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☆ UK government runs unexpected budget surplus in January: ONS
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Britain's government ran an unexpected budget surplus in January, reflecting strong income tax receipts that could give finance minister Jeremy Hunt a little more leeway than he thought as he prepares his annual budget. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday reported a seasonal budget surplus of £5.42 billion ($6.51 billion) in January, a month in which millions of Britons pay their income tax receipts. The ONS reported self-assessment income tax receipts of £21.9 billion, the highest January figure since monthly records began and £5.5 billion more than last year. "This suggests that the Chancellor will have some wiggle-room in the budget to fund near-term tax cuts and/or spending rises," said Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at consultancy Capital Economics, of the January surplus. The figures, which are not adjusted for inflation, showed the tax receipts were offset by £6.7 billion of interest payable on index-linked government bonds, the highest January total on record.

☆ UK government runs unexpected budget surplus in January - ONS
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Britain's government ran an unexpected budget surplus in January, reflecting strong income tax receipts that could give finance minister Jeremy Hunt a little more leeway than he thought as he prepares his annual budget. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday reported a seasonal budget surplus of 5.42 billion pounds ($6.51 billion) in January, a month in which millions of Britons pay their income tax receipts. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to public sector net borrowing, excluding state-owned banks, of 7.85 billion pounds for January. The ONS reported self-assessment income tax receipts of 21.9 billion pounds, the highest January figure since monthly records began and 5.5 billion pounds more than last year. The government spent more than 10 billion pounds on its energy support for households in January, while it also paid 2.3 billion pounds to the European Union to settle a dispute over customs duties.

☆ Britain's post-Brexit asset management revamp eyes liquidity, tokenisation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Until Britain's departure from the European Union in 2020, rules for the UK funds sector were written in Brussels. The sector has fallen short in dealing with stresses in recent years in Britain and elsewhere due to inadequate liquidity, prompting scrutiny globally. "The regulatory framework contains rules around liquidity management. "But the growth of the fund industry means that liquidity management in funds is also relevant to the good functioning of markets," the discussion paper out for public consultation said. The FCA said it wants to see fund managers complying with liquidity stress testing guidelines issued by the EU's securities watchdog ESMA, which will be converted into UK rules.

☆ Britain begins post-Brexit asset management revamp, focus on liquidity
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Britain set out plans on Monday for a post-Brexit review of its rules for the 11 trillion pound ($13.2 trillion) asset management sector, with a focus on bolstering liquidity after a near meltdown in funds used by pension schemes last September. Until Britain's departure from the European Union, rules for the UK funds sector were written in Brussels. "The regulatory framework contains rules around liquidity management. "But the growth of the fund industry means that liquidity management in funds is also relevant to the good functioning of markets," the discussion paper said. The FCA said it wants to see fund managers carrying out effective liquidity management by complying with stress testing guidelines issued by the EU's securities watchdog ESMA.

☆ World-first ideas unveiled at MWC 2023 by UK telecoms innovators
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With The Uk'S Department For Business | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

At the upcoming Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, collaboration and convergence will be priorities. MWC is a 'Digital World Congress' that will see more worldwide digital innovation from the UK and across the world." Attocore, recently awarded a grant for accelerating Radio Access Network (RAN) intelligence, sits alongside mobile giants Ericsson and Samsung in advancing the security of UK mobile networks. With 5G networks, an estimated £173 billion of incremental UK GDP will be added to the UK economy by 2030. MWC and scaling UK technologyMobile World Congress is also a great opportunity for big ideas to reach an even bigger audience.

☆ Instagram may be planning to offer a paid subscription model called 'Meta Verified'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Instagram could be planning a paid subscription service called Meta Verified. A screenshot of the Instagram Help Center page on Meta Verified. It also said users who bought Meta Verified would not have it applied to their Facebook account as well. The help center page on eligibility, which has also been taken down, showed that users must be at least 18 to be eligible for a Meta Verified subscription. In December Twitter introduced its premium subscription, Twitter Blue, for the second time since Elon Musk took control of the company.

"The amount of energy BEVs need is so enormous that I see a strain on our grid that ultimately it can't fulfill." Daimler Truck will invest up to 15 billion euros ($16 billion) on fuel cells over the next decade, Daum said. Symbio, which supplies fuel cells for Stellantis vans, expects global fuel cell vehicle sales to reach 2 million units annually by 2030 and wants a 10% share. Both General Motors (GM) (GM.N) and Toyota (7203.T) are testing fuel cells for larger vehicles including semi-trucks and trains to build scale and lower costs. While Volkswagen is not currently investing in fuel cells, it has hundreds of patents around the technology.

☆ Scottish politics are in turmoil, but it's small fry for the pound
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Naomi Rovnick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Any prospect of Scotland breaking away from the United Kingdom used to have momentous implications for U.K. markets. The lack of any discernable reaction in the pound, gilts or London blue-chips to the resignation on Wednesday of pro-independence Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon's resignation showed. "Ten years ago it was a real risk, it was quite close," said Jon Day, global bond portfolio manager at UK-based asset manager Newton Investment Management. Reuters GraphicsThe Scottish independence discourse "doesn't have much of an impact on the pound these days", said George Brown, economist at fund manager Schroders. The U.K. market chaos following former Prime Minister Liz Truss's badly received mini-budget collided with heightened anxiety among investors in general as the U.S. Fed raised interest rates.

☆ UK strikes hit a 30-year high as inflation erodes pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Many public sector workers have been offered raises of 4% or 5% for the current financial year, far lower than the 10.5% annual inflation rate in December. Real pay fallsThe UK government has so far refused to grant public sector workers higher pay awards, arguing that doing so risks making the inflation problem worse. For public sector workers, the decline in real pay will have been worse as, without adjusting for inflation, their wages grew a lot less compared with private sector earnings. The ONS said private sector pay growth was at its strongest outside the height of the coronavirus pandemic. “However, median anticipated public sector pay rise expectations of 2% lag those in the private sector at 5%, with the gap providing the context for ongoing discontent and strikes among key public sector workers,” the CIPD said.

☆ Fact Check-Vehicle set alight outside British hotel was a police van and therefore exempt from MOT testing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The MOT status of a police van that was set alight outside a British hotel housing asylum seekers has been baselessly used by social media users to imply the violence was staged. The vehicle, with registration PO15 AEC, was set on fire during a protest outside Suites Hotel in Knowsley near Liverpool on Feb. 10. An MOT refers to an annual test of cars in Britain to ensure safety, roadworthiness, and to check emissions (here and here). The status of a vehicle’s MOT certificate can be checked online via its registration number www.check-mot.service.gov.uk . Under Regulation 6 (1) (xiv) of The Motor Vehicles (Tests) Regulations 1981, vehicles maintained in a government-approved workshop are exempt from MOT testing (here).

☆ China alleges hypocrisy, says the US has flown high-altitude spy balloons over China more than 10 times in the last year alone
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

China accused the US of sending spy balloons over the country at least 10 times since January 2022. This comes after the US shot down an apparent Chinese spy balloon over the US earlier this month. Other countries have also accused China of sending spy balloons over their territory. This comes after the US accused China of sending spy balloons over its airspace and those of other countries. A UK government minister also said on Monday that it was "possible" China had sent spy balloons over the United Kingdom.

☆ Analysis: The deep freeze over UK assets is thawing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Naomi Rovnick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"This does suggest a possible inflection point in sentiment towards UK assets," said Nick Kissack, a UK portfolio manager at Schroders, which manages roughly $910 billion of client funds. "We saw extreme levels of risk aversion," in September, he added, while "the risk premium for UK assets has come down since." That, in short, is an outlook of higher global interest rates, weak growth and high inflation. Reuters GraphicsHowever, analysts expect the FTSE 100's rise to falter with a stronger global growth outlook combined with waning energy inflation. "The UK is the standout global economy where growth prospects have not improved," said Baylee Wakefield, multi-asset portfolio manager at Aviva Investors, who expects gilts to continue outperforming Treasuries.

☆ Fact Check-Poster claiming COVID vaccines caused UK psychiatric disorders is fabricated
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A poster masked as an advert and featuring a photo of a man’s head shattering falsely alleges that COVID-19 vaccines have been officially recognized as the cause of 31,570 psychiatric disorders in the UK. However, no association between COVID-19 vaccines and any psychiatric disorder has been found, an MHRA spokesperson told Reuters. The spokesperson added: “We have closely monitored the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines since the beginning of the UK vaccination programme. Reuters previously addressed claims that the UK’s Yellow Card scheme shows confirmed side effects of COVID vaccines here, here and here . No link has been found between COVID-19 vaccines and psychiatric disorders, according to the MHRA.

[1/2] The logo for AstraZeneca is seen outside its North America headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., March 22, 2021. REUTERS/Rachel Wisniewski/Companies AstraZeneca PLC FollowLONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Britain's business climate is deterring biopharma companies from investing in the country, AstraZeneca (AZN.L) chief Pascal Soriot said on Thursday, highlighting his company's decision to shift plans for a new manufacturing plant to Ireland. He highlighted AstraZeneca's recent decision to build a manufacturing facility in Ireland instead of the UK as evidence of Britain becoming less attractive for drugmakers. The decision, made in 2021, was also linked to the UK government's Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access (VPAS), a company spokesperson added. Reporting by Natalie Grover and Maggie Fick Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Barbara Lewis and Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The UK plans to train Ukrainian pilots to fly the kind of NATO-standard fighter jets the alliance is refusing to give them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The UK government plans to train Ukrainian pilots on how to fly NATO-standard fighter jets. Ukraine has long requested advanced fighter jets, but NATO has been reluctant to provide them. The British government will offer to train Ukrainian pilots to fly advanced NATO-standard fighter jets in the future, Downing Street said on Wednesday, even as the military alliance refuses to actually send the physical aircraft to Ukraine. "The training will ensure pilots are able to fly sophisticated NATO-standard fighter jets in the future," it said. Since obtaining the Western-made tanks, Ukraine has pivoted its focus to fighter jets, fourth-generation jets like the American F-15 or F-16.

☆ Fact Check-UK government-headed letter addressed to hosts of Ukrainian refugees is fake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A letter printed on British government-headed paper, which requests the hosts of Ukrainian refugees to share personal information about their guests, has been circulating online but the related government department has said the letter is a fake. The letter also says that refugees should visit the embassy “to specify their personal data individually”. When contacted by Reuters, the DLUHC pointed to its Feb. 6 post on Twitter which said the department was aware of “fraudulent letters” to hosts of Ukrainian refugees that were circulating on social media. The Ukrainian Embassy in the UK was not immediately available for comment. The DLUHC says the letter, which contains numerous spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors, is fake.

☆ Trump's Scottish golf courses recorded more losses in 2021
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump's two Scottish golf courses lost 4.4 million pounds ($5.44 million) in 2021, according to accounts released on Thursday, continuing a consistent run of red ink at the clubs under his ownership. SLC Turnberry Ltd., which manages the famed Turnberry golf resort, said closure for part of the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to pre-tax losses of 3.7 million pounds. Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd, which operates a club Trump built north of Aberdeen, reported a pre-tax loss of 697,000 pounds. The results were helped by the companies receiving just over 1 million pounds in COVID payroll support from the UK government. ($1 = 0.8081 pounds)Reporting by Tom Bergin; Editing by Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Britain hit by biggest strike in more than a decade with schools shut and rail networks disrupted
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Such widespread strike action has not taken place since a dispute over public sector pay in 2011, when more than a million workers are estimated to have taken industrial action. watch nowDemands vary by union but include inflation-beating pay rises, including to redress historic real-terms pay falls; pensions reform; and no cuts in redundancy terms. Postal workers have also been on strike, and firefighters have voted for future strike action. Average pay excluding bonuses rose by 2.7% in the public sector between August and October, as inflation rose above 10%. That compared with a 6.9% pay increase in the private sector, according to national statistics.

☆ UK and EU reach post-Brexit customs deal for N.Ireland-The Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A 'no entry' sign is seen near the Stormont Parliament Buildings in Belfast, Northern Ireland June 13, 2022. The EU has accepted a plan that would avoid the need for routine checks on products going into Northern Ireland, the newspaper reported on Tuesday. Both sides were also hammering out details of a veterinary checks deal, The Times said. A UK government spokesperson said its priority is to protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and to preserve political stability in Northern Ireland and the UK internal market. After months of tensions between London, Brussels, Belfast and Dublin, progress has recently been made in the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

☆ JPMorgan reviews oversight of traders amid boom in financial markets - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Stefania Spezzati | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

KPMG is reviewing JPMorgan’s oversight of traders across the bank's markets division globally, the people said. The CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX), a measure of market volatility, remains above its pre-pandemic levels. JPMorgan, when asked by Reuters why it had hired KPMG, said: "We invest heavily in our compliance and surveillance systems and often engage third parties to benchmark our capabilities." Under the agreement, which ends this year, the bank committed to enhance its compliance efforts and to report fixes to its oversight, the DoJ said. The volatility in UK government bonds, known as gilts, triggered a flood of compliance alerts from JPMorgan’s traders, one of the sources said.

☆ Rolls-Royce alarm is justified, if oddly expressed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Rolls-Royce's (RR.L) new boss Tufan Erginbilgic has the right sentiments, but arguably the wrong words. Cue a 4% drop in Rolls’ share price. In fairness, the Turkish-British national’s alarm is justified. Rolls is a bit like that: its share price has dropped 70% since 2014. JPMorgan reckons the sum of its parts implies an equity value of only 70 pence a share, 30% below the current share price.

☆ Nick Clegg led Meta's decision to reinstate Trump to Facebook and Instagram. Here's how the former UK deputy prime minister charmed his way into Mark Zuckerberg's inner circle.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Philip Webster | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

Nick Clegg has risen quickly to become one of Mark Zuckerberg's closest confidants at Meta. Clegg, a former UK deputy prime minister, led the decision to reinstate Donald Trump to Facebook. It was updated on February 16, 2022 following the news that Nick Clegg had been promoted to the role of President for Global Affairs. In a challenging economic climate, the Lib Dems and their Conservative coalition partners voted to raise tuition fees. Nick Clegg (left) and Chris Huhne appearing on the BBC's "The Andrew Marr Show" in October 2007.

☆ Adani’s buy now, pay later fundraise could sting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, Jan 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gautam Adani is on a mission to win public acceptance for his eponymous group. The first stage of a $2.4 billion stock sale by his flagship Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) entity has won over anchor investors, including the well-regarded Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. They are picking up roughly $734 million of stock in India’s largest follow-on issue of new shares by a private sector company. But those of other Adani group companies including Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) and some U.S. dollar bonds at Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Ports (APSE.NS) sold off sharply. For Adani investors, buy now, pay later could take on an awkward new meaning.

☆ UK car production is at its weakest since 1956. And the industry is losing the EV race
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

London CNN —UK car manufacturing hit a 66-year low in 2022, as the closure of two plants, a global shortage of semiconductors and the effect of Covid lockdowns in China on auto supply chains crippled output. “The relationship between the UK and the EU, especially as you electrify, is still fundamental to the success of UK car manufacturing,” he said. UK factories made a record 234,066 electric vehicles in 2022, almost a third of all UK car production. Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover, owned by India’s Tata Motors (TTM), are also positive about the prospects for electric vehicle manufacturing in the United Kingdom. “Our continued investment in our UK facilities … will herald an exciting new era of electric car production in the UK,” the company said.

☆ Fact Check-Video showing Tamil celebration in Waterloo, Canada, does not involve UK government officials and staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It does not involve officials or staff from Britain’s defence ministry or the UK Prime Minister’s office. Rather, the video shows a celebration among officials in the Canadian province of Ontario. The earliest version of the clip Reuters found was in a Facebook group named Tamil Culture Waterloo Region. The caption says it shows a Tamil Thai Pongal celebration involving “region of Waterloo politicians, regional chair city mayors, councilors and police chief and staff” (here). The video shows celebrations taking place in the Canadian city of Waterloo, with no British government officials or staff attending.

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