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☆ Truss phone was hacked by suspected Putin agents when she was foreign minister, the Daily Mail reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss's personal phone was hacked by suspected agents working for Russian President Vladimir Putin when she was foreign minister, the Daily Mail reported on Saturday. That includes regular security briefings for Ministers, and advice on protecting their personal data and mitigating cyber threats," the spokesperson added. The hack was discovered during the Conservative Party leadership campaign that led to Truss becoming prime minister, the Mail reported. Truss left office last week as prime minister and was succeeded by Rishi Sunak. The Mail said the messages that fell into foreign hands included criticisms of Johnson made by Truss and Kwarteng, "leading to a potential risk of blackmail".

LONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Having hiked mortgage rates after political turmoil drove up the cost of borrowing, British banks are now cutting home loan prices, albeit slowly, as markets calm since Liz Truss's government collapsed and Rishi Sunak took power. But as markets have stabilised and borrowing costs have fallen, the trickle of mortgage rate cuts has lagged behind. By contrast, average rates on two-year and five-year fixed-rate mortgages have fallen just 0.16 percentage points, Moneyfacts data shows. Reuters GraphicsFIXED RATESMortgage brokers say fixed-rate mortgage rates typically lag changes in swap rates, a trend which could be exacerbated this time as lenders focus on reintroducing products. Five-year mortgage rates have followed a similar pattern, Moneyfacts data shows.

Average two-year and five-year fixed rates hit 6.65% and 6.51% on Thursday, according to Moneyfacts, the highest since 2008. FALLING PRICESA drop in gilt yields following Rishi Sunak's victory in the Conservative Party leadership race could potentially feed through to lower mortgage rates. But the number of loans available for first-time buyers remains at less than half those on offer before the mini-budget, according to Moneyfacts. NEW FIXESAs well as first-time buyers, brokers are dealing with thousands of people whose fixed rate mortgages are due to expire in the coming months. Redmond, who has had an offer accepted in east London, said it felt as though every turn of political event only made the fixed interest rate higher.

"Policy stability is absolutely critical," Miles Celic, chief executive of finance lobby group TheCityUK told Reuters. Finance chiefs want Sunak to balance spending on infrastructure with easing immigration policy for skilled workers and investing in education, Celic added. Sunak confirmed on Tuesday that he was keeping Hunt as his finance minister, after he was appointed late in Truss' brief premiership to shore up confidence in Britain's finances - and tear up much of her planned tax-cutting agenda. Britain's 164 billion pound ($185 billion) financial industry was largely locked out of directly serving EU customers after Brexit. Any moves to extract more tax from banks are likely to be met with industry opposition.

LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Investors welcomed Rishi Sunak as Britain's new prime minister on Monday, but they're likely to give him little leeway to diverge from spending restraint and tax rises after his predecessor shook their faith in the Conservative party's management of the economy. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterOutgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss's month and a half in power caused chaos in British financial markets. Yet Donovan said the mayhem of the last month means Sunak will have next to no room to make bold choices, lest he risk the market's wrath. And I don't think that the incoming prime minister has that." "The settling down of the situation in the UK means what is happening in politics is now more of an idiosyncratic thing just affecting UK markets, and in the UK too what global markets are doing will become more and more important."

☆ Sterling supported by expectations Rishi Sunak will become prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Alun John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON Oct 24 (Reuters) - Sterling strengthened on Monday finding short term relief from the likelihood that former finance minister Rishi Sunak would become Britain's next prime minister after Boris Johnson quit the race. It rose as far as $1.1402 in Asian trading before paring gains to hold just inside positive territory at $1.1323. Former prime minister Boris Johnson had raced home from a holiday to see if he could enter the ballot. The so-called 'mini budget' also ultimately led to the removal of Truss as Prime Minister. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Alun John; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Rishi Sunak to be Britain's new prime minister as rival Penny Mordaunt drops out
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Rishi Sunak has been named as the U.K.'s new prime minister, after beating competitor Penny Mordaunt in the country's fast-tracked leadership race. Hollie Adams | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesLONDON — Rishi Sunak will be named the U.K.'s new prime minister, following a fast-tracked Conservative Party leadership race initiated to fill the void left by Liz Truss' resignation. The 42-year-old takes over just seven weeks after placing second to Truss, who stepped down Thursday, bringing to a swift close her 44 days in office — the shortest tenure of any U.K. prime minister. Sunak, who is credited with steering the U.K. economy through the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, is broadly seen as a safe pair of fiscal hands. Indeed, after being berated by Truss during the race as a voice of Treasury orthodoxy, his critique of the PM's "unfunded tax cuts" appears to have been vindicated.

☆ VIEW Rishi Sunak to become Britain's new PM, UK markets rally
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak will be Britain's next prime minister after his rivals quit the race, which analysts said had relieved some of the nervousness around the outlook for the UK economy, boosting domestic markets. The new Prime Minister needs to confirm their leadership team as soon as possible and provide clarity on their strategy for stabilising the economy and their policy priorities. ART HOGAN, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, B. RILEY WEALTH, NEW YORK:"Coming to a very rapid decision on who the prime minister is going be certainly breathes a sigh of relief into the markets. RUTH GREGORY, SENIOR UK ECONOMIST, CAPITAL ECONOMICS, LONDON:"The fall in gilt yields on the news today that Rishi Sunak will become the UK’s next Prime Minister has reduced the chances of a significant fiscal consolidation. With the pound, just because we have a new Prime Minister in place, all of the issues don't just go away and we still have remarkable strength being enjoyed by the dollar."

☆ Cost of insuring UK debt against default drops as Sunak becomes PM
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The cost of insuring Britain's debt against default fell to its lowest since last month's "mini budget", according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence on Monday, after Rishi Sunak won the race to become Britain's next prime minister. Five-year sovereign credit default swaps (CDS) on UK government debt fell to 30 basis points, from 35 bps at Friday's close. This was their lowest since Sept. 23, when outgoing Prime Minister Liz Truss and her then-finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled a fiscal plan that contained billions of pounds in unfunded tax cuts. Sunak, who served as finance minster under Boris Johnson, said on Monday Britain faced serious economic challenges and needed stability and unity. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Amanda Cooper; Editing by Karin StroheckerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Like Truss, Sunak promised a tough approach to illegal immigration and vowed to expand the government’s controversial Rwanda immigration policy. At the time Johnson was running to lead Britain's Conservative Party and Sunak was a member of Parliament. Danny Lawson/PA Images/Getty Images Sunak speaks during a general election debate in Cardiff, Wales, in November 2019. Danny Lawson/PA/Getty Images Sunak delivers a speech during the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester in October 2021. Hollie Adams/Bloomberg/Getty Images Sunak and Murty are seen with their daughters, Krishna and Anoushka, while campaigning in Grantham, England, in July 2022.

☆ BoE's Mann: bond purchases for stability were targeted and temporary
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann said on Saturday that bond purchases by the central bank in the days after the government's "mini-budget" fiscal plan last month to calm financial markets were "very targeted and temporary." "The financial stability approach, the requirements for financial stability was very targeted, and temporary," Mann said during an event organised by the Marshall Society at Cambridge University. The BoE announced it would intervene in Britain's government bond market on Sept. 28 after prices slumped following the announcement of planned tax cuts by former finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng. Its purchase programme ended on Oct. 14. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by William Schomberg, writing by Muvija MOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Britain’s next leader will be on a short leash
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The British leader announced her resignation on Thursday after just 44 days in charge, making her the country’s shortest-serving prime minister ever. Truss will stay in office until the Conservative Party chooses a replacement by the end of next week. However, her tenure effectively ended last Friday, when she was forced to replace her finance minister and reverse massive tax cuts which had triggered a self-imposed financial crisis. Truss said she would step down as leader and remain prime minister until a successor is chosen “in the next week”. “I recognise though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative party,” Truss said.

☆ 3 charts showing the market turmoil wreaked during UK PM Liz Truss’ tenure
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Dan Kitwood | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesLONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss was in office for just 44 days before she announced her resignation on Thursday. Her time as leader may have been short, but the impact her tenure had on the British economy was huge. Here are three charts showing how markets behaved during Truss' brief time at 10 Downing Street. Soaring gilt yields Yields on U.K. government bonds – known as gilts – soared after the government announced its mini-budget, which means that prices have crashed as bond yields move inversely to prices. Gilt yields fell as Liz Truss delivered her resignation speech but they flattened out later in the day.

☆ Why the market crisis that ousted the UK's prime minister would never happen in the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Ben Winck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss' tax plan sparked immediate market backlash and, eventually, her resignation. Prime Minister Liz Truss, just 22 days into her leadership role, unveiled a mini-budget that proposed tax cuts that primarily benefited the wealthy. The prime minister announced her resignation on Thursday, just 45 days after taking office. The prime minister was dealt a less-than-ideal hand when she entered office. The checks and balances throughout the US government also stand in the way of such rapid-fire economic policy.

☆ Moody’s lowers UK’s outlook to negative
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The affirmation of the Aa3 rating is a reflection of the UK’s economic resilience, Moody’s said in a statement. Credit ratings are essentially credit scores for governments and companies. Germany, Canada, Switzerland, Australia and the United States have some of the best credit ratings in the world, while Argentina, Nigeria, Pakistan and India have some of the lowest ratings. Soaring food costs drove the annual rate of inflation to 10.1% in September, returning it to July’s 40-year high. As well as driving up borrowing costs for the government and adding pressure to public spending, any credit ratings downgrade would only weaken investor appetite for UK assets.

LONDON — Her tenure as Britain’s prime minister began in the early days of fall, but it didn’t even last until winter. The plan was criticized not only by the opposing Labour Party, but also President Joe Biden and the International Monetary Fund. Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng and British Prime Minister Liz Truss attend the annual Conservative Party conference on Oct. 2. Truss told Parliament on Wednesday, “I am a fighter, not a quitter,” after repeatedly being told she was unfit for office by opposition lawmakers. Under an expedited process, leadership challengers must win the support of 100 fellow Conservative Party lawmakers (out of a total of 357) by Monday afternoon.

☆ British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigns after economic plan sparked turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Patrick-Smith-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Patrick Smith | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON — British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced Thursday that she would resign after just six weeks in office, following a disastrous and rapidly reversed economic plan that sent the pound plunging and her government into chaos. Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside No. She ended the brief statement by saying: "I will remain as prime minister until a successor is chosen." Liz Truss is now the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. Her personal approval rating fell to minus 70, according to pollsters at YouGov, making her the most unpopular party leader in British history.

☆ Our lettuce outlasted Liz Truss, British paper declares, as PM quits
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - To the strains of Britain's national anthem, a national newspaper on Thursday declared a lettuce the victor in a race to see if it could outlast Liz Truss, after the under-fire prime minister resigned. The tabloid Daily Star set up a live feed on Friday showing the unrefrigerated iceberg next to a photo of Truss, asking readers: "Which wet lettuce will last longer?" Moments later, as viewer numbers hit 21,000, "God Save the King" rang out as a hand reached across the table and set Truss's photo on its back and the caption "The lettuce has outlasted Liz Truss" appeared. In a column published last week titled "The Iceberg Lady", the Economist magazine described Truss as having "the shelf-life of a lettuce". Truss's political role model, 1980s prime minister Margaret Thatcher, was widely known as the Iron Lady.

☆ Truss and UK market turmoil: What you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Following are latest events, comments and context:POLITICS* Truss is meeting with Graham Brady, the head of the 1922 Committee of Conservative lawmakers, a source in Truss's Downing Street office said. The Guardian's political editor Pippa Crerar said on Twitter that Truss had called the meeting. * Conservative lawmaker Simon Hoare, in parliament for seven years, said Thursday and Friday were crunch days for the government. * Truss has promised disciplinary action against Conservative lawmakers who abstained or failed to support her party in a vote about fracking amid a total breakdown of unity and discipline. * Truss has lost her interior minister, Suella Braverman, who quit on Wednesday, less than a week after she fired her finance minister.

"I now expect the language of free markets and libertarianism to be consigned to scrap for quite some time. Truss had spent her summer campaign for the party leadership complaining about Britain's weak economic growth, productivity and low pay since the 2008 global financial crisis. Her solution was to challenge economic "orthodoxy" and demand faster, radical action to shake the economy out of its torpor. The Institute of Economic Affairs said of the economic plan: "This isn't a trickle-down budget – it's a boost-up budget." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEditing by Catherine EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"The prime minister is not under a desk," Mordaunt said in parliament, keeping a straight-face despite the jeers and laughter from the opposition Labour Party facing her. Mordaunt now has her second chance to run for the top job, after just missing out on the final two in the contest to become the leader of the ruling Conservative Party earlier this year. She also promoted her patriotism, talking about her memories of the Falkland's conflict that helped to define former prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Her first post came as a local government minister in 2014, followed by armed forces minister and disabilities minister. Truss appointed Mordaunt as the leader of the House of Commons, charged with setting out the government business with her no-nonsense attitude gaining admirers.

☆ These 3 charts show the chaos that ran through markets during the 45 days that Liz Truss was UK prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Liz Truss resigned as UK prime minister on Thursday after just 45 days in the role. Truss quit as UK prime minister after just 45 days in the role Thursday, becoming the shortest-serving leader in the country's history. "First her policies went up in flames, then her brief career as prime minister," IG's chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp said. "The great political gamble of Liz Truss has spectacularly backfired but not before wreaking significant damage to the UK economy." Read more: UK Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned after the market rebelled against her aggressive economic growth plan.

☆ How Liz Truss’ term as British prime minister went from bad to worse
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Sana Noor Haq | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Here are the lowlights – and lowerlights – of Truss’ term as Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister. Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament/ReutersThe prime minister later defends her government’s controversial tax cuts in an exclusive interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. October 20: Truss quitsAfter a chaotic six-week spell in Downing Street, Truss announces her resignation. She will remain UK prime minister until her successor is chosen. Her swift exit as prime minister prompts calls for an early general election in Britain.

Prime Minister Liz Truss announces her resignation at 10 Downing Street on October 20, 2022 in London, England. Leon Neal | Getty ImagesLONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned Thursday following a failed tax-cutting budget that rocked financial markets and which led to a revolt within her own Conservative Party. "I recognize though, given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to announce that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party." The number who have written letters to Brady expressing no confidence in the prime minister was reported to be over 100 by Thursday.

☆ Breakingviews: Britain’s next leader will be on a short leash
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

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