Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Holiday Gift Guide
Gift ideas & reviews for this holiday season
Start Browsing
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
You Witness
The Great Debate
Blogs
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
You Witness News
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Brown to borrow heavily to kickstart UK economy
Mon Nov 24, 2008 6:19am EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Matt Falloon and Peter Griffiths
LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown will try to kickstart the stalling British economy on Monday by spending billions of borrowed pounds on tax cuts in a bid to stop a recession turning into a slump.
The package, expected to total up to 20 billion pounds ($30 billion), or more than one percent of gross domestic product, will include extra public spending but will also include a warning taxes will rise later to pay for the boost.
An expected rise in income tax for high earners -- deferred until after the next election -- would be a major policy shift for Brown's Labour government and mark the first time that tax had been raised since 1975.
"Extraordinary times require extraordinary action," Brown told a business conference on Monday.
The package, which finance minister Alistair Darling unveils to parliament at 10:30 a.m. EST, is expected to include a cut in sales tax and help for businesses, low earners and home owners.
The stakes are high: Britain is sliding into recession with house prices slumping, unemployment rising and manufacturing output shrinking.
Although Brown's handling of the financial crisis has lifted his flagging popularity, a poll published on Sunday still showed his Labour Party trailing the opposition Conservatives by 11 points, a wider margin than some other recent surveys.
"They are throwing money at us now to take it back at a later date. That is the real story of this pre-budget report," Conservative leader David Cameron said. "Never in the history of Britain have so many owed so much."
Brown's chances of winning the next election, due by mid-2010, may depend on the recession being relatively short and shallow -- but that is looking increasingly unlikely.
As well as radically increasing his borrowing numbers, Darling will have to slash his economic activity forecasts.
Respected economic forecasters, the National Institute of Social and Economic Research, said on Monday Britain's economy would shrink by 1.5 percent next year and is not expected to start recovering until early 2010.
In March, Darling forecast growth of about 2 percent this year and around 2.5 percent in 2009.
SOARING BUDGET DEFICIT
Labour's spending measures could send Britain's budget deficit ballooning to around 120 billion pounds in the next financial year, forcing them to abandon long-standing rules limiting government borrowing.
Sterling and gilts were little changed in morning trade on Monday as markets waited to see the fine print. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
UPDATE 2-Brown to borrow heavily to kickstart UK economy
Also on Reuters
Vatican forgives John Lennon for Jesus quip
Video
Astronauts finish longest spacewalk
Slideshow
Graffiti artists target Israeli West Bank barrier wall
Editor's Choice
Pictures
Video
Articles
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Cameras
Oddly Enough
Banking blues
Top News: Obama pelted with advice on Iran
Business: Ethanol slump blindsides corn growers
Technology: Tech looks to raise bets on healthcare
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Recommended
U.S. rescues Citi with $20 billion capital | Video
White House says unaware of any Citigroup rescue talks
R&B star Chris Brown sweeps American Music Awards
RPT-GLOBAL MARKETS-Citi rescue fails to dispel all concerns
Boom turns to gloom as crisis hits Dubai
Europe Factors-Shares set to bounce on Citi rescue plan
Citi rescue plan boosts world shares, oil | Video
Chavez leads Venezuela vote, opposition makes gains
Black Friday sales intensify in downturn
WRAPUP 3-U.S. rescues Citi with $20 bln capital, guarantees
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Financial crisis dominates APEC
Astronauts finish longest spacewalk
Stocks volatile as fear persists
Obama's economic stimulus plan
Venezuela votes, with mixed results
Bush pleges new trade push
Whales die in mass stranding
Abbas raises early election question
Thai protesters 'final battle'
U.S. Government bails out Citigroup
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
The Great Debate
Reinforcing what? The EU's role in Eastern Congo
The EU seems to lack the political will for military invention in eastern Congo. But it might still be a force for good if it can muster diplomatic unity and take on some practical short-term commitments in support of UN forces. Commentary
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.