So, no Black Friday. The pound is steady, the FTSE100 up 1.5 per cent, the FTSE250 up more than 3 per cent. Just as fears grew that the end of the Bank of England’s gilt-buying programme could send pension funds to the brink and precipitate a fresh market crisis, the opposite happens: markets embark on a rebound.
It won’t necessarily last, of course. The long, miserable decline of stock markets and gilt markets this year has been punctuated, as ever, by periods of optimism, only for a fresh slide to begin. But for the moment it seems as if the big story that is driving markets is the expectation that Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget will see more U-turns – possibly as early as today – or even be dumped altogether. The Chancellor flew back early from an IMF meeting in Washington, catching the last plane to London. That hints that some announcement will be made today.
The trouble is that a major U-turn on tax cuts is now built into market expectations
The trouble is that a major U-turn on tax cuts is now built into market expectations.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in