Freshly minted UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng announced a mini-budget that is close to having something for everyone.

  • The lowest rate of tax is dropping by one percentage point to 19% while the top 45% for those earning over £150,000 has been abolished.
  • The proposed corporate tax rate hike from 19% to 25% has been abandoned.
  • First-time buyers will have to pay no stamp duty on homes valued at £450,000, a big jump from the previous £300,000 limit.
  • For everyone else, the stamp duty limit on house purchases has been doubled to £250,000.
  • The cap on banker's pay has been abolished.

    • And, on the spending side, the government has committed to subsidising energy costs for domestic and business users to the tune of £60bn over the next six months.

    Opposition parties in the UK criticised the mini-budget with Labour saying it was one that favoured the already wealthy, and the SNP warning that it would lead to almost inevitable public sector cuts.

    The DUP's Sammy Wilson pointed out that none of the newly announced "investment zones" were located in Northern Ireland.

    Financial market reaction to the giveaway fiscal announcements has been sceptical at best. UK sovereign debt sold off heavily as investors worried about the size of the bill from the measures.

    UK stocks dropped and the pound was trading at multi-decade lows against the dollar, dropping below $1.11. A euro was close to 88p.