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GlaxoSmithKline said its potential new blockbuster shot for respiratory syncytial virus appears to be more effective than rival Pfizer’s vaccine candidate, as the pair compete for a new market protecting older adults against the common lung infection. In data released on Thursday, GSK said its vaccine showed overall efficacy of 82.6 per cent in a

A sell-off in UK government bonds accelerated on Wednesday, sending long-term borrowing costs higher after the Bank of England reiterated that it will halt its emergency gilt buying scheme as planned on Friday. The central bank said on Wednesday morning that it “has made clear from the outset, its temporary and targeted purchases of gilts

The Bank of England has widened its emergency bond-buying programme to include inflation-linked gilts in its latest attempt to stem “fire sales” by pension funds that have created a “material risk to UK financial stability”. The central bank said on Tuesday it was prepared to buy up to £5bn a day in index-linked UK government

Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities came under sustained missile and rocket attacks on Monday, a day after President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of terrorism over an attack on a bridge linking the occupied Crimean Peninsula with Russia’s Taman region. Several missiles hit downtown Kyiv as loud explosions were heard in the first attack on

US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said the move by Opec+ to cut oil production was “unhelpful and unwise” for the global economy, particularly emerging markets already struggling with high energy prices. The Biden administration has been loudly critical of the decision by the oil cartel backed by Saudi Arabia and Russia this week, which took

An explosion tore through Russia’s bridge across the Kerch Strait to Crimea early on Saturday, severely damaging it in a major blow to Vladimir Putin more than seven months into his invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s anti-terrorist committee said a truck exploded on the bridge’s roadside in the early hours of Saturday morning and caused seven

Millions of British households will be asked to cut back on energy consumption by National Grid this winter, as it warned them to prepare for rolling three-hour blackouts in the “extreme” case of gas shortages and reduced electricity imports from the rest of Europe. But despite the bleak assessment, Liz Truss’s government has resisted mounting

The UK’s largest private-sector pension scheme increased its exposure to debt-fuelled investment strategies earlier this year in spite of warnings the move would bring “significant risks”. The £90bn Universities Superannuation Scheme ploughed more of its members’ assets into leveraged hedging, the strategy that was engulfed by crisis last week after a surge in government bond

Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter for the initially agreed price of $44bn, in a move that could put an end to one of the highest-profile corporate legal battles in decades. The Tesla chief sent a letter to Twitter on Monday night offering to go ahead with the deal, less than two weeks before

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is to accelerate the publication of his plan to cut Britain’s debt in an attempt to reassure markets after he was forced to make a humbling U-turn on a key part of his “mini” Budget. Kwarteng is expected to publish his medium-term fiscal plan, accompanied by official forecasts, later this month after

Prime minister Liz Truss has said that “Britain’s economy needs a reset” and pledged to prioritise “aspiration, enterprise and growth” as the Conservative party prepares to gather for its annual conference in the wake of a week of market turmoil. MPs and party members will convene on Sunday in Birmingham, and Truss is expected to

The UK’s credit rating was threatened with a downgrade late on Friday when S&P, one of the world’s largest credit rating agencies, put the country on a “negative outlook” after chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s “mini” Budget last week. The rating agency maintained the UK’s double A investment grade credit rating but warned the outlook was negative.

The UK watchdogs responsible for the £1.5tn corner of the pensions sector that came close to imploding this week are holding daily talks with asset managers to stave off a fresh crisis when the Bank of England’s emergency bond buying ends. The £65bn plan, which ends on October 14, was launched on Wednesday to safeguard

UK prime minister Liz Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng will on Friday try to reassure markets they are serious about bringing down Britain’s debt when they meet the Office for Budget Responsibility, the official forecaster. The sidelining of the OBR by Kwarteng in last week’s tax-cutting fiscal statement was seen as having contributed to the

The Bank of England took emergency action on Wednesday to avoid a meltdown in the UK pensions sector, unleashing a £65bn bond-buying programme to stem a crisis in government debt markets. The central bank warned of a “material risk to UK financial stability” from turmoil in the gilts market sparked by chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax

The IMF has launched a biting attack on the UK’s plan to implement £45bn of debt-funded tax cuts, urging the government to “re-evaluate” the plan and warning that the “untargeted” package threatens to stoke soaring inflation. The multilateral lender said it was “closely monitoring” developments in the UK and was “engaged with the authorities” after

UK government borrowing costs are on course for their biggest ever monthly rise — and mortgage rates are set to rise as well — following the bond market meltdown triggered by Kwasi Kwarteng’s fiscal policy announcement last week. The 10-year benchmark gilt yield has increased by 1.45 percentage points so far in September to 4.2

The pound tumbled to an all-time low against the dollar on Monday, losing as much as 4.7 per cent to $1.035 after UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng vowed to pursue more tax cuts. The fall takes the pound to its lowest level since the decimalisation of the currency in 1971. The sharp moves in sterling came

Investors have warned UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng that the bonanza of tax cuts and spending measures he announced on Friday risk undermining their confidence in the country. On Friday the chancellor heralded a “new era” for the UK economy, in which he plans to boost growth by delivering the biggest tax reduction since 1972 at

Sterling tumbled against the dollar to below $1.09, hitting its lowest point since 1985, after UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday unveiled a £45bn debt-financed tax-cutting package that sparked a historic increase in borrowing costs. Kwarteng’s political and economic gamble includes the biggest set of tax cuts for 50 years, with the end of the