David Milliken

Global asset prices remain stretched and are vulnerable to a big fall as investors grow more concerned about geopolitical risks, the Bank of England said on Wednesday. The BoE said overall risks to British financial stability were unchanged compared with its last assessment in June, but that it would be wrong to draw comfort from a rapid rebound in asset prices after a drop in August. Weak U.S. employment data and softer-than-expected results from big tech companies led to a market sell-off in August that only reversed after stronger macroeconomic data was published - a boost which investors should not count on happening again, the BoE said.

Britain's new government is unlikely to upset investors in its first budget this month and the outlook for its debt is more positive than financial markets appear to believe, senior executives from global asset manager PIMCO said.

By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - Rachel Reeves will stress a commitment to stability in her first trip as Britain's finance minister to

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its forecast for British economic growth this year, offering a small boost to finance minister Rachel Reeves who presents her first annual budget next week. The news is likely to be seized on by Conservative opponents of the new Labour Party government who dispute Reeves' claim that they left Labour a poor economic legacy after their 14 years in power. "Growth is projected to have accelerated to 1.1% in 2024 and is expected to continue doing so to 1.5% in 2025 as falling inflation and interest rates stimulate domestic demand," the IMF said in its quarterly global forecast update.

The European Central Bank should keep its options open regarding future interest rate moves, Dutch central bank chief and ECB Governing Council member Klaas Knot said on Saturday. Last week the ECB cut interest rates for the third time this year and four sources close to the decision told Reuters a fourth cut was likely in December unless data turned around in the coming weeks.

The Bank of England is reluctantly pressing on with work to create a form of digital money accessible to the general public, as commercial banks risk failing to keep up with less-regulated tech firms, Governor Andrew Bailey said on Saturday. Bailey's remarks build on his longstanding concerns that he does not want to see day-to-day payments or banking-type services shift to cryptocurrencies or services from tech companies that are less safe or private than banks. The BoE and Britain's finance ministry have said they will not make a final decision before 2025 at the earliest whether to go ahead with a state-backed digital pound or central bank digital currency (CBDC), following a consultation which drew widespread concerns about privacy.

UK's Reeves says she is raising taxes by 40 billion pounds a year Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Reeves carries the red budget box at Downing Street, in London

“I am providing a 22.6 billion pound increase in the day to-day health budget and a 3.1 billion pound increase in the capital budget over this year and next year,” Reeves said in her first budget.

David Milliken 2 min read By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's government bond market is well placed to absorb