The International Monetary Fund has welcomed the measures announced by Rachel Reeves in her budget yesterday.
In a rare move from the influential financial watchdog, it backed the increase in investment and spending on urgent public services pressures as well as “sustainable” tax rises.
An IMF spokesperson said, according to the BBC: "We support the envisaged reduction in the deficit over the medium term, including by sustainably raising revenue."
The UK budget has delivered “short-term living standards pain in the hope of long-term growth-based gains", according to the Resolution Foundation.
The thinktank said the first Labour budget in almost 15 years marked a “decisive shift” from the planned cuts set out by the last government, with better-funded public services and greater public investment coming from higher taxes and more borrowing.
But the budget has not yet delivered a decisive shift away from Britain’s record as a"‘stagnation nation", with the outlook for growth and living standards remaining weak in this parliament.
By prioritising extra spending on public services and investment, the chancellor is borrowing an extra £32bn a year by the end of the parliament, with another £41bn coming from tax rises.
Mike Brewer, the interim chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: "Rachel Reeves’s first ever Budget was never going to be a crowd-pleaser, given the profound and often conflicting challenges she faced, from failing public services to perilous public finances, weak growth and stagnating living standards.
"The short-term effect of these changes will be better funded public services – not just across schools and the NHS – but, critically, also in our justice system. But families are also set for a further squeeze on living standards as the rise in employer national insurance dampens wage growth.
"With Britain finally turning the page on its longstanding failure to invest thanks to a £100bn boost to public capital spending, the hope is that this short-term pain will eventually turn into a long-term living standards gain. But if it doesn’t, future budgets won’t be any easier to deliver, especially if further tax rises are needed."
Shell has beaten forecasts with a profit of $6bn for the third quarter, as weaker refining and oil trading revenues were offset by higher gas sales.
This was down slightly from $6.2bn in the previous quarter, and ahead of analysts’ average estimate of $5.36bn. The company said it will buy back a further $3.5bn of shares over the next three months.
The Bank of Japan has left interest rates unchanged at ultra-low levels, as expected, and said it was monitoring global economic developments and any risks to fragile domestic recovery. The yen gained after the central bank’s decision, trading close to 153 per dollar.
The agenda • 10am GMT: eurozone inflation flash estimate for October • 10am GMT: Bank of England’s Sarah Breeden speaks on AI and financial stability • 12.30pm GMT: US PCE index (the Fed’s preferred inflation measure)
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Rachel Reeves didn’t scare the markets. But nor did she impress with a growth plan 
