UK government bonds (gilts) gained as some investors expected Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey to preserve Britain's fiscal rules in his October 28 budget. Healey has pledged to follow those rules while keeping a margin for uncertainty. Investors are watching upcoming UK labour-market, inflation, borrowing and retail sales data, along with the Office for Budget Responsibility's new forecast due on budget day. A Press Association review said a higher 2026-27 borrowing forecast could reduce Healey's room to respond to economic risks, while rate-market trading suggests a Bank of England cut at its November meeting is unlikely.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on econotimes.com ↗
Keywords
GBPUSDbondsbudgetUKinterest rates
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related tickers and likely impact
GBP/USD
▲ Likely positiveRelevance: low
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/16/2026 | 1.33306 |
| Change that session | +0.41% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- Healey plots Budget raid on family businesses
According to the Telegraph, Chancellor John Healey is considering taxing business owners' income when they pass companies to their children, a change that could nearly double their tax bill. Currently, some transfers are structured to attract capital gains tax at 24 per cent rather than income tax at 45 per cent, and the plan would close this route. Accountants warn it could push many family businesses toward 'extinction' and deter new firms. The move comes ahead of Healey's first Budget on 28 October, which faces a £35bn black hole flagged by the IFS, while headroom that stood at £23.6bn in March has shrunk. He is also reportedly targeting high-street banks and a new gambling machine tax expected to raise £500m, but has reportedly ruled out aligning CGT with income tax after investor concerns.
- Economic data spotlight : united kingdom inflation set to climb as BOE rate hike and autumn budget collide
- Banks poised to post colossal profits buoyed by higher interest rates
The UK's big four banks, Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays and HSBC, made pre-tax profits of £29 billion in the first six months of 2026, up more than a fifth year on year, as higher-for-longer rates widened their margins. Chancellor John Healey is reportedly considering a £7 billion windfall tax on lenders in his first Budget on October 28, after the banks were spared under predecessor Rachel Reeves. The simplest option, restoring the bank surcharge to 8% from 3%, would raise about £2 billion, but UK Finance warns it could cost the economy nearly £20 billion over ten years. The IPPR think-tank proposes changing how the Treasury accounts for losses on banks' QE reserves, which it says could save at least £5 billion a year by the end of the decade.
- Andy Burnham confirms three plans for state pension under his premiership
Andy Burnham has confirmed three changes to the state pension under his premiership, alongside Chancellor John Healey. The triple lock will stay until April 2030, after which the pension would rise by the higher of inflation or 2.5%, ending the link to average earnings. The government says the savings will fund a new National Care Service for older people, and that the pension will still hold its value relative to earnings over time. State pension age, currently 66, is set to rise gradually to 67, with a further increase to 68 planned. Healey will also honour the promise that people whose only income is the State Pension will not pay tax, though Martin Lewis has questioned whether this could create a cliff edge, and the changes still need new legislation.
- Andy Burnham and John Healey plot huge tax hike - how it could hit you
Chancellor John Healey is reportedly considering raising the surcharge on bank profits above £100million from 3% to 8% at the upcoming Budget, reversing a cut introduced in April 2023 under Jeremy Hunt. The change could raise some £2billion for the Exchequer, but banks warn it could inflict a £20 billion hit on the economy. Lenders may try to recoup the cost by raising mortgage rates and cutting savings rates, though that risks losing customers to rivals. Conservative and City groups say the tax would stifle investment and harm Britain's competitiveness, while the TUC backs it and estimates it would raise £2.25billion a year. The Treasury said decisions on tax are for the Chancellor to announce at fiscal events.
- Andy Burnham urged to U - turn on hated farm inheritance tax raid in Budget
Farmers have urged UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham to fully scrap the inheritance tax on farms introduced under Sir Keir Starmer's government, warning it threatens family farms. The threshold was raised to £2.5 million (£5 million for married couples) after a backlash, but farmers say tax bills can force families to sell land and make farms unviable. Sandy Wade-Gery, 76, whose Bedfordshire farm has been in his family since 1536, fears his son may be the last to keep it unless the tax is abolished. The Countryside Alliance and NFU also oppose the tax, while the Conservatives and Reform UK have pledged to reverse the changes if they win the next election. Further changes are speculated for next week's budget as Mr Burnham seeks to repair ties with farmers.
Related markets
Latest news
- Saudi Arabia postpones big investor conference to 2027 as Iran-backed Houthis escalate attacks on kingdom
Saudi Arabia has postponed its major annual investor conference until 2027 as Iran-backed Houthi militants escalate missile and drone attacks on the kingdom. The Future Investment Initiative had been scheduled for Riyadh from October 26 to 29. The decision follows a Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10, which left at least 12 people dead and more than 300 injured. Organizers said in an email that new dates will be announced soon.
- Russia fires mysterious weapon at Kyiv, shockwaves spread; President Putin appears in rare image, drawing global attention
On the night of 18 Oct, Russia launched a coordinated strike on multiple Ukrainian targets using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and Geran UAVs, focused on Kyiv. According to TST, around 10 ballistic missiles of the Iskander-M, S-400 or KN-23 types may have been used in the first wave; an above-ground metro station on Kyiv's left bank was reported damaged, disrupting rail and metro services, and videos of blue flashes led observers to suspect a new weapon. In western Ukraine, a 330 kV transformer station near Kovel may have been targeted. Meanwhile, Putin, who rarely appears in military uniform, visited a command post and stressed establishing a “security zone” along the border; blogger Yuri Podolyaka argued Moscow no longer treats these areas as bargaining chips. Front-line correspondent Alexander Kots said the part of Donetsk still controlled by Ukraine is just over 2,700 km².
- Semiconductor Sell-Off: 5 Stocks to Buy on the Dip
The article attributes the semiconductor selloff to investor doubts about the durability of AI infrastructure spending, even as cloud companies report strong demand for AI chips. It highlights five stocks: Nvidia (forward P/E just above 13.5 on fiscal 2028 estimates), Broadcom (custom AI chips, with that revenue expected to quadruple to $230 billion over two years; forward P/E of 11), AMD (riding inference and agentic AI demand), Cerebras Systems (high risk-reward; the company claims 30 times the inference speed of GPUs) and TSMC (forward P/E of 18 on 2027 estimates).
- Tom Lee’s Bitmine Adds $30 Million in Ethereum as Buying Nears Its Finish Line
Bitmine bought another 12,535 ETH (about $30 million), lifting its holdings to 6,041,481 ETH, or 4.9% of supply and 99% of its 5% target. Chairman Tom Lee blamed the crypto selloff on a broad risk-off shift, including AI funding and safety worries, U.S.-Iran tensions, midterm jitters and rising bond yields, and called the dip a historically attractive risk-reward entry. Total holdings reached $15.1 billion as of Oct. 18, including 215 Bitcoin, $582 million in cash and marketable securities, and other investments. About 84% of its ETH (5,067,309 tokens) is staked via its MAVAN platform, with projected annualized revenue of roughly $309 million. The position is currently underwater on paper because much of it was bought at higher prices.
- Opinion: The Most Important Number in Taiwan Semiconductor's Earnings Report Was 68%
The author argues the most important figure in TSMC's Q3 report is 68%, the share of revenue from high-performance computing (HPC), which grew 22% from the prior quarter. Revenue reached $46.72 billion, up 41.2% year over year, net income rose 68.7%, and gross margin hit 66.4%. Processes at 7nm and below made up 79% of wafer revenue, with 3nm at 33% and 2nm at 8%. TSMC guided Q4 revenue to $52.3–54.3 billion and expects roughly 44% full-year growth in U.S. dollars. The author remains bullish, saying ongoing demand for advanced AI chips should keep profits rising.
- Why Meta's Q3 earnings could be a little hard to interpret
Meta is reporting its third-quarter earnings after the market closes Wednesday, and Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi says the report will be hard to interpret. Recent good news on Meta's AI products, including new models and an AI agent, may not appear directly in the results but will likely be discussed on the earnings call. The key uncertainty is how investors will react if Meta raises its capex outlook again: it could be seen as fueling those products, or as overspending on offerings not yet reflected in financials. Sozzi expects the market to give Meta the benefit of the doubt on higher capex, as long as the increase does not shock investors.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.