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☆ 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.

☆ UK PM Truss clings to power as chaos in Westminster deepens
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Liz Truss struggled to retain a grip on power on Thursday, a day after a second top minister quit and rowing and jostling broke out among her lawmakers in parliament in a dramatic breakdown of unity and discipline. Lawmakers openly argued in parliament on Wednesday amid confusion over whether a vote on fracking was a confidence vote in her administration. In a sign of the chaos, Downing Street issued a statement at 1:33 am (0033 GMT) to say the prime minister had "full confidence" in the chief whip and her deputy. "The whips will now be speaking to Conservative MPs who failed to support the government," a government spokesperson said. A handful of lawmakers have openly called for Truss to quit, and others have discussed who should replace her.

☆ With UK leader Liz Truss quitting, here are the top contenders to replace her
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"Given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party," she said in a brief speech Thursday afternoon. Here are the main contenders for the top job:Rishi SunakRishi Sunak, Britain's former finance minister and Truss' main opponent in this year's Conservative Party leadership race, is now seen as a favorite to replace her. Britain's former finance minister Rishi Sunak was Liz Truss's main opponent in this year's Conservative leadership race. Penny MordauntFormer Defense Secretary Penny Mordaunt surged to prominence during the summer's leadership race, before finishing in third place to Truss and Sunak. Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt is seen as a consensus candidate who could unite a splintered Conservative Party.

☆ UK PM Liz Truss was forced from office after losing fights with the markets and her own fractured party
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned Thursday after a catastrophic 44 days in office. Her plan to radically reshape the UK economy was brutally rejected by financial markets. The plan, radically out of step with the background of soaring inflation and interest-rate hikes, spooked the financial markets. Initial attempts by Truss and her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng to ride out the chaos did not last long. As Thursday dawned, some of her party's MPs publicly called for her to go.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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

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.

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.

☆ Truss resigns: What you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

She said she will remain as Prime Minister until a successor had been chosen within a week. Following are latest events, comments and context:Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPOLITICS* The text of Truss' resignation speech at Downing Street. * Truss said the Conservative party she heads would hold a leadership election to be completed within a week. * Truss's resignation came after she lost her interior minister, Suella Braverman, less than a week after she fired her finance minister. Reuters GraphicsRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterCompiled by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fracking: What's all the fuss about it in the UK?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Reuters Christian Edwards | Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves drilling into the Earth and injecting water and chemicals at high pressure to break rocks and release the gas trapped inside. Since only few test wells have been drilled, there are no estimates of proven reserves to confidently predict how much shale gas would be technically and economically viable to extract by fracking. Cuadrilla, 96% owned by Australia’s AJ Lucas, was the only one of these firms to receive consent to begin fracking. Former British Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng said in March when he was Business and Energy secretary gas fracking would not lead to lower British gas prices. “With the best will in the world, private companies are not going to sell the shale gas they produce to UK consumers below the market price,” he tweeted.

☆ 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.

☆ Embattled British PM Truss loses 2nd minister in a week amid political and economic turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

British Prime Minister Liz Truss described herself as “a fighter and not a quitter” Wednesday as she faced down a hostile opposition and fury from her own Conservative Party over her botched economic plan. And within hours of Truss’ appearance in Parliament for a regular session titled Prime Minister’s Questions, she lost a senior member of her government. Truss faced another test in Parliament later Wednesday when lawmakers vote on a Labour Party motion seeking to ban fracking for shale gas — a policy that Truss recently approved. Conservative Party whips said the vote would be treated as “a confidence motion in the government,” meaning the government would fall if the motion passed, triggering an election. Some Conservative legislators believe Truss could be forced to resign if the party agrees on a successor.

☆ Senior adviser to UK PM Truss suspended - BBC
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - One of British Prime Minister Liz Truss's most senior advisers has been suspended and is to face a formal investigation by the government's Propriety and Ethics team, the BBC's political editor reported on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Truss declined to comment on what he called individual staffing matters, but said: "The prime minister has made very clear to her team that some of the ... briefings that we have seen are completely unacceptable about parliamentary colleagues and they must stop." Over the weekend, the Sunday Times quoted a source in the prime minister's Number 10 Downing Street office as using an expletive to describe Sajid Javid, a former minister who the newspaper said had been approached to become finance minister after the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Farouq Suleiman, editing by Elizabeth Piper and William JamesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The pound slides after soaring food prices drive UK inflation back to a 40-year high of 10.1%
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The British pound fell below $1.13 Wednesday after UK inflation hit 10.1% in September. Soaring food and housing costs helped drive inflation back to the 40-year high hit in July. The biggest rise in food prices since 1980 helped push the inflation rate back into double digits, the ONS said. "The uptick in food prices will be of particular concern," he added. Signs of prices rising beyond core areas is a warning sign for the likelihood of an economic slowdown.

☆ Bank of England and City square off over new government powers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A general view of the Bank of England (BoE) building in London, Britain, August 4, 2022. While Britain remains Europe's biggest financial sector after its exit from the European Union, banks are keen for regulators to help boost the City's global competitiveness. Britain's finance ministry will use a financial services and markets bill now before parliament to give itself powers to intervene in financial rulemaking, when in the public interest. David Postings, chief executive of UK Finance, a banking lobby, said powers to override regulators should be tightly drawn and used sparingly. A source at the ministry confirmed this was still the plan under new finance minister Jeremy Hunt.

☆ UK inflation moves back up to 40-year high as Brits battle cost-of-living crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Office for National Statistics announced inflation figures Wednesday as the U.K. undergoes a historic cost-of-living crisis and political turmoil. The figure for September matches the 40-year high British inflation reached in July. The rate rose in the year to September 2022 as the country's cost-of-living crisis continues to hammer households and businesses ahead of a tough winter. Inflation unexpectedly dipped to 9.9% in August, down from 10.1% in July, on the back of a fuel price decline. September's inflation rate highlights the severity of the U.K.'s inflation crisis, and comes as the country weathers a period of economic volatility.

She will be succeeded by former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Downing Street confirmed roughly an hour after her announcement. Notably, Shapps did not back Prime Minister Liz Truss in this summer's leadership race and has criticized some of her policies. In a resignation letter posted to Twitter, Braverman said, "It is with the greatest regret that I am choosing to tender my resignation." In a letter to Braverman posted on the Downing Street website, Truss wrote: "I accept your resignation and respect the decision you have made. Braverman ran against Truss for the Conservative leadership race this summer but was knocked out in an early stage.

☆ Will Liz Truss outlast a lettuce? British PM faces jokes after ditching tax cut plans
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Patrick-Smith-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Patrick Smith | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

President Joe Biden even joined the criticism with a rare comment on an ally’s economic policies in which he called the tax cut plan a “mistake.”Truss admitted fault Monday night. “I do want to accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made,” she told BBC News. “Anyone could have seen that this wasn’t going to fly — how could they have not seen that coming?” Ford said. As critics had predicted, markets tanked and the pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar in 30 years. “It wasn’t just a total disaster with the markets, it was a total disaster electorally,” Ford said of Truss’ economic plan.

☆ Sterling dips as market trims BoE rate hike bets, yen scrabbles off 32-yr low
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The battered Japanese yen traded near a 32-year trough to the dollar at 149 yen, putting the major psychological barrier of 150 in focus. ING expects now a 75 basis-point rate hike in November rather a full-point move expected before the fiscal policy U-turn, Smith added. The euro was volatile weakened against the dollar following German investor sentiment data, which albeit less pessimistic than expected, still painted a bleak picture of Europe's biggest economy. The dollar index which measures its performance against six major currencies, including sterling, the euro and the yen - was last down 0.1% at 112.00. Britain's policy U-turn saw the risk-sensitive New Zealand dollar surge more than 1%, already lifted by hotter-than-expected consumer inflation data, boosting bets for further rate hikes.

With Jeremy Hunt taking up the role on Friday, Britain has had four finance ministers in just four months. Prior to the 2016 Brexit vote, Britain had four finance ministers in 23 years, underlining a sense of stability that is now gone. The response was brutal: the pound slumped, government borrowing costs surged, lenders pulled mortgage deals and the Bank of England had to intervene to stop some pension funds from going under. While Truss had touted low corporation tax as a way to attract business investment, the executives said they wanted stability. British business investment, which flatlined after the 2016 Brexit vote and then fell sharply during the pandemic, was 6% lower in the second quarter of this year than its level of six years ago, in stark contrast to international peers.

☆ Sterling pauses after UK fiscal U-turn rally, yen scrabbles off 32-year low
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Joice Alves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

British pound banknote is displayed on U.S. Dollar banknotes in this illustration taken, February 14, 2022. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterAfter Monday's almost 2% rally, sterling was down 0.1% against the U.S. dollar to $1.1340 at 0815 GMT. Improved risk sentiment has bolstered the euro to $0.9872, its highest since Oct. 6, with a fall in energy prices also supporting the single currency. "Euro/dollar went under parity in late August largely driven by the negative terms of trade shock of higher energy prices. The UK news saw the risk-sensitive New Zealand dollar , already lifted by hotter-than-expected consumer inflation data, extend its surge, up 1% to $0.5691.

☆ Liz Truss' 'trickle-down economics' is dead. Now the UK faces an uncertain future
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss holds a press conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room in central London on Oct. 14, 2022. Daniel Leal | Afp | Getty ImagesLONDON — Just six weeks into U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss' tenure and the political future of yet another Conservative leader looks to be in jeopardy. The approach has been sharply criticized by U.K. political opponents — and even U.S. President Joe Biden — at a time when Britain faces a deepening cost-of-living crisis. However, analysts at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group assign only a 10% possibility that Truss is able to hold on as prime minister. "The consensus at Westminster is now that that the Prime Minister is so weak that she can do nothing without the assent of her Chancellor.

People exit Bank underground station in the City of London financial district during rush hour in London, Britain, October 3, 2022. Investors on Tuesday were pricing in a 66% chance the BoE will raise its benchmark Bank Rate by a full percentage point on Nov. 3, its next scheduled monetary policy announcement, down from a near-certainty before the sweeping fiscal U-turns. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterInvestors have also pared back their bets on the peak for Bank Rate which they now see at 5.25%, up from a current 2.25% but down from almost 6% predicted earlier this month. But the outlook for the British economy has changed so markedly that the picture looks different for the BoE. "I expect the Bank of England will be responding only to the inflation picture," Punhani said.

☆ BoE set to further delay quantitative tightening until gilt markets calm -FT
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 18 (Reuters) - The Bank of England is likely to delay the sale of billions of pounds of government bonds to encourage greater stability in gilt markets following Britain's failed "mini" budget, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The decision by the central bank's top officials comes after they judged the gilts market to be "very distressed" in recent weeks, the newspaper said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterBritish financial markets have been under strain since former finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng announced the string of tax cuts with no details of how they would be paid for on Sept. 23. The BoE last intervened in the gilt market in March 2020 to stem price volatility caused by the pandemic, expanding its then-dormant quantitative easing programme by hundreds of billions of pounds. ($1 = 0.8776 pounds)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: The UK just stepped back from the brink. But there's more trouble ahead
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The sudden reversal of almost all tax cuts announced just three weeks ago could put financial markets on more stable footing. Yields on 30-year UK government bonds, which move opposite prices, have dipped to 4.34% after topping 5% last week. But concerns about the economy are resurfacing in lieu of angst about the country’s financial markets — though on that front, too, uncertainty remains. The specter of additional volatility in financial markets still lingers. And restoring investor confidence in UK assets will be an effort that takes time — especially as questions about Truss’ political future swirl.

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