FINANCE & BANKING

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday rebuked the British government over its planned tax cuts, telling its finance minister and central bank chief that their policies should not be contradictory.

UK pension schemes are racing to raise hundreds of billions of pounds to shore up derivatives positions before the Bank of England calls time on support aimed at keeping them afloat.

The Bank of England moved to ease concerns about the expiry at the end of this week of its emergency programme to calm turmoil in the government bond market, including a doubling of the maximum size of its planned debt buy-back on Monday.

The dollar slid against most major currencies on Tuesday as the yield on the benchmark U.S.

Sterling's slide against the dollar to a rate last seen in 1985 has sparked talk of a dramatic spiral downwards that ends in a collapse in confidence in British assets and a balance of payments crisis.

HSBC, its online arm First Direct, and Metro Bank have joined a fraud-reporting hotline as the cost of living crisis increases the number of financial scams, an industry body said on Tuesday.

The co-founder and chief investment officer of a prominent London hedge fund was charged on Thursday with fraudulently manipulating the U.S. dollar-South African rand exchange rate.

Many currencies are struggling against the greenback, which has been galvanised by the US Federal Reserve's stated intention to continue raising its key rates.

British government bonds are on course for their biggest monthly fall since 1994, as surging energy prices create a perfect storm of higher inflation, tighter monetary policy and the prospect of greater government borrowing.

The U.S dollar extended its rally on Monday, hitting a five-week high on the yen after U.S.

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Asian shares got off to a rocky start on Monday while the dollar remained in demand amid concerns most major central banks are committed to raising interest rates no matter the risks to growth.

In the battle to contain red-hot inflation, which topped nine percent in June, the Fed has hiked rates four times

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British two-year government bond yields surged on Wednesday to their highest level since the depths of the global financial crisis almost 14 years ago as stronger-than-expected inflation data fuelled bets on further Bank of England interest rate hikes.

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The safe-haven U.S. dollar hovered near a one-week high on Tuesday while the Aussie, euro and Chinese yuan remained under pressure as weak global economic data reignited recession fears.

The Bank of England will deliver another bumper 50 basis points (bps) increase to borrowing costs next month but then slow the pace to a more regular 25 basis point rise in November before pausing, a Reuters poll forecast.

The Bank of England would press on with plans to gradually sell its vast stock of British government bonds even if an economic slowdown eventually forces it to cut interest rates, Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey pushed back at suggestions by the front-runner to become Britain's next prime minister Liz Truss and her supporters that the government should have a bigger role in how the central bank operates.

The Bank of England's top brass defended their record on Britain's monetary policy on Thursday, after a cabinet minister talked openly about diluting the central bank's operational independence.

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The dollar's strength has yet to peak, according to a majority of currency strategists polled by Reuters who were however divided on when the currency's advance would come to an end.

The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates by the most since 1995 on Thursday, even as the risks of a recession mount, in an attempt to stop a surge in inflation from becoming embedded in Britain's economy.

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The Bank of England is now expected to lift borrowing costs by a bigger 50 basis points to 1.75% on Thursday as it battles soaring inflation, according to a Reuters poll taken over the past week after several economists changed their minds.

As high inflation forces Americans to spend more on gas and bills, young and low-income consumers are starting to feel financial pressure.

Regulators require finance companies to keep a record of vast swathes of staff communications to deter and uncover infringements such as insider trading.

The Bank of England must decide next week whether to join the ranks of central banks rushing out their biggest interest rate hikes in decades, or whether the warning signs of a recession mean it should tread more cautiously.