#AceNewsDesk – Australia’s most-polluting coal plant to shut decade earlier than planned
By Tiffanie Turnbull BBC News, Sydney
The power station is located in Traralgon, Victoria
The coal-fired Loy Yang A power station in Victoria will close in 2035, its owner AGL Energy said.
Australia – one of the world’s biggest emitters per capita – has long been considered a climate policy laggard.
AGL is the nation’s biggest electricity generator and polluter and has come under pressure to limit fossil fuels.
Loy Yang A emitted 16.6 million tonnes of greenhouse gas in 2019-20, according to most recent data. Australia in total emitted 513.4 tonnes during the same period.
The closure is “a major step forward in Australia’s decarbonisation journey”, AGL chief executive Damien Nicks said in a statement to Australia’s stock exchange.
The plant currently supplies a huge chunk of Victoria’s energy.
It was initially scheduled to close by 2048, but that was brought forward by three years in February. The new 2035 deadline comes amid leadership changes at AGL.
Earlier this year, Australian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes became the company’s largest shareholder in a bid to force it to become greener.
Since his election in May, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has committed to a 43% reduction in 2005 emissions by 2030, up from his predecessor’s pledge of 26-28%.
But scientists have criticised the government for continuing to support fossil fuel industries.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate e4very like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our expertsAcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceBreakingNews – Markets up after Bank of England bond-buying pledge according to BBC Business Today
The announcement came after Friday’s mini-budget sparked financial market turmoil and the pound plunged: Investors also demanded higher returns on government bonds, or “gilts,” causing some to slide in value.
Speaking in New York on Wednesday, new UK trade secretary Kemi Badenoch defended the government’s economic policies.
However, gains early in the trading day tapered off towards the close with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index ending 0.9% higher, Australia’s ASX 200 up by 1.4% and the Kospi in South Korea less than 0.1% higher.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng reversed earlier gains to trade 0.8% lower.
That came after New York’s main stock indexes rebounded from a six-day losing streak to end Wednesday’s trading day around 2% higher.
The pound was down by around 1% at below $1.08, after earlier making strong gains on Wednesday after the Bank of England’s bond-buying announcement.
The currency hit a record low on Monday after chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled plans to tax cuts, funded by borrowing, in a push to boost economic growth.
Analysts said the Bank’s pledge to buy government bonds at an “urgent pace” to help restore “orderly market conditions” had helped to calm market volatility.
“The Bank of England’s intervention has supported market optimism,” Jun Bei Liu, portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners in Sydney, told the BBC.
“It reversed a previous view of the UK going into a hard landing and debt spiralling out of control,” she said.
Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at online trading platform IG, said the move had “provided some much-needed relief to recent market jitters.”
In New York, the UK’s international trade secretary used her first visit to the US since taking the role to try to shore upk investor confidence.
“You would by now have heard the Bank of England is taking short-term measures to provide stability, as is their job,” Ms Badenoch said.
“And we must look at all of this in the context of the fundamentals, which are that the UK economy is strong and we have a plan, a growth plan to cut taxes, promote enterprise, and cut red tape for business,” she added.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceNewsDesk – Queensland will be home to the world’s “largest” pumped hydro scheme and stop “regular reliance” on coal by 2035, under a $62 billion energy plan announced by the Palaszczuk government.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced her government’s Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan.(AAP: Russell Freeman)none
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk unveiled the state government’s new 10-year energy plan, which she said was estimated to support nearly 100,000 jobs by 2040, in her CEDA State of the State address.
She also said the state government’s new renewable energy targets — of 70 per cent by 2032 and 80 per cent by 2035 — will be legislated, and Queensland’s coal-fired powers stations will progressively become “clean energy hubs”.
“We must invest now. Not just for our climate,” she said.
“We must address this issue at the same time we focus on new job opportunities to bring everyone along with the clean energy industrial revolution at our doorstep.”
The $62 billion of investment up to 2035 would be between the public and private sectors, Ms Palaszczuk said, including a “new down payment [today] of $4 billion committed by our government over the next four years”.
The government said “just over half” of the $34 billion funding for the new power generation was expected to come from the state government.
“This will be factored into our borrowings and the modelling supports us,” she added.
Ms Palaszczuk said the Queensland government would like to see contributions from the federal government, especially on the hydro projects.
“We’ll be having detailed conversations with our colleagues, but my conversations with the prime minister are encouraging,” she said.
“Then, of course, looking at partnerships with the private sector.”
Project ‘bigger than Snowy Hydro’
The energy plan includes two pumped hydros by 2035: the first at Borumba Dam, and a second site, announced today, situated 70 kilometres west of Mackay.
Known as the Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project, Ms. Palaszczuk said “I prefer to call it the battery of the north”.
“It will be the largest pumped hydro energy storage in the world, with 5 gigawatts of 24-hour storage and the potential for stage 1 to be completed by 2032,” she said.
“I would like you to picture that these combined projects would position Queensland’s hydro storage as a percentage energy use above Europe, China or the US.
“These are projects of national significance on a scale not seen since the construction of Snowy Hydro — bigger than Snowy Hydro.”
She also said there would be a new transmission “super grid” to connect renewable storage with established regional centres.
Currently about 21.4 per cent of electricity used in the state comes from renewables.
Ms Palaszczuk said the state could not reach net zero without storing renewable energy to make it reliable.
“And with climate change there will be more unseasonal rain and other weather events that impact on the reliability of renewables,” she said.
“These events can last for days — current battery technologies can’t at scale.
“That’s why more pumped hydro energy storage is needed.”
Both sites will be subject to environmental assessments.
Coal-fired power stations to become clean energy hubs
The state government will build transmission and training hubs in Gladstone and Townsville to support 570 workers each year.(ABC News: Christoper Gillette )none
Ms Palaszczuk said existing coal-fired power stations would gradually become clean energy hubs from 2027.
“Infrastructure at the clean energy hubs will include: continuing to use the large spinning turbines at the power stations to provide strength for the energy system to take more renewables; grid scale batteries; gas and then later hydrogen power stations; and maintenance hubs for nearby government-owned renewable wind and solar farms,” she said.
“That means that these energy hubs will continue to contribute to regional economies.”
She said the government would not convert coal power stations “until there is a replacement firmed generation”.Ms Palaszczuk says existing coal-fired power stations will gradually become clean energy hubs from 2027.(ABC News)none
Ms Palaszczuk also announced there would be an “energy workers charter and jobs security guarantee”,to ensure workers have the opportunity to continue their careers with publicly-owned energy businesses or elsewhere.
The government signed the charter this afternoon.
“The jobs security guarantee will be backed by a $150 million funding commitment,” she said.
“The guarantee will support workers with access to reskilling, transfer to new opportunities and advice on future career pathways.
She said these pathways could include work on the new super grid, jobs in maintenance hubs for renewables, and building and deploying flow battery technologies.
The state government would build transmission and training hubs in Gladstone and Townsville “that will support 570 workers each year”.
Ms Palaszczuk said modelling by Ernst and Young estimated that overall, the government’s energy and jobs plan “will support nearly 100,000 more jobs”.
The government also said its plan would deliver a 50 per cent reduction in electricity sector emissions on 2005 levels by 2030 and a 90 per cent reduction by 2035-36.
‘Enormous opportunities in the resources sector
Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane has welcomed the initiative but noted there were serious challenges associated with its implementation.
“The plan provides enormous opportunities in the resources sector in Queensland, both in producing metallurgical or steelmaking coal to build the structures for the wind farms, the aluminium for the solar panels, and the copper for the power lines,” Mr Macfarlane said.
“But it does come with some risk — we need to ensure that the transition is one that is managed very tightly, that power remains reliable and affordable, and that we have the investors internationally who want to come in behind this plan.
“Obviously, investor confidence has been shaken very badly by the sudden increase in royalties in Queensland and to get investors in here will be one of the challenges in terms of ensuring that renewable energy structures are opened.”Ian Macfarlane welcomes the initiative but noted there are serious challenges associated with its implementation.(Supplied: QRC)none
Mr Macfarlane said he had reservations over how the plan would be funded.
“Anything is achievable at a cost and cost will be the big issue — you can build anything, but it’s the price that household consumers and industry consumers will have to pay that will be the question.
“If the transition causes the lights to go out, or for power to escalate in price like it is in Europe, then Queenslanders will lose their jobs and not be able to pay their power bills at home.”
Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thornton said he doubted the state government would have any issues in attracting funding for the plan.
“The Queensland government is in a very strong and attractive position in terms of their ownership of a lot of parts of the energy infrastructure here in Queensland,” Mr Thornton said.
“That allows them to be able to attract investment and put in some funding commitment as the government has put on the table today.
“Private sector investors are enthusiastic to invest in clean energy — it’s the lowest cost form of investment.”
‘A great step towards decarbonising our electricity grid’
Ariane Wilkinson, Great Barrier Reef program manager for the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Australia, said the announcement demonstrated it was never too late to take climate action.
“In terms of climate damage, there’s a lot of damage that’s been done that can’t be reversed,” Ms Wilkinson said.
“But the reality is that there’s so much that can be saved, and so much about our way of life that can be protected, and this is a really good step to keep emissions down, protect our way of life, and stop further climate damage that will occur with a continued reliance on polluting fossil fuels.
“This is certainly going to protect Queensland, particularly the Great Barrier Reef, and it’s a great step towards decarbonising our electricity grid.”
Maggie McKeown, climate and energy campaigner with Queensland Conservation Council, welcomed the plan, but urged the state government to continue networking with stakeholders.
“The key to a plan like this is ongoing community and expert consultation,” Ms McKeown said.
“Every year more Queenslanders want greater climate action — we hope that the government will be able to consult closely with community and experts over the next 10 years.
“This marks a major turning point for the Queensland government and is going to leave behind uncertainty and unlock a major pathway to renewable energy and replacing the majority of our coal-fired power stations by 2035.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceBreakingNews – Energy Bills: Householders urged to read meters before October price rise: This will stop suppliers from from estimating usage and charging a higher rate for energy used before 1 October: From next month, the price cap for the average annual household energy bill will rise from £1,971 to £2,500 – an increase of 27%.
By Marita Moloney BBC News
The cap, frozen by the government, determines the cost per unit, but bills are calculated by how much energy is used: The government announced the energy price cap would be frozen until 2024, to limit soaring energy costs.
It means that bills for an average household – one that uses 12,000 kWh (kilowatt hours) of gas a year, and 2,900 kWh of electricity a year – will not rise above £2,500…………………However, if you use more gas or electricity than that, you will pay more.
Energy UK, the industry body, said customers should check the best way to submit their meter readings before 1 October.
Most suppliers will allow for a few days on either side of that date to send their readings without penalizing people in light of the “unprecedented” situation.
It added that high call volumes and website traffic were expected, and service providers had offered numerous channels for people to submit their readings.
“This week, every household across the UK must make sure it submits a meter reading to their energy firm to avoid paying a penny more than they absolutely have to when prices go up on 1 October,” said Energy Action Scotland boss Frazer Scott.
“Fuel poverty is at record levels, levels of energy efficiency improvements are simply too low to provide respite and financial support is just a sticking plaster on the deepest of wounds.”
Every household in the UK will receive a one-off £400 fuel bill discountfrom next month. This will be paid directly to customers’ energy accounts over six months in instalments of £66 and £67.
A first instalment of £326 has already been paid to low-income households on certain benefits and tax credits.
On Tuesday, energy regular Ofgem published a review which found that most energy suppliers need to improve how they help struggling customers pay their bills.
Campaigners have warned millions of people will still face fuel poverty this winter – meaning a household spends 10% or more of its income on energy.
Citizens Advice recommends that customers who are not able to pay their bills should contact their supplier directly and offer to come up with a payment plan.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of the external site or for any reports, posts, or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all WordPress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceBreakingNews – Major intervention from the UK’s central bank comes hard on the heels of controversial ‘mini-budget’ that pitched debt-funded tax cuts according to local media news
The Bank of England will buy up U.K. government bonds to try to halt a dramatic sell-off as it warned of a “material risk to UK financial stability” in the wake of the government’s mini-budget.
The central bank said that it would today start buying long-dated government bonds at “whatever scale is necessary” in a bid to “restore orderly market conditions.”
“The Bank is monitoring developments in financial markets very closely in light of the significant repricing of UK and global financial assets,” it said in a statement.
“This repricing has become more significant in the past day — and it is particularly affecting long-dated UK government debt. Were dysfunction in this market to continue or worsen, there would be a material risk to UK financial stability.”
The BoE described the purchases of the U.K. government debt, known as gilts, as “temporary and targeted” but said they would take place at an “urgent pace” until October 14.
The Bank also decided to delay sales of its own portfolio of gilts built up under its quantitative easing program since the 2008 financial crisis.
The sales were due to start next week but will now be postponed until October 31.
The intervention comes after the cost of U.K. government borrowing spiked dramatically and surpassed rates paid by Italy and Greece.
The yield on the 30-year benchmark gilt slid around 30 basis points on the news from above 5 percent to 4.77 percent.
U.K. Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s plan for debt-funded tax cuts — unveiled without the usual scrutiny from independent fiscal watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility — has also led to a plunge in the pound and sparked criticism from the International Monetary Fund.
The Treasury said in a statement that the Bank of England was responding to “a risk from recent dysfunction in gilt markets.”
” These purchases will be strictly time limited, and completed in the next two weeks. To enable the Bank to conduct this financial stability intervention, this operation has been fully indemnified by HM Treasury,” it said.
Amid turmoil in the markets, Conservative MPs expressed anger at the plan unveiled by Kwarteng last Friday, which comes on top of a multibillion pound program of state subsidies to cap soaring energy costs for businesses and consumers.
One MP said of new Prime Minister Liz Truss that the “least bad option at this point would be to fire Kwasi.”
And they added: “Her fate is sealed. But this is her best hope of avoiding total catastrophe.”
The opposition Labour Party meanwhile seized on the BoE’s intervention, with Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves saying: “The chancellor must make an urgent statement on how he is going to fix the crisis that he has made.”
Capital Economics said that the bank’s steps show “it is going to do all it can to prevent a financial crisis” but hat U.K. markets are “in a perilous position.”
“It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if another problem in the financial markets popped up before long,” the research consultancy said in a note.
“Either way, the downside risks to economic growth are growing. And the chancellor’s 2.5 percent real GDP growth target is looking even more unachievable.”
Kwarteng has promised more detail on his fiscal plan in the coming weeks, including independent costings from the OBR and a host of supply-side reforms.
Yet as allies of Truss — who won the Tory leadership on a tax-cutting, deregulatory agenda — clashed with the IMF, former Tory Chancellor George Osborne noted: “Odd to see free marketeers urging a free market government to ignore the markets.”
Eleni Courea and Matt Honeycombe-Foster contributed reporting.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of the external site or any reports, posts, or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all WordPress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceBreakingNews – Kwon’s Terraform Labs ecosystem suffered a $60 billion wipeout Prosecutors in his native South Korea sought his detention according to Bloomberg News by Sangmi Cha26 September 2022, 09:10 BST
Bloomberg News Do Kwon in Seoul in April.Photographer: Woohae Cho/Bloomberg
South Korea said Interpol requested law enforcement worldwide to locate and arrest Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, who faces charges related to the $60 billion wipeout of cryptocurrencies he created.
Prosecutors in Seoul said Monday in a text message that the international police organization has issued a Red Notice for Kwon, the latest inglorious chapter of a $2 trillion rout in digital assets that exposed hugely risky practices. Neither Interpol, Kwon nor Terraform Labs immediately replied to emails seeking comment.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceBreakingNews – Rishi Sunak could be forgiven for saying ‘I told you so as the pound tanks and fears grow about the British economyaccording to Metro UK by Harrison JonesMonday 26 Sep 2022 2:53 pm
The former Chancellor warned that Liz Truss’ policies could spell trouble for the British economy (Picture: AFP/EPA/Metro.co.uk)
The former Chancellor repeatedly warned that his rival Liz Truss’ plans would do major economic damage during the contest to become Britain’s next prime minister.
Now, after Boris Johnson’s finance chief was defeated in a vote among Tory members, many experts believe his forecasts have been proven right.
Mr Sunak stressed on numerous occasions his opposition to Ms Truss’ ‘fairy tale’ plans to fund a series of tax cuts through borrowing, suggesting the move would add ‘fuel to the fire’ and worsen inflation.
Politics Home’s political editor Adam Payne claimed earlier today that a Spectator article outlining Mr Sunak’s concerns little more than three weeks ago has now been ‘doing the rounds’ among jittery Conservative MPs.
‘This piece from August, which accused Sunak of “desperate” warnings about what Truss policies could do to the £, is doing the rounds among Conservative MPs’, he tweeted.
Mr Payne quoted a Tory source as saying: ‘Those who only backed Liz for their career are quickly realising the consequences of their actions’.
Rishi Sunak criticised Liz Truss over economic policies during leadership race
Ridiculing the former Chancellor’s position, Spectator journalist Matthew Lynn had written: ‘There will be a run on sterling. The gilts market will be in freefall. And the FTSE will tumble as global investors take fright and sell off every form of British asset… That is, at least, according to the former Chancellor Rishi Sunak.’
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Sunak also aired concerns about an increased cost of borrowing under his rival’s plans – which has also materialised.
Already, there are rumours that letters of no confidence are going in against Ms Truss, who is only three weeks into the job – as MPs, like investors, take fright.
In one of his many warnings about the future PM’s plans, Mr Sunak told a televised debate in early August: ‘We in the Conservative Party need to get real and fast – because the lights on the economy are flashing red and the root cause is inflation.
This piece from August, which accused Sunak of âdesperateâ warnings about what Truss policies could do to the £, is doing the rounds among Conservative MPs, Iâm told. Tory source: “Those who only backed Liz for their career are quickly realising the consequences of their actionsâpic.twitter.com/Je9BRlMKRI
‘I’m worried that Liz Truss’s plans will make the situation worse.’
He underlined his belief that the country needed to first get a grip on inflation before cutting taxes, adding: ‘It all starts with not making the situation worse.
‘Because if we just put fuel on the fire of this inflation spiral, all of us, all of you, are just going to end up with higher mortgage rates, savings and pensions that are eaten away, and misery for millions.
‘It’s not the tax burden that is causing the recession. That’s simply wrong. What’s causing the recession is inflation.
‘So what I’m not going to do is embark on a borrowing spree worth tens of billions of pounds, put that on the country’s credit card, ask our kids and our grandkids to pick up the tab because that’s not right.
‘That’s not responsible.’
Meanwhile, Downing Street has signalled that it will push ahead with its massive package of tax cuts even as the pound plunged and market confidence in the Government’s economic plans took a hammering.
Neither Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng nor Ms Truss are currently expected to publicly address the major market shift, with the Prime Minister’s official spokesman telling reporters earlier that Downing Street would not be commenting on market fluctuations.
But at the weekend Mr Kwarteng appeared to double down on the plan to cut taxes.
Elsewhere, financial markets have been dominated by speculation that the Bank of England may need to increase rates by as much as one percentage point to 3.25% to steady the falling pound, – less than a week after a rate rise to 2.25% and before its next scheduled meeting in November.
Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves accused Mr Kwarteng and Ms Truss of recklessly gambling with the UK’s finances.
She told Times Radio: ‘Instead of blaming everybody else, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister, instead of behaving like two gamblers in a casino chasing a losing run, they should be mindful of the reaction not just on the financial markets but also of the public.
‘They’re not gambling with their own money, they’re gambling with all our money, and it’s reckless and it’s irresponsible as well as being grossly unfair.’
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
There are also concerns that the government’s plans to cut taxes and borrow billions will stoke high inflation and force the Bank of England to raise interest rates even further.
This would raise monthly mortgage costs for millions of homeowners.
While worries about the UK economy have hit the pound, its value has also been under pressure due to the strength of the dollar.
Other currencies have been falling against the dollar, and the euro touched a fresh 20-year-low against the US currency amid concerns about the risk of recession.
Last week, the Bank raised interest rates by half a percentage point to 2.25% to try to calm inflation, which is at a 40-year high of 9.9%. The rate increase was the seventh in a row and took rates to the highest in 14 years.
However, some economists have speculated that the Bank may call an emergency meeting as soon as this week to hike interest rates again. The Bank of England declined to comment.Market-watchers now forecast that interest rates could reach 5.5% or even higher by next spring.Why the falling pound mattersInvestors all around the world trade huge amounts of foreign currency every day. The rate at which investors swap currencies also determines what rate people get at the bank, post office or foreign exchanges.Many people don’t think about exchange rates until it’s time to swap money for a foreign holiday. When you travel abroad, things will be more expensive if the pound buys less of the local currency.However, a fall in the pound affects household finances too.If the pound is worth less, the cost of importing goods from overseas goes up.For example, as oil is priced in dollars a weak pound can make filling up your car with petrol more expensive. Gas is also priced in dollars.Technology goods, like iPhones, that are made abroad, may get more expensive in UK shops. Even things that are made in the UK but from parts that are bought abroad can get much more expensive.Commenting on the likelihood the Bank of England could raise rates before its scheduled meeting in November, former Bank deputy governor Sir John Gieve told the BBC: “I’m sure they very much don’t want to do that… because that is a sign of pressure.”
” Emergency meetings are avoided if at all possible and I am sure they will try to avoid it.”
On Monday, the cost of UK government borrowing surged again, and by some measures reached the highest level since 2008 during the financial crisis. At the weekend, Mr Kwarteng said there was “more to come” in terms of tax cuts after announcing a massive shake-up of taxes on Friday during a “mini-budget” to boost economic growth.Under the plans, which he hailed a “new era” for the economy, income tax and the stamp duty on home purchases will be cut and planned rises in corporation taxes have been scrapped. As well as outlining £45bn in tax cuts, the government confirmed it would spend £60bn for the first six months of its scheme to subsidise rising energy bills for households and businesses.
But that cost is expected to rise as the scheme to support households will last for two years.Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves described the fall in sterling as “incredibly concerning”.
” We need to hear from the chancellor his plans to get a grip on the public finances because that is what is giving real concern to market traders” and “working people”, she added.The Treasury refused to publish a forecast by independent watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility on Friday on the UK’s economic outlook as well as future borrowing and debt. BBC political editor Chris Mason said that while ministers were not saying anything publicly: “The impression I am left with is they want to ride this out. They hope it is short-term volatility. “However, he said one Conservative MP told him: “
” This is very worrying. All the wheels could come off.”
PA Media: Brewers say the fall in the pound is “worrying” for the UK beer industrySome investors think the Bank of England could act as soon as Monday to halt the pound’s slide.”To stop the bleeding even temporarily, the Bank of England may well enter ‘whatever it takes’ territory to bring inflation down. An emergency meeting rate hike could happen as soon as this week to regain credibility in the market. We could even see a hike today,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.Paul Davies, chief executive at Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company, said the fall in the pound was “worrying” for the British beer industry, which imports hops from overseas.
He said: “Many of the hops used in this country are actually imported and a lot of them, particularly for craft brewers, are imported from the US, so changes in currency is actually worrying for industry.
” Then of course people drink a lot of imported beers from Europe, and the euro vs the pound is also something we’re watching very closely at the moment.”
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
#AceBreakingNews – Boeing is to pay out $200m (£177.5m) over charges that it misled investors about two fatal 737 Max crashes.
By Monica Miller Business reporter
The US stock market regulator said the aviation giant and its former chief executive Dennis Muilenburg made false statements about safety issues.
Boeing “put profits over people” in an effort to rehabilitate its image, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The 737 Max was grounded for 20 months after two crashes killed 346 people.
As part of the settlement Mr Muilenburg will also pay a penalty of $1m.
“In times of crisis and tragedy, it is especially important that public companies and executives provide full, fair, and truthful disclosures to the markets,” SEC chairman Gary Gensler said in a statement.
Boeing and Mr Muilenburg “failed in this most basic obligation,” he added.
The SEC’s statement also said that both Boeing and Mr Muilenburg did not admit or deny the regulator’s findings.
“We will never forget those lost on Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, and we have made broad and deep changes across our company in response to those accidents,” Boeing said in response to the SEC’s announcement.
“Fundamental changes that have strengthened our safety processes and oversight of safety issues, and have enhanced our culture of safety, quality, and transparency,” the company added.
The SEC said a fund will be established for investors who suffered losses due to the misleading information between 2018 and 2019.
Paul Njoroge says his family died because of Boeing’s “negligence”#AceNewsDesk report ………..Published: Sept.23: 2022:
#AceBreakingNews – US Federal Reserve warns conquering inflation will mean more interest rate hikes after announcing third 0.75pc rise in a row
Mr Powell says the Fed will “keep at it until the job is done”. (AP: Jacquelyn Martin)none
The forceful stance has raised fears of a recession in the US, with Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell warning the process of conquering inflation will involve some pain.
It was the third consecutive increase of 0.75 per cent by the Fed’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which is working to put a lid on inflation that has surged to its highest level in 40 years.
The interest rate increase — the fifth one this year — took the policy rate to 3-3.25 per cent.
The FOMC said it anticipated “ongoing increases … will be appropriate”.
Soaring prices have put the squeeze on American families and businesses.
They have also become a political liability for US President Joe Biden, with mid-term congressional elections in early November.
But a contraction of the world’s largest economy would be a more damaging blow to Mr Biden and the world at large.
Mr Powell has made it clear that officials will continue to act aggressively to cool the economy and avoid a repeat of the 1970s and early 1980s, the last time US inflation got out of control.
It took tough action — and a recession — to finally bring prices down in the 1980s, and the Fed is unwilling to give up its hard-won, inflation-fighting credibility.
Mr Powell said the US central bank was committed to raising interest rates and keeping them high until inflation came down, and he warned against reversing course too soon.
“The historical record cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy,” Mr Powell said.
He said there was no room for complacency and the Fed would “keep at it until the job is done”.
But he said at some point it would be appropriate to slow the pace of rate increases, depending on the data.
‘I wish there was a painless way’
Mr Powell acknowledged bringing inflation down would require a period of slower growth and higher unemployment, noting the job market was out of sync, with far more vacant positions than workers.
“We have got to get inflation behind us,” he said.
“I wish there were a painless way to do that. There isn’t.”Jerome Powell says there is no time for complacency, warning of more “pain” to come.(AP: Jacquelyn Martin )none
However, he said continued high inflation would be even more painful, especially to those least able to withstand it.
The Fed’s quarterly forecasts released with the rate decision show FOMC members expect US GDP growth to virtually flatline this year, rising just 0.2 per cent.
But they see a return to expansion in 2023, with annual growth of 1.2 per cent.
They project further rate hikes this year — totalling 1.25 percentage points — and more in 2023, with no cuts until 2024.
While the FOMC noted continued “robust” job gains in recent months and low unemployment, the jobless rate was forecast to rise to 4.4 per cent next year and hold around that level through 2025.
The FOMC statement noted the “broader price pressures” beyond food and energy, and stressed that officials were “strongly committed to returning inflation to its 2 per cent objective”.
The aim is to raise the cost of borrowing and cool demand, and it is having an impact: The housing market has slowed as mortgage rates have surged.
Many economists said at least a short period of negative US GDP in the first half of 2023 would be needed before inflation started coming down.
Nancy Vanden Houten of Oxford Economics said the updated Fed forecasts acknowledged “the toll that higher rates will take on the economy”, but said: “Their projections are more optimistic than our own.”
Stocks on Wall Street turned negative following the announcement, while the US dollar soared to a 20-year high.
Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links, and can also be found here on Telegram: https://t.me/acenewsdaily and all wordpress and live posts and links here: https://acenewsroom.wordpress.com/and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and free help and guidance tips on your PC software or need help & guidance from our experts AcePCHelp.WordPress.Com
