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☆ UK plans 11 billion sterling business tax break in budget, Bloomberg reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 11 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt will hand businesses a three-year tax break worth 11 billion pounds ($13.23 billion) by replacing the UK's investment allowance with a temporary measure in next week's budget, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing a government official with knowledge of the matter. Hunt will limit the relief to three years and propose a permanent replacement in the ruling Conservative Party's manifesto before the next election, the report said. Under this replacement full-expensing regime, companies will continue to save 25 pence on their tax bill for every 1 pound invested, the report said. A previously announced increase in the headline rate of corporation tax, to 25% from 19%, is due to come into force in April. ($1 = 0.8314 pounds)Reporting by Lavanya Ahire in Bengaluru; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Mike HarrisonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 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.

☆ UK's Hunt to keep tight budget with eye on 2024 election
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

He and Hunt told investors that Britain was not ripping up the economic orthodoxy after all. It's the election timetable," Resolution Foundation chief executive Torsten Bell said in a panel discussion about the budget this week. Until now, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has been less pessimistic about growth than the Bank of England (BoE). Last month, the BoE said GDP would show no growth at all over 2024 and 2025 after a 0.5% fall in 2023. Hunt has said he will lay out economic growth measures in the budget, including ways to address the fall in the size of Britain's workforce.

☆ UK's Hunt says U.S. green subsidy act a 'very real competitive threat'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Tuesday the United States' Inflation Reduction Act, that promises hundreds of billions of dollars of subsidies to green industries, was a "very real competitive threat". "This is not a time when it's going to be easy for us to access the GDP equivalent of $369 billion," Hunt said, speaking at a green energy conference in London. "We have to remember in that equation that the U.S. is somewhat coming from behind, because the previous president was not remotely interested in net zero," Hunt said in response to a question on the Inflation Reduction Act. "So there is some catch-up element in what the U.S. is doing, but it is a very real competitive threat." Asked when the British government policy response could be announced, Hunt told reporters: "In the next few months, we are not hanging around on this.

☆ Britain's Treasury in discussions to speed up Solvency II reforms - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 10 (Reuters) - Britain's Treasury is in discussions to speed up a post-Brexit reform that will unlock 100 billion pounds ($120.88 billion) of investment from UK's insurance sector, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. British officials are discussing whether to pursue a two-stage implementation of the European Union's Solvency II regime, the report said. The British government was in "active discussions with the Prudential Regulation Authority, which supervises the insurance sector, and insurers as to how we can speed up implementation over the coming months," the newspaper quoted a Treasury source as saying. The Bank of England had already proposed easing Solvency II, a set of capital requirements for insurers inherited from the EU, but insurers want more capital released. British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt in a speech last month said that reforms to the European Union's Solvency II rules will be implemented in the coming months, allowing insurers to invest more in the economy.

☆ Morning Bid: Mind the gap
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The IMF cited "surprisingly resilient" demand in the United States and Europe, easing of energy costs and the reopening of China's economy. Still, it would be wise for investors to be mindful of a gap between expectations and reality. Flash GDP numbers are due from the euro zone, along with growth data for France and Italy. The Bank of England is set to raise rates by 50 bps to 4.0%, respectively. Money market bets show that the U.S. Federal Reserve is set to raise its policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.50%-4.75% on Wednesday.

☆ British finance minister sticks to tax-hiking plans, pledges post-Brexit reforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Optimism in the U.K. economy has been in "short supply" in recent months, Hunt said. The Finance Minister stressed the importance of making the U.K. a place where companies want to do business. Hunt's speech comes as the U.K. inflation rate most recently reached 10.5% in December, well above the Bank of England's target of 2%. U.S. Inflation Reduction Act concernsJeremy Hunt said the U.K. government has "some concerns" about the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act in a Q&A session that followed his speech Friday. Absolutely not," Hunt added.

☆ Morning Bid: Chipped
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A surge of 'soft landing' hopes for the U.S. economy on Thursday got sideswiped overnight after a dire industry readout from chipmaking giant Intel decimated its stock price after the bell. "We expect some of the largest inventory corrections literally that we've ever seen in the industry," he told Reuters later. Annual 'core' PCE inflation is expected to have slowed to 4.4% last month, the lowest in more than a year, from 4.7% in November. U.S. bonds of Adani firms also fell after Hindenburg Research flagged concerns in a Jan. 24 report about debt levels and the use of tax havens. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ UK's Hunt pledges to boost growth but won't budge on tax hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt leaves his house in London, Britain, November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Toby MelvilleLONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt will promise on Friday to tackle the country's weak productivity with post-Brexit finance reforms to boost growth, but he will also stick to the tax rises that have angered some lawmakers in his Conservative Party. Hunt, who steadied financial markets after the turmoil of former Prime Minister Liz Truss' "mini-budget" in September last year, is preparing to announce a plan for growth in a budget statement in March. The Telegraph newspaper said Hunt would reject calls from some Conservative lawmakers to bring forward tax cuts as a way to spur growth. Earlier on Thursday, Hunt told fellow ministers that he had to stick to the fiscal discipline he outlined in November in order to help reduce inflation which is running above 10%, according to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office.

☆ UK’s Big Bang barely mitigates City’s Brexit pain
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Hence Friday’s package, long trailed as a “Big Bang”, supposed to turbocharge the City. Eventually, he could end the regime if banks prove they can safely be wound down. Hunt’s broader push is to enlist the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority supervisors in his Big Bang, giving them a statutory responsibility for boosting the economy’s competitiveness. The only way to undo the damage would be to align with European rules indefinitely or to re-join the bloc, both of which are political no-gos. The government will also introduce new statutory objectives for the Financial Conduct Authority watchdog and the Prudential Regulation Authority, which supervises banks and insurers.

LONDON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt will meet leaders of North Sea oil and gas producers on Friday to discuss the government's windfall tax, three industry sources told Reuters on Wednesday. The government said the levy would raise funds to help people struggling with increased living costs, largely driven by energy prices that surged after energy exporter Russia invaded Ukraine in February. A Treasury source confirmed Hunt would meet oil and gas executives this week. Benchmark Brent oil prices traded below $80 a barrel, the lowest since January and far below a spike well above $100 shortly after the Ukraine war began. Natural gas prices remain above their historical average .

☆ Shell to 'evaluate' 25 bln pound British investments after windfall tax
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Ron Bousso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Shell PLC FollowLONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) said on Monday it will evaluate plans to spend up to 25 billion pounds in Britain over the next decade following the government's decision to increase a windfall tax on oil and gas producers. "We're going to have to evaluate each project on a case by case basis," said Shell's UK country chair David Bunch told the Confederation of British Industry's annual conference in Birmingham. "When you tax more you're going to have less disposable income in your pocket, less to invest." The government forecasts that the tax, which was also extended from the end of 2025 to 2028, will raise 40 billion pounds. It nevertheless allows to deduct most investments in new oil and gas projects from the tax.

☆ World Cup: Welsh first minister tells Infantino to stop digging
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DOHA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said that FIFA President Gianni Infantino was in a hole and should stop digging after he accused critics of World Cup host Qatar of hypocrisy. Infantino rounded on European critics of the host nation over the issues of migrant workers and LGBT rights on Saturday, adding that engagement was the only way to improve human rights. read moreDrakeford, who is in Qatar to mark Wales's first World Cup appearance since 1958, told Reuters on Sunday that Western countries should be prepared to review their own history but people's rights "really matter". "Wales is an outward looking inclusive nation where people's rights really matter to us. And his first law of holes was when you're in one, stop digging."

☆ IMF backs UK plan for $65 billion of budget tightening
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund's managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said she had spoken with British finance minister Jeremy Hunt on Friday to welcome his latest plan for 55 billion pounds ($65 billion) of budget tightening. "It strikes the right balance between fiscal responsibility and protecting growth and vulnerable households," Georgieva said in a brief statement on social media. loadingThe IMF had criticised Hunt's predecessor, Kwasi Kwarteng, for previous budget plans in September which included 45 billion pounds of unfunded tax cuts. Hunt's plan represents tax rises and spending cuts equivalent to 2% of gross domestic product by the 2027-28 financial year. ($1 = 0.8412 pounds)Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Alistair Smout and James DaveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Hunt, reminding lawmakers of his own past as an entrepreneur in marketing and publishing, made accelerating economic growth a priority in his budget speech to parliament on Thursday. Britain is badly in need of a growth fillip. It also cut its growth forecast for 2024 to 1.3% before a better couple of years thereafter with growth at 2.6% and 2.7%. It said Hunt's plan to cut public investment from 2024 would probably weigh on productivity growth - key to an economy's long-term prospects - beyond its five-year forecasts. "I have tried to avoid anything that damages long-term growth," Hunt told the BBC.

Hunt said he deferred most of the curbs on spending because cutting now would make the current recession worse. "There is nothing Conservative about spending money that you haven't got," he said. The front page of the Financial Times declared "Hunt paves way for years of pain". "All of that borrowing we've done over the last many years is coming home to roost," Johnson told BBC radio. "We're going to be stuck at 100 billion pounds a year being spent on debt interest in the medium term.

He froze until 2028 a threshold at which employers start to pay social security contributions, which will cost companies more. Public spending would grow more slowly than the economy but rise in overall terms, he said. It now expects gross domestic product to contract by 1.4% next year compared with its projection in March for growth of 1.8%. The OBR forecasts GDP growth of 1.3% in 2024 and 2.6% in 2025, compared with previous forecasts of 2.1% and 1.8% respectively. Thursday's forecasts by the OBR showed that target would be met in the 2027/28 financial year.

☆ U.K. hikes taxes and slashes spending in tough budget after Truss chaos
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

British finance minister Jeremy Hunt announced a string of tax increases and tighter public spending in a tough budget plan on Thursday that he said was needed after the blow dealt to the country’s fiscal reputation by former prime minister Liz Truss. “Credibility cannot be taken for granted and yesterday’s inflation figures show we must continue a relentless fight to bring it down, including an important commitment to rebuild the public finances,” he said. Hunt announced changes to tax rules that will mean more people pay basic income tax, a lower threshold for paying the top rate of income tax, and a cut in tax-free allowances for earnings from dividends. He froze until 2028 a threshold at which employers must start to pay social security contributions, meaning companies will have to pay more. The belt-tightening comes against the backdrop of a weak outlook for the economy.

The risk-sensitive Aussie tumbled as Hong Kong's Hang Seng led a tech-driven slide in Asian equities. U.S. data overnight showed October retail sales rose 1.3%, compared with economist expectations for 1.0%, a healthy signal but one that dented hopes for a pause in rate increases. "The U.S. economy is driven by the consumer and if the consumer is still spending, it suggests it's going to take inflation longer to ease." Meanwhile, the Aussie dollar slumped 0.4% to $0.6715 as regional equities retreated, and failed to garner support from stronger-than-expected local jobs data. Sterling eased 0.23% to $1.18855, while the yen was more resilient, trading little changed at 139.50 per dollar.

☆ Dollar steadies as U.S. spending points to rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Australian and New Zealand dollars fell slightly overnight, in response to the U.S. data, and were steady in morning trade on Thursday. The Japanese yen hovered at 139.25 per dollar, while the Chinese yuan nursed losses at 7.1033 per dollar after China's central bank promised to keep local liquidity ample and to guide commercial loan growth. The Aussie dollar didn't catch much of an immediate boost from stronger-than-expected jobs data. Comments from a number of Fed and other central bank officials will also be closely watched. Indonesia's central bank meets to set policy and a 50 basis point hike is expected.

☆ Factbox: Tax hikes and spending cuts: what is the new UK budget plan?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt announced a series of tax hikes and a more austere approach to public spending in a tough budget plan on Thursday. Here are some of the changes:TAX ON PEOPLEThe highest earning Britons will now pay the top 45% rate of tax on income above 125,140 pounds, rather than 150,000 pounds previously. The government will freeze until April 2028 the threshold on the amount people can earn tax free as well as the level at which the higher rate of income tax kicks in, meaning that with inflation running high, people face paying more income tax. TAX ON BUSINESSBritain's tax on energy company profits will increase to 35% from 25% from January next year until March 2028. Hunt also announced a new, temporary 45% tax on electricity generators, designed to target profits made by low-carbon generators.

☆ UK's Hunt says average household energy bill to rise, keeps cap
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Providing details on what will happen to annual energy bills from next April, he said they would rise by about 500 pounds. "From April, we will continue the Energy Price Guarantee for a further 12 months at a higher level of 3,000 pounds per year for the average household," Hunt told parliament on Thursday. Without the price guarantee, household gas and electricity bills were expected to rise to 3,739 pounds a year from next April based on average energy use, according to analysts at Cornwall Insight. The "Energy Price Guarantee" will be kept under review and the government could revisit the scheme's parameters if the forecast cost rises significantly, it added. After April 2024, the government plans to develop a new approach to protecting consumers from energy price rises, it said.

The windfall tax will be expanded to electricity generators with a levy of 45% being applied from Jan. 1 to revenues the government deems "extraordinary", from low carbon power generators such as wind and nuclear. The two measures are expected to raise around 14 billion pounds for 2023/24 fiscal year, a treasury document showed. Treasury documents show the 45% tax on low-carbon power generators would apply to revenue made on power generation at an average price over 75 pounds per megawatt hour (MWh). OIL AND GAS WINDFALLThe higher windfall tax on oil and gas producers will take effect on Jan. 1. Rival BP (BP.L) plans to spend 18 billion pounds by 2030 in Britain.

☆ UK will increase state pensions and benefits in line with inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday he would raise state retirement and welfare benefits payments in line with inflation. Hunt said he would raise benefit payments by 10.1%, which would cost about 11 billion pounds ($12.99 billion). The government was also committed to the 'triple lock', a government promise to raise publicly-funded pensions by whichever is higher of average earnings growth, consumer price inflation or 2.5%, he said. "In April, the state pension will increase in line with inflation," Hunt told parliament as he made a speech on his tax and spending plans. ($1 = 0.8470 pounds)Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; editing by Michael HoldenOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Morning Bid: Bear Hunt
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Long-term sovereign bond yields have been falling sharply all week in advance of finance minister Jeremy Hunt's new budget, dragged down largely by U.S. disinflation hopes. UK 10- and 30-year gilt yields outperformed, however, dropping to their lowest since early September before backing up slightly on Thursday. U.S. housing starts numbers out later will give another glimpse at the state of the ailing property sector. Reverberations continued around the world from this month's latest implosion in the crypto universe and the failure of the FTX exchange. Major crypto player Genesis Global Capital suspended customer redemptions in its lending business on Wednesday, citing the FTX collapse.

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