UK backs £167bn of overseas bad debt

Telegraph
"British taxpayers stand behind more than £167bn of toxic assets in the US, Ireland, the Middle East and beyond, it has emerged as the Treasury disclosed details of what Royal Bank of Scotland has dumped in the state insurance scheme for bad debts."

UK manufacturing output stagnates unexpectedly in October

Telegraph
"IHS Global Insight's Howard Archer said: "This highlights the fact that the UK still faces a difficult battle to develop a sustainable, significant recovery." ...Mr Archer said: "Serious doubts remain about the strength of demand for manufactured goods over the medium term, particularly once stimulative measures start being withdrawn." .
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ECB begins to turn off the liquidity tap (Telegraph)
"There are particular worries about Greece and Ireland, where banks have relied massively on ECB support because they cannot raise money cheaply on the open market. The ECB has let them use a wide range of low-grade mortgage debt as collateral for loans. Private markets are unlikely to be so forgiving, raising the risk of a roll-over crisis for weak lenders."

Warning over UK economy sees pound and FTSE take a dive

Daily Mail
"The pound fell against the dollar and the euro today after rating agency Moody's described the British economy as weaker than Germany and France.A report today said Britain and the U.S. had 'resilient' AAA ratings, as opposed to the 'resistant' top ratings of Canada, Germany and France, mainly because of the dreadful state of the public finances in Britain and the United States."

Iceland reveals worst economic slump on record

The Times
"Iceland's economy recorded its worst-ever fall, tumbling by 7.2 per cent in the third quarter, as the collapse of its banking sector and its currency continued to lay waste to its finances.Official figures revealed that national output in the third quarter fell by 5.7 per cent from the previous quarter. Year-on-year gross domestic product was down 7.2 per cent — the biggest decline on record."

Elusive and fragile recovery threatened by soaring deficit

Independent
"As the Chancellor adds the final polish to his pre-Budget report on Wednesday, some of Britain's leading business organisations have warned that the recovery will be fragile and that soaring public borrowing threatens the UK's international credit rating. Britain runs a high risk of a "relapse" into recession next year.The Engineering Employers' Federation says that conditions in the British manufacturing sector have continued to improve, but that signs for a strong rebound in 2010 "remain elusive."

Pre-Budget report: UK ‘faces decades of debt’, warns Treasury

Telegraph
"Britain faces decades of rising public sector debt, increasing taxes and, potentially, falling living standards unless it tackles the growing costs of its pensions and health bill, the Treasury will warn this week."

A rudderless economy and a once great Treasury that's now not fit for purpose

Daily Mail
"Today, however, Britain faces economic and financial crisis on a scale that far outweighs even these catastrophes of the 1970s and 1990s.This time the Treasury is utterly unable to cope. Indeed, it is facing the greatest crisis of confidence in its history. ...But such is the degradation of Treasury competence and morale under Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling and the department's supine Permanent Secretary Nick Macpherson that it is now considered normal to sub-contract out this kind of work, which ought to be meat and drink to Treasury mandarins. .....In other words, even as late as October 2008, and therefore after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Treasury officials were clueless about what was going on in financial markets."

£40,000 a family: The taxpayers' cash used to fund the £850billion bailout

Daily Mail
"The extent of taxpayer support for Britain’s banks is revealed today to be £40,000 for every family in the country.An official report concludes that bailouts, guarantees, insurance and loans offered by the Government and the Bank of England reached £850billion."

Ben Bernanke says Gordon Brown hurt Britain's ability to resolve banking crisis

Telegraph
"Ben Bernanke said that Mr Brown’s decision to strip the Bank of England of its supervisory role over banks had led to a “destructive run” and a “major problem for the British economy”. "

£850bn: official cost of the bank bailout

Independent
"Government support for Britain's banks has reached a staggering £850bn and the eventual cost to taxpayers will not be known for years, the public spending watchdog says today.
The National Audit Office (NAO) revealed that £107m will be paid to City advisers called in to work on the rescue because the Treasury was too "stretched" to cope with the sudden financial crisis which broke in the autumn of last year."

It’s déjà vu all over again as Sarkozy takes aim at City of London

The Times
"One senior banker said: “Surrendering control of the City of London to the French in return for some nonentity getting a non-job [Baroness Ashton of Upholland’s appointment as EU foreign affairs chief] is one of the biggest fiascos of British diplomacy since Suez. The fact that Sarkozy is now being gleeful makes it worse. The Prime Minister must explain how he will protect the City from EU meddling or lose what remaining credibility he has in the City.”

China wary of gold 'bubble’ danger after quietly doubling its reserves

Telegraph
"The Chinese authorities have given the clearest indication to date that they view the surge in gold to an all-time high of $1,217 (£730) an ounce as a speculative frenzy."