Good morning.
A major economic research group has pointed the finger at Rishi Sunak for squandering £ 11bn of taxpayer money.
The National Institute for Economic and Social Research said the chancellor had been fooled into failing to insure against higher interest rates a year ago with £ 895 billion of money created through quantitative easing.
Jagjit Chadha, director of Niesr, said Sunak’s decisions had left the UK with “a huge bill and continued continued exposure to interest rate risk”, adding that it was the fault of the Treasury.
The losses, reported by the Financial Times, will be a new headache for the chancellor as he faces scrutiny over his response to the cost of living crisis.
The Treasury said: “We have a clear financing strategy to meet the financing needs of the government, which we establish independently of the monetary policy decisions of the Bank of England.”
5 things to start the day
1) The shortage of steaks increases as fertilizer prices soar: Prices are already rising by 5% a year, but are now expected to go through the ceiling.
2) Asia’s richest man bids £ 5bn for Boots: Mukesh Ambani now owns English country club Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire and toy retailer Hamleys.
3) Christine Lagarde points to the end of the era of negative eurozone rates: Europe’s interest rates are expected to rise for the first time since 2011, from their current level of -0.5%.
4) Swedish sex toy maker abandons plans for a £ 1bn London float: Lelo will look for a buyer, blaming market volatility.
5) Deloitte denies failing to protect her ex from school bullying: A former worker says she now suffers from mental health problems after “bullying”.
What happened overnight
Hong Kong stocks opened sharply lower this morning, with the Hang Seng index falling 1.6%.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8% and the Shenzhen Composite Index of China’s second-largest stock market fell 0.6%.
Shares in Tokyo opened lower and the Nikkei 225 benchmark fell 1%.
Arrive today
- Corporate: No updates scheduled
- Economy: Retail, PMI Services (UK); Factory Orders (Germany); Consumer Credit (US)