New UK finance minister slashes taxes
STORY: Kwarteng scrapped the country's top rate of income tax and for the first time put a price tag on the spending plans of Prime Minister Liz Truss, who wants to double Britain's rate of economic growth.
Investors unloaded short-dated British government bonds as fast as they could, with 2-year gilts on track for their biggest one-day fall since at least 2009, as Britain raised its debt issuance plans for the current financial year by 72.4 billion pounds ($81 billion).
Support for household energy bills announced by Truss will cost 60 billion pounds for the next six months, Kwarteng said. Tax cuts would cost a further 45 billion pounds, he said.
The pound fell to a new 37-year low against the dollar of $1.1148 as Kwarteng updated parliament.
