News

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 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 chancellor

UK government borrowing costs are on course for their biggest ever monthly rise — and mortgage rates are set to rise as well — following the bond market meltdown triggered by Kwasi Kwarteng’s fiscal policy announcement last week. The 10-year benchmark gilt yield has increased by 1.45 percentage points so far in September to 4.2

UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has vowed to double down on his controversial tax-cutting drive despite investor jitters, leaving Conservative MPs and traders braced for further market turbulence. Kwarteng said on Sunday that there was “more to come” and insisted that Friday’s announcement of £45bn in tax cuts was just the start. After the announcement the

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 Bank of England raised interest rates by 0.5 percentage points on Thursday, holding out the prospect of a further big increase in November, as central banks across the world seek to bring inflation under control. The rise, to 2.25 per cent, the UK’s highest level since 2008, came as central banks around the world

Vladimir Putin has ordered the mobilisation of army reservists to support Moscow’s ailing campaign in Ukraine and warned that he would use Russia’s nuclear arsenal if its “territorial integrity” was “threatened”, declaring: “This is not a bluff.” The warning, which sparked immediate alarm in Washington and elsewhere, came as Putin claimed the west wanted to

Liz Truss has declared that cutting taxes for the wealthy and profitable companies is not “unfair”, signalling a radical shift in economic policy ahead of a growth-focused mini-Budget on Friday. The UK prime minister has signed off plans to cut national insurance, a policy that will disproportionately help the better-off, reverse a planned rise in

Queen Elizabeth II has completed the journey to her final resting place at Windsor after a momentous state funeral at Westminster Abbey, as world leaders joined Britons in mourning the country’s longest-serving monarch. The Queen was laid to rest with her late husband Prince Philip at a private ceremony at the King George VI memorial

Public admonishments of Russian president Vladimir Putin by China and India over his invasion of Ukraine signal a shift in global perceptions of the war, western officials have said, amid efforts by Europe and the US to erode the Kremlin’s international support. The chiding of Putin by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and the Russian

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

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has told Russian president Vladimir Putin that now is “not an era of war”, in some of his most pointed public remarks yet about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At a meeting between the Indian and Russian leaders in Uzbekistan on Friday, Putin publicly acknowledged New Delhi’s “concerns” about the conflict

Russian president Vladimir Putin has acknowledged Chinese “concerns” about the war in Ukraine in the first public admission of differences between Beijing and Moscow over the conflict. Putin’s comments came in a meeting with China’s president Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan on Thursday, the first time the two had met in person since the Kremlin launched

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

Hopes that the Federal Reserve can engineer a soft landing for the US economy took a hit on Tuesday when a crucial measure of inflation came in higher than forecast and triggered a sharp sell-off on Wall Street. The consumer price index increased 0.1 per cent for August, above economists’ expectations for a 0.1 per

Russia will push on with its invasion of Ukraine until all military goals are met, the Kremlin has said, as it responded to Kyiv’s massive counter-offensive in the east, which has reclaimed more than 3,000 square kilometres of terrain. The Russian military setback is the Kremlin’s biggest since it was forced to U-turn on plans

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 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory and prompted an unusual

Charles III was formally proclaimed king on Saturday during an Accession Council that was televised for the first time, in an indication of the new monarch’s determination to modernise and streamline the monarchy. At the ceremonial event in St James’s Palace in London, Charles swore to take on the “heavy responsibility of sovereignty”. Recalling the

King Charles III addressed his nation for the first time on Friday, vowing to emulate his late mother Queen Elizabeth’s “life-long service” as Britain began a 10-day period of national mourning. The new monarch’s words came at the end of day of parliamentary tributes, gun salutes and raw emotion, as thousands of people gathered at

Liz Truss, UK prime minister, has announced an estimated £150bn package to shield Britain from soaring energy prices — but with just six months’ cover for business compared with two years for households. The dramatic state intervention was accompanied by promises to increase domestic oil and gas production, restart fracking for shale gas and reform

The Bank of England’s chief economist said on Wednesday that plans by Liz Truss for a freeze in energy bills for households and businesses was likely to force the central bank to raise interest rates despite bringing down the rate of inflation in the months ahead. Asked by MPs on the House of Commons Treasury