After a choppy week, the pound begins today weaker against the euro and the dollar.
Another U-turn may be on the horizon for the government as new research has revealed that the prime minister’s plans to rise benefits in line with earnings (around 5.5%) instead of with inflation (around 10%), could push an additional 450,000 Britons into poverty. Government Whips were warned that “dozens of tory backbenchers would rebel” against the plans – George Osborne, the former Chancellor warned that the Tories ran the risk of a “total wipe-out at the next election” for conducting what he calls a “political experiment”.
Meanwhile, Europe’s largest energy transporter, France, says it will be able to provide the UK with electricity this winter if supplies come under strain. This follows recent warnings from the national grid saying that Britain could face severely long blackouts (up to three hours with no electricity). The executive director in charge of strategy at the national grid, Thomas Veyrenc emphasised France’s ability to assist the UK, explaining that France and the UK “don’t have their peak times at the same moment”.
In the US, the Federal reserve is expected to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points. This follows news of jobs growth cooling down in September while America’s unemployment rate unexpectedly plummeted.
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