KWARTENG SACKED AS GOVERNMENT FACES HUMILIATING REVERSAL OF ITS PLANS TO CUT TAXES
This week we saw the lady is for turning after all. Growing opposition on the Conservative backbenches, international criticism and extremely hostile financial markets forced Liz Truss to sack Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor and rethink plans to cut taxes.
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TAX U-TURN EASES PRESSURE ON STERLING AS OPEC TRIES TO KEEP OIL PRICES HIGH
This week we saw the prime minister and chancellor stick to their guns for all of 10 days before giving in and scrapping their plan to scrap the 45p rate of income tax.
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Autumn Outlook
The end of the quarter saw chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget cause sterling to fluctuate wildly and UK government bonds to plummet.
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GILTS TUMBLE AS KWARTENG’S MINI-BUDGET USHERS IN VAST ADDITIONAL BORROWING
This week we saw Liz Truss go back to the future as she dusted off Margaret Thatcher’s policy solutions to try and fix the UK economy. Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng have opted for huge tax cuts as their method of jolting the UK into growth and these policies come straight from Thatcher’s playbook.
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TENS OF THOUSANDS TURN OUT TO PAY LAST RESPECTS TO QUEEN ELIZABETH II
This week the nation continues to mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. In a fitting tribute, the British public has chosen to honour one treasured national institution with another, a queue.
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END OF AN ERA AS THE UK MOURNS THE DEATH OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II
This week all other news was overshadowed by the sad passing of Queen Elizabeth II. In a reign marked by periods of turmoil and hostility, rapid change and often amazing progress, the queen was more than a head of state but a source of stability, perhaps unnoticed until its absence.
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GOVERNMENT BONDS UNDER PRESSURE AS PUBS WARN OF LAST ORDERS WITHOUT ASSISTANCE
This week the sell-off in government bonds continued on the back of not much more than a change in sentiment. The outlook hasn’t really altered but investors are expecting both inflation and interest rates to remain higher for longer. The UK is likely to see a more severe downturn than other developed markets.
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UK INFLATION SQUEEZING CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES THOUGH TRUSS’ FOCUS LIES ELSEWHERE
This week the inexplicably drawn-out conservative party leadership election carried on with yet more hustings generating yet more policy ideas that the market at least has to consider taking seriously.
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DIVERGNCE IN INFLATION DRIVERS BETWEEN THE UK AND US PRESENTS A DIFFERENT SET OF PROBLEMS
This week the UK continued to scorch in hot weather which resulted in drought warnings and hosepipe bans. The UK economy cooled and reported the first quarterly fall in growth for a year contracting 0.1% for the second quarter.
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BLEAK OUTLOOK FROM THE BANK OF ENGLAND INCREASES PROBLEMS FOR NEXT PM
This week we heard the Bank of England forecast a deep recession, runaway inflation and the standard of living being eroded at an alarming rate. In January the bank was predicting inflation of more than 6% and saying gradual interest rate rises would be able tame inflation and sidestep a recession.
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