(Bloomberg) — Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said he’ll focus on stimulating growth for Britain’s stagnant economy when he unveils tax and spending plans later this month.
“What you’ll see in the weeks ahead is an autumn statement for growth,” Hunt said on Friday in an interview with Sky News, referring to the fiscal package he’s due to unveil on Nov. 22. “There are many things that we can do to bring back healthy growth to the economy,” he said, citing examples such as unlocking business investment, reforming the welfare system and supporting manufacturing.
Hunt is under growing pressure from inside the governing Conservative Party to use his Nov. 22 statement to announce bold ideas that will help close a polling deficit with the opposition Labour Party that recent surveys have put over 20 points. With a general election expected next year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is running out of opportunities to move the needle with the British electorate: the Autumn statement is likely to be the penultimate fiscal event before a vote.
The chancellor spoke after official statistics on Friday showed the UK economy flatlined in the third quarter. The chancellor said that his continuing priority is to curb inflation but that he’ll also announce measures to improve the long-term competitiveness of the UK economy. He’s faced calls from the business community to extend tax breaks — such as making a 100% tax relief on capital spending permanent — and speed up planning decisions.
“We won’t do anything that compromises the battle against inflation,” he said. “We can do a lot to support businesses.”
Read More: UK Industry Urges Hunt to Cut Business Taxes to Spur Growth
The autumn statement has taken on additional significance given the lukewarm reception to Sunak’s King’s Speech laying out the government’s legislative agenda this week, a moment that was meant to act as a reset and give the Tories a boost. Instead it was criticized for lacking detail and ambition, and has since been over-shadowed by controversial comments by Home Secretary Suella Braverman and the row over a pro-Palestine march in London this weekend coinciding with Armistice Day commemorative services.
The other big pressure Hunt faces is to cut taxes, a demand from Conservatives who are angry that the tax burden has risen to its highest since World War II due to pandemic-era spending and rising energy prices caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine. On Friday Hunt said he wouldn’t deliver any tax cuts that would fuel price growth.
“That would be the wrong thing to do when we’re making such good progress against inflation,” he said. “But in the long-run we do want to bring down taxes.”
Sunak has made a pledge to halve inflation this year his centerpiece pledge to the electorate, and Hunt aims to ensure it’s delivered.
Hunt and Sunak have nevertheless been considering potential cuts to stamp duty and inheritance tax, which they deem would be less inflationary than personal tax cuts such as cutting income tax. Hunt will ultimately have to make a political choice about how to use his limited fiscal headroom: the Resolution Foundation think-tank estimates he has a £13 billion buffer against his fiscal rules which he could deploy. While that would be up from £6.5 billion at his budget in March, it’s still low by historic standards.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
