News

Liz Truss has vowed to stick to her tax-cutting plans, as the UK prime minister broke her silence on the market turmoil that followed her government’s fiscal policy announcement last Friday. In a series of interviews on local radio stations, Truss insisted she would not change course on the economy, saying lower taxes were vital

The IMF has launched a biting attack on the UK’s plan to implement £45bn of debt-funded tax cuts, urging the government to “re-evaluate” the plan and warning that the “untargeted” package threatens to stoke soaring inflation. The multilateral lender said it was “closely monitoring” developments in the UK and was “engaged with the authorities” after

Hedge fund managers including Crispin Odey are among those profiting from steep falls in sterling and UK government bonds as investors take flight on fears over the sustainability of the country’s public finances. The founder of Odey Asset Management is one of a number of leading hedge fund managers who believe the pound could now

The pound tumbled to a record low on Monday, stirring expectations of an emergency rise in UK interest rates in the wake of chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s package of tax cuts last week. The currency lost as much as 4.7 per cent to trade as low as $1.035 early in the morning before stabilising around $1.07.

Investors have warned UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng that the bonanza of tax cuts and spending measures he announced on Friday risk undermining their confidence in the country. On Friday the chancellor heralded a “new era” for the UK economy, in which he plans to boost growth by delivering the biggest tax reduction since 1972 at

Sterling tumbled against the dollar to below $1.09, hitting its lowest point since 1985, after UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday unveiled a £45bn debt-financed tax-cutting package that sparked a historic increase in borrowing costs. Kwarteng’s political and economic gamble includes the biggest set of tax cuts for 50 years, with the end of the

The UK pound has extended its decline to slip below $1.12, the currency’s weakest point since 1985, as the economy veers towards a recession and the government prepares a mini-Budget in which it promises a number of tax cuts. Friday’s 0.75 per cent decline brings the drop for the the year to more than 17

Credit Suisse has drawn up plans to split its investment bank into three and resurrect a “bad bank” holding pen for risky assets, as the Swiss lender attempts to emerge from three years of relentless scandals. Under proposals put forward to the group’s board, Credit Suisse hopes to sell profitable units such as its securitised

Vladimir Putin said Russia’s armed forces would call up its reserves immediately to support its invasion of Ukraine and indicated Moscow would probably annex large swaths of Ukrainian territory. In a televised address to the nation on Wednesday, the Russian president announced “partial mobilisation” ahead of heavily stage-managed votes in four occupied regions of Ukraine

Hedge funds are betting that a tumble in shares of UK asset management companies including Abrdn and Ashmore will accelerate as a brutal bear market dents their investment performance and ability to attract new business. Ken Griffin’s Citadel, Steve Cohen’s Point72 and Marshall Wace are among those running bets on lower share prices for listed

Liz Truss’s government will host the largest gathering of foreign leaders and dignitaries in London for decades, as they arrive in the capital for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday. Those set to be in attendance include US president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, France’s president Emmanuel Macron and India’s

The US central bank will lift its benchmark policy rate above 4 per cent and hold it there beyond 2023 in its bid to stamp out high inflation, according to the majority of leading academic economists polled by the Financial Times. The latest survey, conducted in partnership with the Initiative on Global Markets at the

Wall Street stocks recorded the biggest weekly drop in months after a profit warning from economic bellwether FedEx jolted investors who are already on edge over a looming interest rate rise by the US Federal Reserve at its upcoming meeting. The blue-chip S&P 500 index fell 0.7 per cent on Friday, bringing weekly losses to

Prime Minister Liz Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng are preparing to launch a last-ditch charm offensive to persuade Japan’s SoftBank to list British tech company Arm in the UK. The government will push for high-level talks with SoftBank executives after the official period of mourning for the Queen ends next week, according to officials with

Kwasi Kwarteng, chancellor, is seeking to scrap Britain’s cap on bankers’ bonuses, introduced after the 2008 financial crash, in a controversial move to boost the City of London’s global competitiveness. Kwarteng argues the move would make London a more attractive destination for top global talent and would be a clear signal of his new “Big

The UK’s rate of inflation eased back into single digits in August on the back of lower petrol prices, providing some relief to households as they go into winter. The headline consumer price index was 9.9 per cent higher than a year earlier during the month, down from a 40-year high of 10.1 per cent

Ukraine still faces “a tough fight” after Russia gave up most of the territory it had taken near Kharkiv following a lightning counteroffensive that forced many retreating troops to leave the country, according to the Pentagon. A senior military official said on Monday that Russian forces “had largely ceded their gains” around Ukraine’s second-largest city

Ukraine needs to secure the vast territory it has recaptured from possible Russian counter-attack, the country’s defence minister has warned, as he said Kyiv’s lightning offensive had gone far “better than expected”. The attack has routed the Kremlin’s forces, led to the recapture of some 3,000 sq km of Ukrainian territory and prompted an unusual

Russia abandoned military strongholds in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday in an apparent rout of its front line positions, after Ukrainian forces pushed forward in a lightning advance that has left Moscow’s forces in disarray. Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had pulled back from the strategic city of Izyum, claiming it had decided to “regroup” and transfer

Charles III has addressed his nation for the first time, vowing to emulate his late mother Queen Elizabeth’s “life-long service”, ahead of his formal proclamation as king on Saturday. The new monarch’s words came after a day of parliamentary tributes, gun salutes and raw emotion, as thousands of people gathered at the gates of Buckingham