UK finance minister Hammond being quizzed by lawmakers 11 Oct
- IMF growth f/casts reflects how we are being affected by Brexit uncertainty
- have to be prepared for a no-deal outcome even though that is not our preferred position
- will make allocations but won't be spending taxpayers money until the outcome is known
- uncertainty needs to be removed asap
- need to determine what is a realistic worst case scenario that we can plan for
Hammond has been quite vocal lately about refusing to budget yet for a no-deal decision. We will learn more in his November budget statement.
The Treasury Select Committee currently firing off a range of questions and Hammond will be grilled for a while yet.
- UK has fundamental problem with productivity
- looking at different path to productivity growth
That's in response to the OBR report I posted yesterday that cut productivity growth f/casts.
Watch the TSC session live here (Please, and save my typing fingers !)
GBPUSD 1.3197 after a dip from 1.3210 with EURGBP down to 0.8960 again as EURUSD fails into 1.1850