Kwasi Kwarteng

British Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng was fired on Friday, amid mounting political pressure and market chaos after less than six weeks in the role.

[Sterling](/quotes/GBP=/) whipsawed during a volatile session. "As I have said many times in the past few weeks, following the status quo was simply not an option. [30-year yield](/quotes/UK30Y-GB/) briefly touched 4.261% during morning trade. I believe your vision is the right one. "We have been colleagues and friends for many years. "It is important now as we move forward to emphasise your government's commitment to fiscal discipline. Chris Philp, chief secretary to the Treasury, was also replaced by Edward Argar. In that time, I have seen your dedication and determination. "The economic environment has changed rapidly since we set out the Growth Plan on 23 September. [Bank of England](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/14/uk-cliff-edge-arrives-as-bank-of-england-prepares-to-end-bond-buying.html) to intervene in order to [save pension funds from collapse](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/14/uk-cliff-edge-arrives-as-bank-of-england-prepares-to-end-bond-buying.html), and a spike in mortgage rates for prospective homeowners. Kwarteng cut short a visit to Washington on Thursday to fly back to London as government ministers scrambled to address the market chaos unleashed in recent weeks. - Kwarteng cut short a visit to Washington on Thursday to fly back to London as government ministers scrambled to address the market chaos unleashed in recent weeks.

The British-born Ghanaian minister Kwasi Kwarteng announced his resignation on Friday in a letter to Prime Minister Liz Truss which he tweeted: "You asked me to ...

“Your optimistic vision, in favour of growth, and change was the right one. Liz Truss held meetings on Thursday afternoon in Downing Street to discuss the tax cuts announced on September 23. The Sept.

Kwarteng, a close ally of U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, has come under heavy criticism for his mini-budget which triggered a slump in the pound and other ...

After the initial indication that she and her government would push forward with the budget, Truss was [forced](https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/10/03/uk-ditches-tax-cuts-for-richest-amid-growing-backlash-and-market-mayhem/?sh=5c8220fa2efe) to climb down and scrap the planned tax cut for high earners after facing strong opposition from other members of her party. If implemented, the policy would have significantly increased government borrowing, something that spooked markets late September and caused the pound to [Liz Truss appoints Jeremy Hunt as UK chancellor ahead of tax cut U-turn](https://www.ft.com/content/63ac7dab-d8e4-412c-a910-c0013fdf7f3d) (Financial Times) [Liz Truss appoints Jeremy Hunt as chancellor after sacking Kwarteng](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/14/liz-truss-appoints-jeremy-hunt-as-chancellor-after-sacking-kwarteng) (The Guardian) The report notes that many of these senior lawmakers include former cabinet ministers who believe Kwarteng was simply carrying out Truss’ policies and therefore she should be the one who should have stepped down. Truss had vowed to enact sweeping tax cuts if she was voted into power, ignoring concerns that this would further fuel inflation. Late last month, Kwarteng unveiled a mini-budget that included tax cuts that would mostly benefit the wealthiest Britons along with other tax cuts, while also attempting to subsidize spiraling energy costs for households and businesses.

Prime Minister Liz Truss fires Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng as she reverses course on sweeping tax cuts.

She has been under intense pressure to scrap some of the 43 billion pounds ($48bn) in unfunded tax cuts in the “mini budget”. Under the “mini budget”, the tax was due to be frozen at 19 percent. [Kwarteng](/news/2022/9/22/who-is-kwasi-kwarteng-and-what-is-his-plan-for-the-uks-economy) confirmed that he was asked to “step aside” as chancellor on Friday. “This is potentially an effort by the prime minister to reach across the aisle and try to secure some unity in her very troubled party.” Truss said she was acting to “reassure the markets of our fiscal discipline” and promised to press on with other aspects of her economic plan, saying, “I want to deliver a low tax, high wage, high growth economy.” Kwarteng’s departure comes after a month in the job — and three weeks after he announced a tax-cutting “mini budget” that sent the pound plunging to record lows against the US dollar.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor of the Exchequer, was fired on Friday by Prime Minister Liz Truss in a bid to end weeks of market turmoil.

“Even though we may have pulled back from the abyss,” she added, “we’re not in a positive position.” The pound was trading below $1.12, lower than where it was before the government’s policy statement on Sept. But then the pound weakened again after Ms. Truss would backtrack on some of the tax cuts, said Jane Foley, a strategist at Rabobank, and there was only a “teeny little” response to the dismissal of Mr. The British currency rose slightly after Ms. It was the fledgling government’s second major U-turn from the agenda it set out on Sept.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday dismissed her finance minister, forcing Kwasi Kwarteng to carry the can for turmoil sparked by her right-wing ...

Kwarteng was due to have stayed in Washington this weekend to conclude annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, after earned a rebuke from IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva on the need for “coherent and consistent” policies. But with that costly BoE crutch ending on Friday, markets had already priced in a fresh about-turn by the government, leaving Downing Street with no room for manoeuvre. Tony Travers, from the London School of Economics, told AFP Kwarteng had been made “the fall guy for the government’s mistakes” — but that the sacking had not taken the pressure off Truss or calmed the Tories. “I know that you will continue to support the mission that we share to deliver a low-tax, high-wage, high-growth economy that can transform the prosperity of our country for generations to come,” she said. In reply, Truss wrote that Kwarteng had “put the national interest first”. The chancellor of the exchequer was dismissed in person by Truss after he rushed back early from international meetings in Washington, and before she was due to hold her first Downing Street news conference at 2:30 pm (1330 GMT).

Kwasi Kwarteng became the second shortest-serving British finance minister, paying the price for weeks of UK market tumult prompted by his controversial ...

The London-born Kwarteng won a scholarship to the elite school Eton, before attending both the University of Cambridge and Harvard University. In a former role as energy minister, Kwarteng drew the ire of green groups after he said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine meant the UK needed further investment in North Sea drilling, to diversify its energy mix. Four years before the 2016 Brexit vote, Kwarteng joined with Truss and other Tory right-wingers to write a free-market manifesto called “Britannia Unchained”, which described British workers as “among the worst idlers in the world”. Tony Travers, a professor at the London School of Economics, described the minister as a “committed Thatcherite”, in reference to former leader and free-market proponent Margaret Thatcher. “He might have started out as believing in a smaller state and a more deregulated economy, but he’s living in a world where the public expects almost exactly the opposite,” Travers told AFP last month as pressure began to mount on Kwarteng. His sacking represents a humiliation for the Cambridge- and Harvard-educated former Chancellor of the Exchequer — who as recently as Thursday insisted that he was “not going anywhere”.

“British Prime Minister Liz Truss has fired her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng, the BBC reported on Friday, shortly before she is expected to scrap parts of ...

I have seen your dedication and determination. It is important now as we move forward to emphasise your government’s commitment to fiscal discipline. I believe your vision is the right one. When you asked me to serve as your Chancellor, I did so in full knowledge that the situation we faced was incredibly difficult, with rising global interest rates and energy prices. The economic environment has changed rapidly since we set out the Growth Plan on 23 September. However, your vision of optimism, growth and change was right.

Kwarteng's political demise seems likely to go into political history as a tale of hubris: a minister so certain of his beliefs and impatient with others' views ...

His parents – an economist and a barrister – emigrated from Ghana as students. Instead it was over in 38 days. It also emerged that he had decided to attend a [a thoughtful book](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/aug/30/ghosts-of-empire-what-kwasi-kwartengs-book-tells-us-about-him) about the legacy of the British empire. Five weeks and three days later, he is gone. [much more was to come](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/25/kwarteng-uk-economy-must-expect-more-tax-cuts-and-deregulation).

LONDON — British Prime Minister Liz Truss was propelled into high office by her bold promises to supercharge the country's flagging economy with big tax ...

23 announcement of the government’s new “Growth Plan,” which would be propelled by the “biggest package of tax cuts in generations,” caused the currency to tank and the central bank to step in to calm markets. Liz Truss’ reckless approach has crashed the economy, causing mortgages to skyrocket, and has undermined Britain’s standing on the world stage." Kwarteng lasted just 38 days in the job. I was shocked at how brutal it was.” Kwarteng, a free-marketeer and zealous Brexiteer, flew home to London from Washington earlier on Friday, as British newspapers tracked his flight. Well-to-do Brits pay a top rate of 45 percent on annual income over £150,000 ($168,000). “It is important now as we move forward to emphasize your government’s commitment to fiscal discipline.” He now becomes Britain’s fourth chancellor in four months, taking over economic policy portfolio at a moment the Bank of England is forecasting a recession this winter. Hunt lost the Conservative Party leadership race to Boris Johnson in 2019. She has been in office for less than six weeks. In that contest, he favored cutting corporate taxes. Britain’s top stock index, the FTSE 100, was essentially flat.

The UK prime minister has already abandoned Kwarteng's big tax cut, and she's preparing even more humiliating economic reversals.

But they had also been waiting on Kwarteng’s return from the US — he was fired after returning from a shortened visit to Washington for a meeting of the International Monetary Fund. She could either stick to her guns and face the prospect of more market chaos, or shred her reputation by changing tack. That is due to end on Friday, adding pressure on the government to act. The details are unclear as to which bits of her plan Truss will unpick. Truss later on Friday plans to unpick parts of Kwarteng’s strategy — officially called the Growth Plan — according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing unannounced plans. Kwarteng’s deputy, Chris Philp, was replaced with Edward Argar, with Philp moving to a ministerial post in the cabinet office.

Kwasi Kwarteng has been sacked as chancellor three weeks after his mini-budget unleashed chaos in the economy, Sky News understands.

And the next chancellor, who will be chosen by Ms Truss, will be the seventh Tory chancellor in 12 years. Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng, who have been close friends for years, insisted that the turbulence in the UK economy was part of a global problem exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and post-pandemic recovery.

Kwarteng had insisted on Thursday that he was “not going anywhere”. But on Friday, he tweeted a letter addressed to Truss, stating that he was no longer ...

A supporter of Brexit, Kwarteng backed Boris Johnson’s prime ministerial bid, and served as a Minister of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in his administration. Born and raised in London in 1975, Kwarteng is the only child of his Ghanaian parents who came to Britain in the 1960s as students. He also pledged £45bn of tax cuts, the biggest reductions in the past 50 years. It was considered to benefit all taxpayers — both individuals and companies — to varying degrees. These changes were aimed at kick-starting a stagnating UK economy and containing the country’s record rates of Kwarteng had insisted on Thursday that he was “not going anywhere”.

Kwasi Kwarteng was widely celebrated as the first Black Chancellor in the British government. But the celebration has been cut short by the turmoil ...

Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has called on the Prime Minister to stand down, adding that if she refuses, her MPs should back an election. “It’s not just Kwasi Kwarteng that needs to go. But it is not clear how long Truss will last as the Prime Minister due to the growing revolt she is now facing. Analysts had said upon the appointment of Kwarteng as the finance minister, that he would be easily sacrificed if anything goes wrong in Truss’ government. “It has been an honour to serve as your first chancellor. Kwasi Kwarteng was widely celebrated as the first Black Chancellor in the British government.

RITISH Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday fired Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng after less than six weeks in the role.

“It is important now as we move forward to emphasise your government’s commitment to fiscal discipline. Kwarteng’s exit and Truss’ policy u-turns raises questions about her own future as prime minister, amid growing signs of rebellion inside her party. In his resignation letter, Kwarteng admitted that the “economic environment” had rapidly changed since the announcement of his mini-budget but reiterated his opposition to “high taxation” which he says “must still change” to ensure economic growth.

The chancellor and prime minister were determined to take radical action in pursuit of economic growth. It didn't matter if parts were unpopular, they would do ...

It is hard to think of a political gamble which has backfired more - or a political relationship which has collapsed more quickly. In the meeting with Ms Truss, his cabinet career was brought to a swift end. Instead, he accepts the government needs to do more emphasise its commitment to balancing the books. Some have told me they are pleased with the appointment of Jeremy Hunt as chancellor. But after just five weeks, the government's economic strategy lies in pieces. There is little sign Mr Kwarteng thinks he or the prime minister got the ideology wrong. The chancellor and prime minister were determined to take radical action in pursuit of economic growth. Those close to the chancellor also portrayed him as politically stubborn; once he had made up his mind he would stick with the plan. Mr Kwarteng's allies briefed that their relationship was solid; that he saw his job simply as delivering the prime minister's vision for a low tax economy. But key elements of the strategy proved too unpopular for the markets and for Tory MPs. Soon came open revolt, with senior Conservatives openly criticising the decision to scrap the 45p additional tax rate. Just three weeks ago, in the poorly named mini-budget, he ripped up years of Conservative economic strategy.

Sterling fell, FTSE 100 lost its gains and bond yields rose after PM's press conference failed to announce new direction.

It suggests there was a drop in demand for emergency cash from certain pension funds that last month were at risk of collapse. The writing was on the wall when markets surged in anticipatory delight on the news that another post-budget U-turn was imminent and moves on corporation tax have gone a long way to bolstering sentiment today. Government bonds rallied before she spoke, pushing yields – the interest rate in relation to the price of the bond – sharply lower. We’re awaiting answers and in some ways I’m surprised the markets haven’t reacted more negatively.” Sterling fell 1.3% to $1.1188 on a rollercoaster day for the currency. However, the prime minister’s appearance erased almost all of its advance in afternoon trading, with the blue chip index up just 8 points at 6,858 on the day.

Kwasi Kwarteng is out as UK chancellor but his brief tenure at the top of the UK economy may have been helpful for some trading desks at US investment banks ...

[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) in the first instance. ](https://www.efinancialcareers.co.uk/login/register?cm_sp=editorial_registration) Morgan Stanley cited "strength in macro products on high client engagement and volatility in the markets," as the source of the 33% year-on-year increase in its fixed income sales and trading revenues in the third quarter. Citi said today that revenues in its macro trading division rose 18% year-on-year in the third quarter. [ Sajid Javid](https://www.efinancialcareers.co.uk/news/2018/04/sajid-javid-banker-home-secretary), a former CDO banker at Deutsche Bank, would replace Kwarteng as he's the only one close to Truss with any credibility in the markets. Revenues from trading spread (credit) products were down 39%.

Liz Truss, British prime minister, sacked Kwasi Kwarteng, the country's finance minister on Friday. The development comes just 38 days into his appointment, ...

I believe your vision is the right one. “It is important now as we move forward to emphasise your government’s commitment to fiscal discipline. In that time, I have seen your dedication and determination. “We have been colleagues and friends for many years. “The economic environment has changed rapidly since we set out the growth plan on 23 September. As have said many times in the past weeks, following the status quo was simply not an option.