Kwasi Kwarteng

Britain's finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng has been sacked after less than six weeks in the job, the BBC reported on Friday, as the government's massive tax ...

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LONDON — British Prime Minister Liz Truss was propelled into high office by her bold promises to supercharge the country's flagging economy with big tax ...

23 announcement of the government’s new “Growth Plan,” which would be propelled by the “biggest package of tax cuts in generations,” caused the currency to tank and the central bank to step in to calm markets. Liz Truss’ reckless approach has crashed the economy, causing mortgages to skyrocket, and has undermined Britain’s standing on the world stage." Kwarteng lasted just 38 days in the job. I was shocked at how brutal it was.” Kwarteng, a free-marketeer and zealous Brexiteer, flew home to London from Washington earlier on Friday, as British newspapers tracked his flight. Well-to-do Brits pay a top rate of 45 percent on annual income over £150,000 ($168,000). “It is important now as we move forward to emphasize your government’s commitment to fiscal discipline.” He now becomes Britain’s fourth chancellor in four months, taking over economic policy portfolio at a moment the Bank of England is forecasting a recession this winter. Hunt lost the Conservative Party leadership race to Boris Johnson in 2019. She has been in office for less than six weeks. In that contest, he favored cutting corporate taxes. Britain’s top stock index, the FTSE 100, was essentially flat.

The UK prime minister has already abandoned Kwarteng's big tax cut, and she's preparing even more humiliating economic reversals.

But they had also been waiting on Kwarteng’s return from the US — he was fired after returning from a shortened visit to Washington for a meeting of the International Monetary Fund. She could either stick to her guns and face the prospect of more market chaos, or shred her reputation by changing tack. That is due to end on Friday, adding pressure on the government to act. The details are unclear as to which bits of her plan Truss will unpick. Truss later on Friday plans to unpick parts of Kwarteng’s strategy — officially called the Growth Plan — according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing unannounced plans. Kwarteng’s deputy, Chris Philp, was replaced with Edward Argar, with Philp moving to a ministerial post in the cabinet office.

STRICTLY SPEAKING, the chancellor of the exchequer—Britain's finance minister—is not in charge of his own department. The First Lord of the Treasury is the ...

Mr Kwarteng’s successor, Jeremy Hunt, is the sixth chancellor in just over three years. Gordon Brown, the longest-serving modern chancellor, spent ten years in the job before succeeding Tony Blair as prime minister. Mr Kwarteng’s chancellorship is the second shortest of modern times.

Kwarteng, a close ally of U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, has come under heavy criticism for his mini-budget which triggered a slump in the pound and other ...

After the initial indication that she and her government would push forward with the budget, Truss was [forced](https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/10/03/uk-ditches-tax-cuts-for-richest-amid-growing-backlash-and-market-mayhem/?sh=5c8220fa2efe) to climb down and scrap the planned tax cut for high earners after facing strong opposition from other members of her party. If implemented, the policy would have significantly increased government borrowing, something that spooked markets late September and caused the pound to [Liz Truss appoints Jeremy Hunt as UK chancellor ahead of tax cut U-turn](https://www.ft.com/content/63ac7dab-d8e4-412c-a910-c0013fdf7f3d) (Financial Times) [Liz Truss appoints Jeremy Hunt as chancellor after sacking Kwarteng](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/14/liz-truss-appoints-jeremy-hunt-as-chancellor-after-sacking-kwarteng) (The Guardian) The report notes that many of these senior lawmakers include former cabinet ministers who believe Kwarteng was simply carrying out Truss’ policies and therefore she should be the one who should have stepped down. Truss had vowed to enact sweeping tax cuts if she was voted into power, ignoring concerns that this would further fuel inflation. Late last month, Kwarteng unveiled a mini-budget that included tax cuts that would mostly benefit the wealthiest Britons along with other tax cuts, while also attempting to subsidize spiraling energy costs for households and businesses.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor of the Exchequer, was fired on Friday by Prime Minister Liz Truss in a bid to end weeks of market turmoil.

“Even though we may have pulled back from the abyss,” she added, “we’re not in a positive position.” The pound was trading below $1.12, lower than where it was before the government’s policy statement on Sept. But then the pound weakened again after Ms. Truss would backtrack on some of the tax cuts, said Jane Foley, a strategist at Rabobank, and there was only a “teeny little” response to the dismissal of Mr. The British currency rose slightly after Ms. It was the fledgling government’s second major U-turn from the agenda it set out on Sept.

Kwasi Kwarteng was thrown out as Chancellor of the Exchequer after just 38 days, but he spent more than a decade promoting his small-state, low-tax vision ...

[@BloombergUK](https://twitter.com/BloombergUK) and on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/BloombergNewsUK/), and wrap up your day with [The Readout newsletter](https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/readout?itm_source=inline) with Allegra Stratton. Kwasi Kwarteng was thrown out as Chancellor of the Exchequer after just 38 days, but he spent more than a decade promoting his small-state, low-tax vision for the UK that proved his downfall -- and which may still cost Prime Minister Liz Truss her job as well.

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has fired finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng and ditched a big part of her discredited economic strategy in a desperate bid to ...

But investors may not be prepared to wait that long for reassurance about the state of Britain’s public finances. An emergency £65 billion ($73.3 billion) bond-buying program launched by the Bank of England on Sept. Otherwise, the British pound and UK government bonds could experience another sell-off. Bond prices rose earlier Friday, sending the yield on 30-year UK government debt back to 4.3%, down from a peak of more than 5% in recent days. “It is clear that parts of our mini budget went further and faster than markets were expecting, so the way we are delivering our mission right now has to change,” Truss told reporters. But confirmation of the second screeching government U-turn in two weeks didn’t inject any further momentum into UK assets. Kwarteng presented a “mini budget” just three weeks ago, promising tax cuts worth £45 billion ($50 billion) and increased borrowing with the hope of boosting UK economic growth. [brought forward his full budget statement to Oct. Kwarteng had flown back from the IMF meeting in Washington, D.C., overnight for discussions with Truss. 3 the government [Bank of England](http://cnn.com/2022/10/11/investing/bank-of-england-uk-financial-instability/index.html) to warn of a serious risk to UK financial stability and announce [three separate interventions](http://cnn.com/2022/10/10/investing/bank-of-england-extends-support/index.html) to calm a bond market meltdown that put some UK pension funds on the brink of default. [ditched its plan to slash the top rate of income tax](http://cnn.com/2022/10/03/europe/uk-economy-tax-kwarteng-u-turn-intl-hnk/index.html), just over a week after it was announced.

British Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng was fired on Friday, amid mounting political pressure and market chaos after less than six weeks in the role.

[Sterling](/quotes/GBP=/) whipsawed during a volatile session. "As I have said many times in the past few weeks, following the status quo was simply not an option. [30-year yield](/quotes/UK30Y-GB/) briefly touched 4.261% during morning trade. I believe your vision is the right one. "We have been colleagues and friends for many years. "It is important now as we move forward to emphasise your government's commitment to fiscal discipline. Chris Philp, chief secretary to the Treasury, was also replaced by Edward Argar. In that time, I have seen your dedication and determination. "The economic environment has changed rapidly since we set out the Growth Plan on 23 September. [Bank of England](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/14/uk-cliff-edge-arrives-as-bank-of-england-prepares-to-end-bond-buying.html) to intervene in order to [save pension funds from collapse](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/14/uk-cliff-edge-arrives-as-bank-of-england-prepares-to-end-bond-buying.html), and a spike in mortgage rates for prospective homeowners. Kwarteng cut short a visit to Washington on Thursday to fly back to London as government ministers scrambled to address the market chaos unleashed in recent weeks. - Kwarteng cut short a visit to Washington on Thursday to fly back to London as government ministers scrambled to address the market chaos unleashed in recent weeks.

In a move to calm financial markets and her own Conservative Party, Prime Minister Liz Truss canceled planned tax cuts for corporations and replaced Kwasi ...

That [prompted the Bank of England](https://www.npr.org/2022/09/29/1125859448/the-british-economy-is-in-freefall-with-a-rare-intervention-by-the-bank-of-engla) to step in to prevent a crisis. As confidence and anticipation have grown for further changes, the pound inched up in value on Thursday and bond markets stabilized some. [record low](https://www.npr.org/2022/09/26/1125080014/british-pound-record-low-dollar) against the dollar. "When you asked me to serve as your Chancellor, I did so in full knowledge that the situation we faced was incredibly difficult, with rising global interest rates and energy prices," Kwarteng said in his departure letter. He and Truss held urgent talks in Downing Street shortly after his return to London. Then hours later, she announced a U-turn on their economic package, attempting to calm financial markets and reinforce her shaky leadership position little more than a month after taking office.

Ms Truss is later expected to announce a U-turn on business tax cuts - a key Kwarteng policy - at a press conference later. Mr Kwarteng is the second shortest- ...

The Bank of England has been buying government bonds - known as gilts - to try to stabilise their price and prevent a sell-off that could put some pension funds at risk of collapse. Ms Truss's pledge to cut taxes was at the heart of the economic agenda that won her the Tory leadership at the start of September. [U-turned on her plan to scrap the top rate of income tax](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63114279) and some Tory MPs believe another change of course is inevitable. Ms Truss is shortly expected to announce a U-turn on business tax cuts - one of her key policies. In a letter to the PM, Mr Kwarteng said her vision for economic growth was "right" and he still supported it. Kwasi Kwarteng has been sacked as chancellor amid intense speculation Prime Minister Liz Truss is about to junk key parts of their economic plan.

Prime Minister Liz Truss fired Kwasi Kwarteng, her finance minister, and said she not block a corporate tax increase, another reversal of the poorly ...

“At the end of the day, you’ve got to deal with the reality of the situation, and if what you’ve done has caused the markets to suddenly crash, then it shows that you have to rethink,” Mr. The last chancellors with shorter tenures were one who died after a month in office, in 1974, and one who held the position as part of an interim, caretaker government in 1834. That was a point of distinction with Rishi Sunak, her main competitor in the contest, who described the idea as “fantasy economics.” Truss would backtrack on some of the tax cuts, said Jane Foley, a strategist at Rabobank, and there was only a “teeny little” response to the dismissal of Mr. “It has been a complete disaster,” said Simon Bubb, a supporter of the opposition Labour Party who was out shopping in London on Friday with his young son. During the pandemic, he was chair of a parliamentary health committee, using the platform to scrutinize and at times challenge government health policy. Speculation that the government would retreat on more of its tax cuts — costing £43 billion and funded by borrowing — helped markets rally in the middle of the week. But Andrew Bailey, the governor of the bank, was adamant that it would end on Friday, telling the industry: “You’ve got to get this done.” And one former Conservative chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, told the BBC on Friday that Ms. But it planned to end that intervention on Friday, adding urgency to the government’s task of restoring confidence. But she declined to apologize for the turmoil of recent weeks, and insisted that she remained committed to her objective of spurring economic growth. Downing Street announced that the new chancellor of the Exchequer was Jeremy Hunt, a former health and foreign secretary.

Sterling fell, FTSE 100 lost its gains and bond yields rose after PM's press conference failed to announce new direction.

It suggests there was a drop in demand for emergency cash from certain pension funds that last month were at risk of collapse. The writing was on the wall when markets surged in anticipatory delight on the news that another post-budget U-turn was imminent and moves on corporation tax have gone a long way to bolstering sentiment today. Government bonds rallied before she spoke, pushing yields – the interest rate in relation to the price of the bond – sharply lower. We’re awaiting answers and in some ways I’m surprised the markets haven’t reacted more negatively.” Sterling fell 1.3% to $1.1188 on a rollercoaster day for the currency. However, the prime minister’s appearance erased almost all of its advance in afternoon trading, with the blue chip index up just 8 points at 6,858 on the day.