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The collapse of the value of the pound in the wake of Friday’s mini-budget appears to have stalled, for now, but only thanks to market expectations that the Bank of England will still be forced to intervene.

The rout for sterling, which began after Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng revealed a £45bn tax cut plan on top of government aid for energy bills, was a consequence of concern over the levels of borrowing required.

It essentially called in to question the confidence the market had for sustainable public finances in the UK, also pushing up the rates demanded by investors to hold UK bonds – government IOUs – which will be used to fund the growth plan.

The pound hit an all-time low versus the dollar of $1.03 early on Monday but it later recovered some lost ground and had settled around $1.08 on Tuesday.

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There were three main factors behind the limited fightback.

One was a statement from the Treasury on Monday aimed at soothing nerves around Friday’s giveaways.

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It revealed that Mr Kwarteng was to set out a “medium-term fiscal plan” on 23 November which would also contain independent analysis from the Office for Budget Responsibility – a check that was lacking in the mini-budget.

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Why Bank of England shunned emergency rate hike

The second was due to a statement from the Bank of England which affirmed it would “not hesitate” to raise interest rates to prop up the value of sterling but added that it would make a full assessment at its next scheduled meeting.

The final facet can be traced across the Atlantic where the dollar – the world’s reserve currency which has strengthened significantly this year amid the economic turmoil linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine – fell back against a basket of international currencies.

Analysts cited renewed investor interest in stocks but remained cautious about the outlook as markets, already jittery at the prospect of US interest rates staying higher for longer, have been further unnerved by the upheaval for the pound and UK bond yields.

There was some relief for the government when the Treasury successfully raised £1.2bn through a bond sale on Tuesday morning.

The amount was covered 2.3 times, which Sky’s economics and data editor Ed Conway said showed there was “no shortage of appetite” for the debt.

The market volatility has been blamed for a number of mortgage providers withdrawing products from sale.

Such moves are expected to be only temporary amid the turmoil of the past few days.

Many market participants talked about a long road back to recovery for sterling because credibility had been lost.

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Why has the pound fallen to a record low?

Allan Monks, an economist at America’s largest bank JP Morgan, said the statements from the Bank and Treasury had been “measured”.

“But there is still no clear sign that the source of the problem – the government’s fiscal strategy – is being reversed or reconsidered,” he complained.

“This will need to happen before November in order to avoid a much worse outcome for the economy.”

Larry Summers, a former US Treasury Secretary, also spoke about credibility being lost and suggested that the crisis would affect London’s viability as a global financial centre.

Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors which manages around $500bn in assets, told the Reuters news agency: “Once a market starts to move with this kind of momentum, it’s hard to put a number on where it (sterling) will trough.

“But as an investor you take a long-term view. If you look at the UK as somewhere to invest over five years, for me that’s a no.”

Others said another factor behind sterling’s performance since Monday afternoon was that money leaving UK bonds was finding its way to the currency instead – but only because of the higher rate hike expectations.

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Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said markets were pricing in an emergency rate hike with 175 basis points’ (1.75%) worth of increases by November.

“The slump in sterling could exacerbate the UK’s inflation problem, with price levels currently flirting with double digits.

“More expensive imports may add to the UK’s upward price pressures, which is likely to prompt more aggressive action from central bank policy makers.”

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Two children and a woman die after shooting in Northern Ireland

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Two children and a woman die after shooting in Northern Ireland

Two children and a woman have died in a shooting in County Fermanagh, police have said.

Two people were killed in the shooting on Wednesday morning, and a third, who was seriously injured, died in hospital in the afternoon.

A fourth person, a man, was seriously injured in the shooting in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

All victims were from the same household, Superintendent Robert McGowan, district commander for Fermanagh and Omagh, said at a news conference.

Police have cordoned off the scene in the village of Maguiresbridge, about 75 miles (120km) southwest of Belfast.

“We can advise there is no ongoing risk to the public,” a Police Service of Northern Ireland spokesperson said.

There was no mention of a motive behind the shooting.

The scene in the Drummeer Road area of Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh, after two people died and two people been seriously injured in a shooting incident. Picture date: Wednesday July 23, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Oliver McVeigh /PA Wire
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The scene in the Drummeer Road area of Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh. Pic: Oliver McVeigh /PA Wir

A murder investigation has been launched, with enquiries being at an early stage.

Supt McGowan said at the news conference that police don’t anticipate any arrests being made at this stage.

Emergency services were called to the Drummeer Road area of the village at around 8am on Wednesday following a report raised from the property, Supt McGowan said.

Two people were found dead at the scene, and two others seriously injured.

Maguiresbridge

One patient was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, by air ambulance and the other to South West Acute Hospital by ambulance. Supt McGowan said the third person died at the South West Acute Hospital.

Drummeer Road is currently closed, police said, warning that this could lead to delays on alternative roads.

The scene in the Drummeer Road area of Maguiresbridge, Co Fermanagh, after two people died and two people been seriously injured in a shooting incident. Picture date: Wednesday July 23, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Oliver McVeigh /PA Wire
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Drummeer Road has been cordoned off. Pic: Oliver McVeigh /PA Wir

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said: “The news from Maguiresbridge is tragic and deeply distressing.

“My thoughts are with the victims, their relatives and the local community in Fermanagh. I would urge the public not to speculate and to allow the PSNI to continue their investigation.”

Sinn Fein MP Pat Cullen has expressed her deep shock over the shooting, saying: “Firstly, my thoughts are with the victims and their families at this tragic time.”

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DUP MLA Deborah Erskine, who represents the area in the Northern Ireland Assembly, said that the community was “stunned” by the shooting in “a rural, quiet area”.

“Everyone is deeply affected by what has happened this morning,” she said.

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Five ‘dangerous’ gang members guilty of murdering boy and man at music video shoot

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Five 'dangerous' gang members guilty of murdering boy and man at music video shoot

Five “violent” and “dangerous” gang members have been found guilty of murdering a boy and a young man at a music video shoot in a north London estate.

The men had gone to the Elthorne Estate in Archway “with the intention of killing anyone they could”, the Metropolitan Police said.

And the group mistook those they attacked for rival gang members.

Lorik Lupqi, 21; Jason Furtado, 28; Abel Chunda, 29; Xavier Poponne, 22; and Eden Clark, 31, were convicted of murdering 15-year-old Leonardo Reid and 23-year-old Klevi Shekaj and attempting to murder 28-year-old Abdullah Abdullahi.

Xavier Poponne, Lorik Lupqi and Abel Chunda.
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(L-R) Xavier Poponne, Lorik Lupqi and Abel Chunda. Pic: Met Police

Leonardo and Mr Shekaj were fatally stabbed and Mr Abdullahi was badly hurt when knifemen descended on the event on the night of 29 June 2023.

Leonardo and his brother had been watching a music video being filmed with friends.

Police said Lupqi, a gang member from Islington, saw the gathering at around 8.30pm and took it as an opportunity to hurt those he thought were gang opponents.

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He messaged his girlfriend stating that “opps were outside”. She advised him to remain inside, but Lupqi decided to contact his close friend and gang associate Jason Furtado.

They formed a plan and recruited gang members Chunda, Clark and Poponne to travel to the estate.

Lupqi had booked a taxi to pick up the three men from the area of Furtado’s home address in Canonbury, north London, telling the cab firm: “I’m in a little bit of a rush,” the jury heard.

They had worn masks and were armed as they went to the Elthorne Estate where they met Lupqi, the court was told.

Jason Furtado and Eden Clark.
Pic: Met Police/PA
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(L-R) Jason Furtado and Eden Clark. Pic: Met Police/PA

By the time they arrived, the filming had ended, and most people had left, but some local children and teenagers remained in the area.

The group then carried out their deadly attack.

The alarm was raised as a black-clad figure wearing a balaclava was spotted crouching down and moving towards Leonardo, his brother and others, with a large knife.

Three more males in black stood up from where they had been hiding behind cars as they edged towards the group, the court was told.

Leonardo was stabbed in the chest, with the wound cutting through his left lung and one of the major blood vessels in his body, causing fatal blood loss.

Leonardo’s brother had run away from the scene but later looped back and saw his sibling lying motionless on the ground, the court heard.

Mr Shekaj was stabbed in the back, with the wound cutting through his left lung and deep into his body.

He was driven to Whittington Hospital by members of the public but he died on arrival.

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Jailed City traders have convictions overturned
Two children and a woman die in shooting

Detective Inspector Jim Barry said: “These violent men went into this estate with the intention of killing anyone they could, under the false impression that those there were rival gang members.

“This was a senseless, violent act which has shattered the lives of so many, especially Leonardo and Klevi’s loved ones.

“This dangerous group of men will now spend a long time behind bars but the effect of what they did will be felt by the victim’s shattered families for longer.”

The five killers will appear at the same court on 25 and 26 September for sentencing.

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City traders jailed for interest rate rigging have convictions overturned after 10-year fight

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City traders jailed for interest rate rigging have convictions overturned after 10-year fight

Two traders jailed for rigging benchmark interest rates have had their convictions overturned by the Supreme Court.

Tom Hayes, 45, was handed a 14-year jail sentence – cut to 11 years on appeal – in 2015, which was one of the toughest ever to be imposed for white-collar crime in UK history.

The former Citigroup and UBS trader, along with Carlo Palombo, 46, who was jailed for four years in 2019 over rigging the Euribor interest rates, took their cases to the country’s highest court after the Court of Appeal dismissed their appeals last year.

The Supreme Court unanimously allowed Mr Hayes’ appeal, overturning his 2015 conviction of eight counts of conspiracy to defraud by manipulating Libor, a now-defunct benchmark interest rate.

Tom Hayes and  Carlo Palombo celebrate after their conviction was overturned.
Pic: Reuters
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Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo celebrate after their convictions were overturned. Pic: Reuters

Ex-vice president of euro rates at Barclays bank Mr Palombo’s conviction for conspiring with others to submit false or misleading Euribor submissions between 2005 and 2009 was also quashed.

Mr Hayes, who served five and a half years in prison before being released on licence in 2021, described the “incredible feeling” after the ruling.

“My faith in the criminal justice system at times was likely destroyed and it has been restored by the justices from the Supreme Court today and I think it’s only right that more criminal appeals should be heard at this level,” he said.

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Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo celebrate after their conviction was overturned.
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Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo outside the Supreme Court. Pic: Reuters

Both he and Mr Palombo have been described as “scapegoats” for the 2008 financial crisis, but Mr Hayes said: “We literally had nothing to do with it.”

A spokesperson for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which opposed the appeals, said it would not be seeking a retrial.

In 2012, the SFO began criminal investigations into traders it suspected of manipulating the Libor and Euribor benchmark interest rates.

Former trader Tom Hayes.
Pic: PA
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Former trader Tom Hayes. Pic: PA

Mr Hayes was the first person to be prosecuted by the SFO, which brought prosecutions against 20 people between 2013 and 2019, seven of whom were convicted at trial, two pleaded guilty and 11 were acquitted.

He had also been facing criminal charges in the US but these were dismissed after two other men involved in a similar case had their convictions reversed in 2022.

Mr Hayes, a gifted mathematician who is autistic, was described at his Southwark Crown Court trial as the “ringmaster” at the centre of an enormous fraud to manipulate benchmark interest rates and boost his own six-figure earnings.

He has always maintained that the Libor rates he requested fell within a permissible range and that his conduct was common at the time and condoned by bosses.

Mr Hayes and Mr Palombo argued their convictions depended on a definition of Libor and Euribor which assumes there is an absolute legal bar on a bank’s commercial interests being taken into account when setting rates.

The panel of five Supreme Court justices found there was “ample evidence” for a jury to convict the two men if it had been properly directed.

But in an 82-page judgment, Lord Leggatt said jury direction errors made both convictions unsafe, adding: “That misdirection undermined the fairness of the trial.”

Lawyers representing Mr Hayes and Mr Palombo said the ruling could open the door for the seven others found guilty to have their convictions overturned and that there were grounds for a public inquiry.

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