Bank of England buys £1.32 billion sterling
In its final reverse auction during its two-week emergency bond-buying program, the Bank of England bought £1.3207 billion ($1.48 billion) of long-term government bonds, according to Reuters.
The news agency reported that its total purchases of conventional and indexed gilts amounted to £19.3bn.
British 30-year gilt yields rise to two-day highs
British 30-day gilt yields rose to a two-day high of 4.682% following Prime Minister Liz Truss’s speech.
In the announcement, Truss backed away from fiscal policies originally laid out in a mini-budget on September 23, as he tried to ease market turmoil.
Gilts had fallen earlier in the day on reports of a possible U-turn in Truss’s fiscal plans.
— Hannah Ward-Glenton
The British pound falls after the comments of the UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss
UK PM Liz Truss makes a U-turn on corporate tax
“It is clear that parts of our mini-budget went further and faster than the markets expected, so the way we are accomplishing our mission needs to change,” Truss told a major news conference on Friday.
“Therefore, I have decided to maintain the corporate tax increase that was planned by the previous government,” Truss said.
Corporate tax will now rise to 25%, as the Boris Johnson government originally planned, instead of remaining at 19%.
“My priority is to ensure the economic stability of our country,” he said.
— Hannah Ward-Glenton
Jeremy Hunt appointed UK finance minister
Jeremy Hunt has been appointed as the UK’s new finance minister, according to Prime Minister Liz Truss’s office.
The move comes after Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked from his post earlier today.
Hunt will be the UK’s fourth finance minister this year.
— Hannah Ward-Glenton
Markets ‘cry for clarity, stability and a bit of calm’, says pension analyst
People “are clamoring for clarity, stability and a bit of calm in the financial markets,” Andrew Megson, chief executive of My Pension Expert, said in a note.
“If these things cannot be delivered, and delivered quickly, the calls for a general election and a change of government are sure to be too loud to ignore,” Megson said.
“Even after a month of major shocks, this news is particularly momentous. Kwasi Kwarteng walks away with the egg on his face, the economy in a downward spin and Liz Truss’s premiership is hanging in the balance,” he said.
“Forget any political punctuation or personal agendas, this entire episode, from the mini-budget on September 23 to today’s unceremonious dismissal of the Chancellor, has pushed Britain back to a time when clear and decisive action was needed.” , said.
— Hannah Ward-Glenton
Kwasi Kwarteng sacked as UK finance minister
Kwasi Kwarteng has been sacked as UK finance minister after just 37 days in office, making him the second-shortest-serving chancellor in history.
“You have asked me to step aside as your chancellor. I have accepted,” read Kwasi Kwarteng’s resignation letter to Truss, which he posted on Twitter.
The announcement comes shortly before Prime Minister Liz Truss is expected to make a statement about her fiscal plans.
— Hannah Ward-Glenton
UK Bond Yields Fall After UK Prime Minister Liz Truss Announces a Press Conference for Today
LVMH’s Arnault: Strong dollar is attracting customers to Europe
Antoine Arnault, head of communications at LVMH, discusses third quarter earnings.
Stocks on the move: Virgin Money up 5%, Temenos down 19%
virgin money shares gained 5.4% in early trading to lead the Stoxx 600, while Swiss software company fear us plunged more than 19% after issuing a profit warning.
-Elliot Smith
Here are the opening calls
Britain FTSE100 looks about 77 points higher at 6,927, that of Germany DAX is set to jump around 212 points to 12,568 and France’s ACC 40 it is expected to add around 96 points to 5,975.
—Elliot Smith
