizations: Nationwide, Bank of, Capital Economics, Thomson Locations: Bank, Bank of England

☆ Journalists to complete book on saving Amazon rainforest by murdered British writer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - One year after British reporter Dom Phillips was murdered in Brazil while working on a book about saving the Amazon rain forest, a group of journalists aims to complete the project, his family and former colleagues said on Thursday. They will use notes and transcriptions of interviews conducted by Dom Phillips and conduct their own research trips to the Amazon region to complete the missing chapters. Other journalists who also have experience covering issues related to the Amazon will fact-check and proofread the draft chapters, Watts said. "Dom was killed for this book," he said. "The least we can do is finish the task to which he had devoted the latter part of his life.

Persons: Dom Phillips, Phillips, Bruno Pereira, Pereira, Jon Lee Anderson, Tom Phillips, Jonathan Watts, Andrew Fishman, Watts, Dom, William Schomberg, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Manilla Press, Bonnier Books, Guardian, Washington Post, New, Intercept, Thomson Locations: Brazil, Brazil's, Peru

☆ Confidence returning to UK housing market as asking prices jump: Rightmove
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"One reason for this increased confidence may be that the gloomy start-of-the-year predictions for the market are looking increasingly unlikely," Tim Bannister, director of property science at Rightmove, said. Earlier this year, British house prices were forecast by sector analysts to fall by as much as 15% by mid-2024. Rightmove said mortgage rates had been stable on a week-to-week basis. Mortgage lender Halifax said earlier this month that property prices grew at the slowest annual pace in over 10 years in April. But rival Nationwide said prices rose by a monthly 0.5% in April after falling for the seven previous months.

☆ Factbox: The paparazzi who pursue Harry and Meghan - what are the rules?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Harry, the younger son of King Charles, and Meghan cited media intrusion as one of the reasons for stepping back from royal duties and moving to California in 2020. Rules on how the "paps" can operate vary from country to country and from state to state in the U.S.Below is a summary of the different restrictions. BRITAINPhotographers may take pictures in all public places, including photos of people, as long as they do not harass members of the public. California, where paparazzi are a constant presence thanks to Hollywood, has enacted several laws intended to protect celebrities from harm since Diana's death. The New York Press Photographers Association issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the reported behaviour as a violation of the basic principle that news photographers should act as "documentarians and observers."

☆ UK is committed to making electric vehicle batteries, Hunt says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - Britain will ensure that batteries needed to power electric vehicles (EVs) are produced domestically, finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday, a day after carmakers warned insufficient production could hurt investment in the country. "We are absolutely committed to making sure the UK is able to source onshore EV batteries that we need," Hunt said in a presentation to manufacturers on Thursday. Under the deal, 45% of the value of an EV sold in the EU must come from Britain or the EU from 2024 to avoid tariffs. On Wednesday, Hunt urged the industry to "watch this space" on the issue of British battery production. Reporting by William Schomberg; writing by David Milliken; Editing by Alistair SmoutOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK jobless rate rises, potentially easing BoE inflation worries
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) - Britain's unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 3.9% in the three months to March as more people sought to get back into the jobs market, potentially easing concerns at the Bank of England about inflation pressures. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the rate to hold at 3.8%. However, pay growth - which is at the heart of the BoE's debate about whether to raise interest rates further - remained strong by historical standards. Annual pay growth including bonuses held at 5.8%, as expected in the Reuters poll. However, the number of people not working due to long-term sickness rose to a new record, Morgan said.

☆ Nearly 6 million Britons missed payments on bills, regulator says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) - Millions of British borrowers repeatedly missed payments on bills in the six months to January amid the steep surge in the cost of living and higher interest rates, a survey from the Financial Conduct Authority regulator showed on Tuesday. The FCA said the number of adults in Britain who missed payments on domestic bills or failed to meet any of their credit commitments in three or more of the six months to January rose to 5.6 million from 4.2 million in May 2022. The latest survey also showed a significant rise in the number of people struggling to keep up with payments who now accounted for one in five adults. "The convergence of higher living costs and higher interest rates has pushed people’s finances right to the edge and sometimes over," Karen Noye, mortgage expert at Quilter said. It also said it will introduce its Consumer Duty rule in the coming months, requiring firms to ensure they provide better support for consumers.

☆ Britons face biggest tax rise since 1979, think tank says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) - Britons face the biggest tax-raising drive since the start of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher's term of office in the coming years as more people are pushed into paying the top rate of income tax, a leading think tank said on Tuesday. Britons pay income tax at a rate of 20% on income over 12,570 pounds ($15,865) a year and 40% on income over 50,270 pounds with a higher rate beyond that. Isaac Delestre, an IFS research economist, said inflation's recent surge was pushing up nominal earnings of many workers and dragging them into the higher tax rate bracket. The Conservative Party pledged not to increase income tax rates in its 2019 election manifesto. "A third of the expected record fall in household incomes this year is likely to be a result of this tax rise," the IFS said.

☆ UK public sector employers plan to raise pay by most since 2012
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - British public sector employers plan the biggest pay increases in over a decade and private sector deals are set to remain high, according to a survey published on Monday, potentially adding to worries at the Bank of England. However, the gap between public and private employers' wage expectations remained wide, with those in the private sector expecting to raise pay by 5% in the coming year, unchanged from three months before. Official data showed average private sector wages in the three months to February were 6.1% higher than a year earlier. More than half of survey respondents in the public sector noted struggles with hard-to-fill roles and 45% expected similar problems in the next six months. Four in 10 private sector recruiters reported hard-to-fill jobs while 23% anticipated significant difficulties filling vacancies over the next six months.

☆ Bank of England poised to raise rates again to tackle stubborn inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Investors are fully pricing in another quarter-of-a-percentage point increase in Bank Rate, taking the BoE's benchmark rate to 4.5%, when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announces the outcome of its May policy meeting at 12 p.m. (1100 GMT). Markets' main focus will be any signals from the BoE about the likelihood of further rises in the months ahead. "We expect that the Bank will only start to reduce rates from 2024 Q2 given resilient growth momentum," Goldman Sachs economist James Moberly told clients this week. "We have to be very alert to any signs of persistent inflationary pressures," Bailey said on March 27, before the latest round of data showed inflation fell less than expected. Last week, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank both raised their benchmark borrowing rates by 25 basis points.

☆ UK firms cut hiring of permanent staff, recruiters' survey shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) - British firms reduced hiring of permanent staff via recruitment agencies at the fastest pace in more than two years, a survey showed on Wednesday, a day before the Bank of England announces its latest move to tackle inflation pressure. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation/KPMG said temporary hiring - which often increases when employers are uncertain about the economic outlook - rose at the fastest pace in seven months. "After a better month in March, in April we saw permanent hiring fall back quickly and businesses turn to temps to help them through. The REC survey showed staff availability increased for the second month in a row in April as some companies laid off workers and people sought better-paid work to help cope with an inflation rate that remained above 10% in March. Most investors and economists expect the BoE to increase Bank Rate for the 12th meeting in a row on Thursday.

☆ British home-buyers, facing higher interest rates, retreat in April - RICS
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 11 (Reuters) - British property surveyors reported a drop in demand in April as new buyers turned more cautious ahead of the Bank of England's latest expected interest rate increase, an industry survey showed on Thursday. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said its measure of new buyer enquiries fell to a net balance of -37 in last month from -30 in March, the lowest since January. Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS, said the survey pointed to challenges in terms of sales and lettings. The net balance of agreed house sales across Britain fell slightly but respondents noted a pick-up in the number of properties on the market. Data from mortgage lender Halifax published on Tuesday showed house prices grew at the slowest annual pace in more than 10 years in April.

☆ UK police express regret over coronation arrest of republican leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/May JamesLONDON, May 9 (Reuters) - British police expressed regret over the arrests of the leader of anti-monarchist group Republic and five others at the coronation of King Charles, following criticism that the security response was heavy-handed. London's Met Police said they regretted that six of those arrested at the event were prevented from protesting during the coronation on Saturday. They have had their bail cancelled and no further action will be taken, the police statement added. Police said the arrests were made because of items which officers believed could have been used to disrupt the event. There were over 11,000 police on the streets of central London for the coronation, the biggest ceremonial event staged in London for 70 years, and a total of 64 arrests were made.

☆ UK house prices stabilise after mini-budget fall: Nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - British house prices rose by 0.5% in April after falling for the seven previous months, mortgage lender Nationwide said, adding to signs that the property market has stabilised after last year's "mini-budget" upheaval. The average house price remained 4% below its peak in August last year which was before former Prime Minister Liz Truss and her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng briefly sent debt markets into a tailspin by announcing a plan for big, unfunded tax cuts. Compared with April last year, the average house price was down by 2.7%, Nationwide said. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected prices to fall by 0.4% in month-on-month terms and by an annual 3.6%. Reporting by William Schomberg; editing by Sarah YoungOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Arsenal return to top of the league with 3-1 win over Chelsea
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League on Tuesday with a 3-1 win over a woeful Chelsea, set on their way by two goals from Martin Odegaard, but the title is still Manchester City's to lose having played two games less than the leaders. Arsenal raced into a 3-0 halftime lead when captain Odegaard was given acres of space - twice - by Chelsea's flimsy defence to score in the 18th and 31st minutes, and Gabriel Jesus converted from close-range 11 minutes before the break. Arsenal's first win in five games took them to 78 points, two more than second-placed City who have the chance to reclaim top spot when they host West Ham United on Wednesday. Granit Xhaka, who provided assists for both Odegaard's strikes, almost opened the scoring himself in the opening minutes but he was thwarted by Kepa Arrizabalaga who went on to make saves in the second half that prevented an Arsenal rout. Reporting by William Schomberg Editing by Christian RadnedgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bank of England policymakers consider 12th straight rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - The Bank of England is weighing up whether to raise interest rates for the 12th meeting in a row next week as it continues to grapple with an inflation rate that remains above 10%, higher than in any other big, rich economy. Following is a summary of recent comments by members of the Monetary Policy Committee. If they become evident, further monetary tightening would be required. JON CUNLIFFE, DEPUTY GOVERNORHas not commented on monetary policy in recent months. MPC MEMBERS WHO VOTED IN MARCH TO STOP RAISING RATESSILVANA TENREYRO, EXTERNAL MPC MEMBERApril 14: "We need to be patient (to see the effects of past rate increases).

☆ Arsenal return to top of the league with 3-1 win over sorry Chelsea
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League on Tuesday with a 3-1 win over a woeful Chelsea, set on their way by two goals from Martin Odegaard, but the title is still Manchester City's to lose having played two games less than the leaders. After losing to City 4-1 last week, Mikel Arteta made three changes, including giving striker Leandro Trossard a start in the place of Gabriel Martinelli and handing Jakub Kiwior his first league start in midfield. His side dominated their slumping London rivals straight from the kick-off as they sought to shake off last week's potentially title-deciding setback. "Everyone was so hurt after the game (against City)," Odegaard said after taking his league goal tally for the season to 14. ($1 = 0.8024 pounds)Reporting by William Schomberg Editing by Christian RadnedgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK retailers report record food inflation but see falls ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Overall inflation among BRC members dropped to 8.8% from March's 8.9% as price increases for non-food items slowed due to heavy discounting of clothing, footwear and furniture. Costlier coffee beans and more expensive packaging and production of ready-meals pushed up food inflation, but prices of butter and vegetable oil were starting to decline. "We should start to see food prices come down in the coming months as the cut to wholesale prices and other cost pressures filter through," BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said. Britain's official measure of consumer price inflation peaked last October at 11.1%, its highest in more than 40 years. The Office for National Statistics' measure of food price inflation - which is calculated differently to the BRC's - was the highest since 1977 in March at an annual 19.1%, reflecting higher costs for biscuits, cakes and confectionery.

☆ From 1953 beer to royal syrup, British collector charts coronation brands
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Jeevan Ravindran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Seventy years on he runs London's 'Museum of Brands', with some 12,000 objects, many of them devoted to Britain's royals. Opie's museum in Notting Hill charts consumer culture and houses objects from past coronations, including a commemorative can of beer from the 1937 crowning of King George VI - with the beer still inside. And yet, without it, you don't understand when things happened," Opie said, adding that royal events formed the "skeleton of history." The oldest object in his collection is a Delftware plate from the reign of King William III who was on the throne from 1689 to 1702. Reporting by Jeevan Ravindran; additional reporting by Will Russell; Editing by William Schomberg and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Buckingham Palace releases pre-coronation photos of Charles and Camilla
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Handout photo dated March 2023 issued by Buckingham Palace of King Charles III taken by Hugo Burnand in the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace, London, Britain released on April 28, 2023. Behind the King is the State Portrait of King George V, painted by Luke Fildes shortly after his coronation. Hugo Burnand/Royal Household 2023/Handout via REUTERSLONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - Buckingham Palace published three new photographs of King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla on Friday ahead of the monarch's coronation on May 6. The images were taken in the palace in March by society photographer Hugo Burnand who was official photographer for the weddings of Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles in 2005 and of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011. Charles and Camilla appear in the photographs sitting in front of a state portrait of King George V, who reigned from 1910 until 1936 and was the great-grandfather of Charles.

☆ Powerful Swiss central bank faces reform calls in wake of Credit Suisse rescue
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] The Swiss National Bank (SNB) building is seen near the Limmat river in Zurich, Switzerland March 23, 2023. The governance concerns have been brought centre-stage by the search for a new member to replace Andrea Maechler, the first woman to serve on the SNB's governing board. The Swiss parliament would have to approve any expansion of the SNB's board. Still, the SNB Observatory, a group of economists set up to stimulate a debate about the SNB, has suggested that the small committee meant the central bank was susceptible to group think. Thomas Stucki, a former head of asset management at the SNB, said it was typical for central bank chairmen to dominate decision-making.

☆ UK draws record 46.4 billion pounds of demand for new inflation-linked bond
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 26 (Reuters) - Britain received a record 46.4 billion pounds ($57.9 billion) in demand from investors at the launch of a new inflation-linked government bond which will mature in March 2045, the United Kingdom Debt Management Office said on Wednesday. However the strong demand came at a price, with the 4.5 billion pounds of new gilts paying investors a return of 0.6543% on top of retail price inflation - the greatest real yield for any index-linked gilt sold via syndication since May 2011. The DMO said domestic investors accounted for 93% of the allocations of the bond. The volume of orders is the highest for any index-linked bond issued via syndication by the DMO, although a conventional gilt syndication of green gilts in 2021 had order volumes in excess of 100 billion pounds. The DMO has sold 21.9 billion pounds of gilts out of a target of 237.8 billion pounds for the financial year which started in April.

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