Page 11 - Uk

BoE expands emergency support for UK bond market to prevent a rout

The Bank of England stepped up its support for the UK bond market, aiming to prevent a rout in a $1 trillion part used by the pensions industry from spreading

UK, Ireland signal new hope of deal to end grinding Brexit trade feud

Britain and Ireland hailed a new spirit of compromise on Friday in a grinding feud over post-Brexit trade rules, expressing hope of making enough progress in the next three weeks to avoid a destabilising new election in Northern Ireland. It comes as new British Prime Minister Liz Truss seeks to improve relations with the UK's neighbours after the country's long, acrimonious divorce from the European Union. UK Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said Britain and the EU were negotiating in good faith and good humour a marked contrast from the bitter tone that has marred relations since the UK voted for Brexit in 2016. Speaking to reporters in London after a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, he said he was very positive about the chances of getting a negotiated solution. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said political leadership is about making things happen and sometimes surprising people, and I think that's what we need to do over the next fe

UK offers licensing round for North Sea oil & gas exploration despite oppn

The British government opened a new licensing round for North Sea oil and gas exploration Friday despite criticism from environmentalists and scientists who say the move undermines the country's commitment to fighting climate change. The Conservative government argues that extracting more fossil fuels from the North Sea will create jobs and strengthen UK energy security, and is less environmentally harmful than importing gas and oil from abroad. I know it sounds contradictory but it's actually good for the environment, Climate Minister Graham Stuart said. When we burn our own gas, it's got lower emissions around its production than foreign gas as well as supporting British jobs, he told the BBC. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pushed gas and electricity prices higher and squeezed energy supplies across Europe, prompting countries to focus urgently on securing new sources. The organisation that oversees the UK's electricity grid has said that planned blackouts might be needed th

Yogi, UK-India business council chairperson discuss investment plans in UP

Chairperson of UK-India Business Council Richard Heald met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday, during which the two discussed avenues for British investment in the state. During the meeting at the chief minister's official residence, Adityanath highlighted that the state provided ample opportunities for British companies to invest in any sector, including defence, electronics, information technology, and dairy. He said the government was planning to organise "Uttar Pradesh Global Investors' Summit" next year, and investment-oriented policies were being prepared for various sectors. "Uttar Pradesh is fast emerging as an attractive investment destination for the world," he said. Heald assured the United Kingdom's participation in the investors' summit as a country partner, according to an official release. The UKIBC chairperson invited Adityanath to London and requested him to meet representatives of various British companies, the release said. Heald said a be

UK nurses' union to go on strikes as cost of living, energy crisis worsen

Britain's biggest nurses' union asked its 300,000 members Thursday whether they want to go on strike in a dispute over pay, and the UK's electricity system operator warned of potential winter blackouts, in the latest evidence of the UK's worsening energy and cost-of-living squeeze. Members of the Royal College of Nursing are voting through Nov. 2 on whether to stage the biggest strike in the organisation's 106-year history. General Secretary Pat Cullen said nurses are struggling to provide safe care for their patients because of staff shortages. The union is seeking a pay raise of 5% above the rate of inflation, which is currently at a 40-year high of almost 10%. The only way that we're going to address those vacancies and ensure that we recruit nurses into our health services and hold on to the brilliant services that we've got is if we pay them a decent wage, she said. Cullen said nurses would continue to provide critical care during a strike. The potential for a strike by nurs

UK debt outlook cut by Fitch after Liz Truss's mini-Budget debacle

A top US credit rating agency has lowered its outlook for British government debt from "stable" to "negative" amid the fallout from Prime Minister Liz Truss's mini-budget fiasco

India, US, UK, France condemn North Korea's ballistic missile launch

India, joining the US, UK and France, has strongly condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launch which overflew Japan, with New Delhi underlining that these launches affect the peace and security of the region and beyond. The missile fired on Tuesday was the first from North Korea to fly over Japan in five years. The launch mark the 24th time this year that North Korea has conducted missile tests. We have noted with concern the reports of ballistic missile launches by the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said at a UN Security Council meeting on DPRK on Wednesday. "These follow the launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile by the DPRK in March this year, which was discussed in this Council, as well as other successive launches, she said. Later, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield delivered a joint statement on behalf of Albania, Brazil, France, India, Ireland, Japan, Norway, South

UK pension funds almost collapsed amid market meltdown: Bank of England

Pension funds managing vast sums on behalf of retirees across Britain came close to collapse amid an "unprecedented" meltdown in UK government bond markets

UK Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer vows to combat 'Hinduphobia'

In its first direct reference to the term "Hinduphobia", the UK's Opposition Labour Party committed itself to fight against hate crimes of all kinds following communal clashes in Leicester and Birmingham in the wake of an India-Pakistan cricket match. Addressing one of Europe's largest Navratri celebrations here on Wednesday evening, Labour Leader Keir Starmer told a gathering of hundreds of British Indians that he was determined to put an end to divisive politics and extremist elements exploiting social media to spread hatred within communities. Some diaspora organisations in the UK have claimed the disorder in Leicester last month reflected Hinduphobia, or hate crimes targeted at Hindus, intensified by social media disinformation. "Hinduphobia has absolutely no place in our society anywhere and we must all fight this together," said Starmer, amid cheers. "I know that many people are targeted based on their religion and there's been a rise in hate crimes in recent years. I'm so tir

King Charles III's coronation ceremony to be held in June next year: Report

King Charles III's coronation ceremony is set to take place on June 3, 2023, according to Page Six

Fitch Ratings cuts UK's credit outlook to negative on fiscal risk

The UK's credit outlook was lowered to negative from stable by Fitch Ratings, which cited risk the government's new growth plan could increase the nation's fiscal deficit

Britain's Defence Secretary calls Ukraine war a 'wakeup call' for NATO

Britain's defence secretary said Tuesday that Russia's war on Ukraine has been a wake-up call for NATO members, making them realize that their militaries need to be better and invest more in defense. British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said many nations in Europe had become complacent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin has become in a sense, a gift to NATO. He spoke during a panel discussion at the Warsaw Security Forum, a two-day gathering of trans-Atlantic leaders, security and defence experts. Conference attendees included Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, who thanked Poland and other allies for their support of her country. Wallace described Putin as a pantomime villain who reminded us that there really is somebody out there who really, really wants to not only challenge us, but wants to inflict violence. He said there is agreement among his colleagues that they have not invested enough in their militaries. On the surface o

Australian dollar slides as RBA opts for smaller hike; sterling on new high

The Reserve Bank of Australia said it decided to slow the pace of tightening because the cash rate had been increased substantially in a short period of time, but left the door open to additional hike

Best of BS Opinion: India's Ukraine destiny, U-turn in UK, and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

UK PM U-turns on tax cut for wealthiest to avert rebellion within party

The new Liz Truss-led UK government on Monday made an embarrassing U-turn on its central plank of tax cuts by withdrawing a controversial policy to abolish the topmost income tax slab for the wealthiest, following market turmoil and to avert a feared rebellion within the governing Conservative Party. The decision, which marks a humiliating climbdown for Prime Minister Truss, comes after several Conservative MPs criticised the government's plan announced just 10 days ago. Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng declared that the announcement in his mini-budget of a proposed abolition of the 45 pence tax rate, which applied to the top tier of income taxpayers from next April, had become a massive distraction to an otherwise sound growth plan for the economy. The plan to scrap the 45p rate, paid by people earning more than 150,000 pounds (USD 167,000) a year, was announced as part of a package of tax cuts on September 23. It came after days of turmoil on the global financial markets spooked by the

U-turn in UK: Room for fiscal fireworks is limited

It is best to stick to tried and tested methods of reviving growth - deregulation, macroeconomic stability, and targeted investment

Vodafone in talks for UK merger with Hutchison's Three, shares rise

Merger would create new leader in British mobile market; Vodafone in talks about creating a 51%-49% joint venture; deal structured using debt, with no cash consideration

UK PM Liz Truss makes U-turn on tax after week of market turmoil

The U-turn comes after the govt's fiscal plans triggered a crisis of investor confidence, jolting markets to such an extent that the BoE had to intervene with a 65 billion pound bond-buying programme

Sterling rebounds 1% on reversal of proposed tax cut plan; yen weakens

Sterling climbed higher on Monday after British finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng said the government would reverse a plan to scrap the UK's highest rate of income tax

UK train strikes and soaring energy prices add to a week of turmoil

Trains in Britain all but ground to a halt Saturday as coordinated strikes by rail workers added to a week of turmoil caused by soaring energy prices and unfunded tax cuts that roiled financial markets. Only about 11% of train services were expected to operate across the U.K. on Saturday, according to Network Rail. Unions said they called the latest in a series of one-day strikes to demand that wage increases keep pace with inflation that is expected to peak at around 11% this month. Consumers were also hit with a jump in their energy bills Saturday as the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine pushes gas and electricity prices higher. Household bills are expected to rise by about 20%, even after the government stepped in to cap prices. Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has been in office less than a month, cited the cost-of-living crisis as the reason she moved swiftly to introduce a controversial economic stimulus program, which includes 45 billion pounds ($48 billion) of unfund