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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

The rout of Russian troops in north-eastern Ukraine has raised hopes among Nato allies that a well-supplied army could liberate even more territory, strengthening demands to rapidly expand the supply of western arms to Kyiv. The Ukrainian advance has emboldened officials from the US, UK and some of the more hawkish members of the EU,

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 paid tribute to his late mother Queen Elizabeth as “a promise with destiny kept” in a heartfelt address to the nation marking the first royal transition for seven decades. In a recorded message broadcast before a service of remembrance at St Paul’s Cathedral, the King spoke of the profound debt he owed

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

Liz Truss has vowed that Britain will “ride out the storm”, as the new UK prime minister began the task of confronting an economic crisis with a massive package of energy support for families and businesses. Truss dodged torrential downpours sweeping Downing Street to tell the country that she would create an “aspiration nation”, adding:

Liz Truss has comfortably won the race to become leader of the Conservative party and on Tuesday will become Britain’s prime minister, facing one of the most daunting economic crises of recent times. The foreign secretary beat her rival Rishi Sunak, former chancellor, in a ballot of Conservative party members by 81,326 votes to 60,399

Liz Truss, widely expected to be named Britain’s prime minister on Monday, has promised to tackle the cost of living crisis in her first week in Number 10, as she looks to accelerate long-term reforms to the electricity market. Truss, the foreign secretary, said she would immediately set out “action on energy bills and energy