AGL 38.35 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.34%)
AIRLINK 136.35 Increased By ▲ 7.38 (5.72%)
BOP 8.65 Increased By ▲ 0.80 (10.19%)
CNERGY 4.75 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (1.93%)
DCL 8.60 Increased By ▲ 0.28 (3.37%)
DFML 38.99 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.13%)
DGKC 84.60 Increased By ▲ 2.66 (3.25%)
FCCL 34.52 Increased By ▲ 1.10 (3.29%)
FFBL 76.20 Increased By ▲ 0.49 (0.65%)
FFL 12.87 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.39%)
HUBC 110.70 Increased By ▲ 0.34 (0.31%)
HUMNL 13.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-0.79%)
KEL 5.36 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (4.08%)
KOSM 7.77 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1.3%)
MLCF 41.35 Increased By ▲ 1.55 (3.89%)
NBP 70.75 Decreased By ▼ -1.57 (-2.17%)
OGDC 190.25 Increased By ▲ 1.96 (1.04%)
PAEL 26.12 Increased By ▲ 0.49 (1.91%)
PIBTL 7.43 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.81%)
PPL 156.50 Increased By ▲ 3.83 (2.51%)
PRL 25.81 Increased By ▲ 0.42 (1.65%)
PTC 18.90 Increased By ▲ 1.20 (6.78%)
SEARL 82.42 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
TELE 7.82 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (3.03%)
TOMCL 34.51 Increased By ▲ 1.94 (5.96%)
TPLP 8.43 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.12%)
TREET 17.25 Increased By ▲ 0.47 (2.8%)
TRG 56.90 Increased By ▲ 0.86 (1.53%)
UNITY 29.01 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (0.8%)
WTL 1.35 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 10,698 Increased By 39.8 (0.37%)
BR30 31,818 Increased By 487.1 (1.55%)
KSE100 99,559 Increased By 289.8 (0.29%)
KSE30 30,976 Decreased By -56.3 (-0.18%)

British ministers and treasury officials are considering an emergency package of tax cuts and public spending, the Financial Times reported on Saturday, but a government spokesman termed it mere speculation. The newspaper, which did not cite any sources for the report, said the measures have not been finalised, but may be included in a pre-budget report later this month.
"This is typical pre-budget report speculation. Clearly tax is a matter for the chancellor as part of the pre-budget report and a date for that hasn't even been set yet," a treasury spokesman said. The article quoted Prime Minister Gordon Brown as saying on Friday that there was an emerging consensus throughout the world that fiscal policy should be used to support growth.
The FT report appeared after US President-elect Barack Obama called on Friday for urgent passage of a US stimulus package to reinvigorate a faltering economy. On Thursday, the Bank of England made a shock 1.5 percentage point cut in interest rates to 3 percent, the lowest level in more than half a century, as it sought to prevent Britain from sliding into a deep recession. The Bank made the biggest interest rate cut since the 1981 downturn, saying it was needed because the economic outlook had got a lot worse and drastic action was needed.
The British economy shrank for the first time in 16 years in the third quarter and most economists expect further contraction through next year and only a small recovery in 2010, when Brown must call an election. The FT quoted an expert as saying that any UK stimulus package would have to be worth around 15 billion pounds ($23.54 billion), or 1 percent of national income, to have much effect.

Copyright Reuters, 2008

Comments

Comments are closed.