The governor of the Bank of England has told MPs that a rise in government borrowing costs is not “unique” to the UK.
Andrew Bailey told the Treasury Select Committee on Tuesday that investors had demanded a higher rate on long-term global government debt owing to President Trump’s volatile tariff policymaking and a general rise in public borrowing.
“We’ve seen an increase in term premium in government bond markets . . . yield curves have steepened,” Bailey said, adding this was “a global phenomenon, it is not in any sense unique to [the UK]”.
His comments come as figures from the Office for National Statistics this morning showed that UK debt interest spending jumped to £16.4 billion in June, the second highest for that month since the records began in 1997.
Hewlett Packard to recoup losses from Mike Lynch’s estate
Mike Lynch, and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, died when his luxury yacht Bayesian sank last year
Hewlett-Packard is owed £730 million ($944 million) from the estate of the late Mike Lynch and his former business partner over its acquisition of their British software firm Autonomy, a judge at London’s High Court said.
HP was seeking to recoup its losses from Lynch, who died last year when his luxury yacht Bayesian sank off Sicily, and Autonomy’s former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain.
The US technology giant sued Lynch and Hussain accusing them of masterminding an elaborate fraud to inflate the value of Autonomy, which HP bought for $11.1 billion in 2011 before the deal spectacularly unravelled.
HP wrote down Autonomy’s value by $8.8 billion within a year and brought a $5 billion lawsuit against Lynch and Hussain in London, with a judge ruling in HP’s favour in 2022.
William Hill owner posts rise in revenues
Evoke’s retail division benefited from the rollout of 5,000 new gaming machines across its 1,300-plus betting shops
ALAMY
The gambling group behind William Hill reported a 3 per cent increase in revenues during the six months to the end of June, as a result of tight cost controls, growth in its core international markets and its retail division returning to growth in the second quarter.
Evoke, formerly 888 Holdings, said its retail division benefited from the rollout of 5,000 new gaming machines across its 1,300-plus betting shops. This growth offset a softer performance of its sports segment, which had been boosted by the Euros football championship a year earlier.
The company excerpt first half adjusted profits in the range of £163 million and £167 million, a 43 per cent year-on-year increase on last year at the mid-point.
Shares in Evoke, which also reaffirmed its full-year profit and revenue guidance, rose 1 per cent to 62½p.
It is right to look at state pension age, says Reeves
Rachel Reeves said a review into raising the state pension age is needed to ensure the system is “sustainable and affordable”.
The chancellor said today: “We have just commissioned a review of pensions adequacy, so whether people are saving enough for retirement, and also the state pension age. As life expectancy increases, it is right to look at the state pension age to ensure that the state pension is sustainable and affordable for generations to come.”
The review is expected to report in March 2029.
The state pension age is currently 66, rising to 67 by 2028, and the government is legally required to review the age periodically
The infrastructure and construction group has announced that chief executive Andrew Davies is stepping down after more than six years in the role.
He will be replaced by Stuart Togwell, the head of Kier’s construction business, on November 1.
Davies was appointed as chief executive in April 2019, and undertook a strategic review to cut debt and boost operations by selling its housebuilding unit and cutting over 1,000 jobs.
The shares were trading around 300p when Davies took up the role and have fallen during his tenure. The shares fell 5 per cent to 199p this morning.
UK borrowing: economists expect tax rises
Rob Wood, Pantheon Macroeconomics: “We estimate that the chancellor’s £9.9 billion of headroom has turned into a £13 billion hole, meaning that Rachel Reeves would need to raise taxes or cut spending by a little over £20 billion in the Autumn budget to restore her slim margin of headroom.
Alex Kerr, Capital Economics: “Despite the £3.6 billion overshoot in June, public borrowing is still in line with the OBR’s forecasts after the first three months of the fiscal year. But things will probably get worse for the chancellor. We think that she will need to raise £15 billion to £25 billion at the budget later this year, with higher taxes doing most of the heavy lifting.”
Philip Shaw, Investec: “There is no denying that fiscal developments have been very disappointing so far this financial year, and Rachel Reeves will almost certainly be investigating potential revenue raising measures.”
FTSE 100 struggles to extend high
London’s leading share index is trading largely flat this morning after hitting a new record on Monday.
The FTSE 100 rose above 9,000 points for the first time to close at 9,012.99, helped by rising gold and copper prices. It is currently trading up 2.6 points at 9,015.63 but was 1.6 points lower at one stage.
Compass rose the most after an upbeat trading update in which it raised its profit guidance for the year.
British Gas owner Centrica gained after it confirmed plans to acquire a 15 per cent stake in Sizewell C as the government gives the official go-ahead for the nuclear plant in Suffolk.
Miners continued to underpin the index, with Glencore and Rio Tinto among the main risers.
US-focused equipment rental company Ashtead, insurers Admiral and Legal & General slid, as did the defence company Babcock.
AstraZeneca to invest $50bn in America
AstraZeneca’s investment will fund a new drug manufacturing facility and expand research and development and cell therapy manufacturing in the country
MARCO BETTI/ASTRAZENECA
The FTSE 100 pharmaceutical company has announced plans to spend $50 billion expanding manufacturing and research capabilities in the United States by 2030.
It will fund a new drug manufacturing facility in Virginia and expand research and development and cell therapy manufacturing in Maryland, Massachusetts, California, Indiana and Texas.
The investment is the latest by a pharmaceutical company in reaction to President Donald Trump’s tariff policy. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals as soon as the end of the month as he steps up pressure on big pharma to shift manufacturing and investment to the US.
The Times revealed earlier this month that Sir Pascal Soriot, the long-serving chief executive of AstraZeneca, would like to move the group’s stock market listing to the United States.
Compass raises full-year profit forecasts
The FTSE 100 catering group has nudged full-year forecasts higher alongside third-quarter results and a €1.5 billion (£1.3 billion) acquisition of Vermaat Groep, a food services business in Europe.
Compass, the world’s largest catering group, said it now expected full-year underlying operating profit growth to be “towards 11 per cent”, having previously guided to “high single digits”.
Organic revenue rose 8.6 per cent in the three months to the end of June.
Sizewell C nuclear plant gets go-ahead
The site of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk
REUTERS
The Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk has got the go-ahead at an estimated cost of £38 billion, with the taxpayer taking a 44.9 per cent stake in the project.
British Gas owner Centrica will take a 15 per cent equity stake, British investment manager Amber Infrastructure 7.6 per cent, and Canada’s La Caisse 20 per cent, alongside France’s EDF with a previously announced 12.5 per cent.
The National Wealth Fund is to provide the majority of debt financing alongside Bpifrance Assurance Export.
The government said that Sizewell C would power the equivalent of six million homes and support 10,000 jobs once operational. It is a copy of the plant under construction at Hinkley Point C in Somerset, the costs of which are estimated to have ballooned to as much as £48 billion.
Debt interest bill rises to £16.4 billion
The government borrowed £20.7 billion in June, £6.6 billion more than in the month last year and the second-highest June borrowing since monthly records began in 1993, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.
The highest borrowing for the month was in 2020 during the pandemic. Economists had forecast borrowing of £16.5 billion.
The figures bolster the chances of Rachel Reeves announcing further tax rises at the autumn budget.
Interest payable on government debt increased by £8.4 billion year-on-year to £16.4 billion.
Borrowing in the financial year so far was £57.8 billion. This was £7.5 billion more than in the same three-month period of 2024 and the third-highest April to June borrowing since monthly records began.
As a percentage of gross domestic product, total debt now stands at 96.3 per cent.
Asia subdued after new highs on Wall Street
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dipped as the exchange opened following a holiday on Monday and elections at the weekend
AFP
Asian stock markets were subdued after America’s S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched record-high closes with investors still wary about the outcome of tariff talks between the US and its trading partners.
Stock markets in China gained a little, with the SSE Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng both up 0.4 per cent.
However, the Nikkei 225 slid 0.4 per cent as investors reacted to the ruling coalition’s defeat in upper house elections at the weekend following a holiday on Monday.
South Korea’s Kospi was 1.7 per cent lower after the country’s industry minister Kim Jung-kwan said tariff talks with the US are in a critical phase that could result in all kinds of possible scenarios. America is among its biggest markets for exports.
The FTSE 100 is forecast to open around 24 points lower. Futures point to stock markets in Germany and France opening down as well.
