logo
Lack of recent meetings with Treasury an ‘issue of concern', says Swinney

Lack of recent meetings with Treasury an ‘issue of concern', says Swinney

Yahoo2 days ago

A lack of recent meetings between the Scottish Government and the Treasury is an 'issue of concern', First Minister John Swinney has said ahead of the Chancellor's spending review.
Rachel Reeves will lay out her spending priorities on Wednesday, with funding increases expected for the NHS and education – which will result in greater cash for Scotland.
But speaking to the PA news agency in Glasgow on Monday, First Minister John Swinney said his Finance Secretary Shona Robison had not recently spoken to the Treasury about the Scottish Government's requests for the review.
'The Finance Secretary has had discussions with the Chief Secretary, but not recently,' he said.
'That's been an issue of concern to us that there hasn't been an ongoing dialogue.
'I raised our aspirations about the spending review with the Prime Minister when I met him a couple of weeks ago in London and have set out, particularly, the importance of the investment in public services and the necessity of that decision on the Acorn carbon capture and storage project, because that is crucial for us finding a way forward to address some of the challenges that we faced at the Grangemouth site.'
The Acorn project has been overlooked for funding by successive UK Governments, angering Scottish ministers.
As well as Acorn, Mr Swinney also urged the Chancellor to commit to lifting the two-child benefit cap.
'After all the year's of Conservative austerity, I want to see a decision to lift the two-child cap from the benefit system, which is forcing more and more families into poverty and children into poverty,' he said.
The Scottish Government has pledged to mitigate the impact of the two-child cap north of the border, but has consistently pushed for the policy to be scrapped at UK level.
The First Minister also pushed for a 'different approach on welfare reform', after the UK Government announced a £5 billion cut to benefits earlier this year.
The Treasury has been contacted for comment.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Wall Street on Edge: Inflation Spike, $58B Debt Test, and Trade Turmoil Collide
Wall Street on Edge: Inflation Spike, $58B Debt Test, and Trade Turmoil Collide

Yahoo

time29 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Wall Street on Edge: Inflation Spike, $58B Debt Test, and Trade Turmoil Collide

Wall Street is holding its breath as two market-moving forces line up: inflation and debt. Investors are watching closely as the U.S. and China restart trade talks in London, aiming to ease tensions and avoid another round of tariff escalations. Meanwhile, a $58 billion Treasury auction could test demand for U.S. debt at a time when long-end yields hover near 5%a level many thought would spark broader market reactions. BMO's Ian Lyngen calls this week's combo of May CPI and Treasury supply a tradable event, with core inflation expected to accelerate to 2.9% year-over-yearthe first uptick of the year. The S&P 500 (SPY) sits roughly 2% from its February peak, but volatility could return fast depending on how these numbers land. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Sign with META. Despite the rebound from April's tariff-driven slide, institutional investors have yet to jump back into equities in full force. Deutsche Bank notes that institutional positioning has been this low less than a quarter of the time since 2010. JPMorgan and Barclays, however, suggest the tide could be turning, with more big money managers set to ramp up equity exposure. That shift hasn't shown up yetBank of America's clients were net sellers last week, with institutions pulling out while hedge funds and retail buyers stepped in. Strategist Jill Carey Hall thinks the market may have already priced in much of the deglobalization risk, but not the potential upside from underappreciated tax policy tailwinds. On the corporate front, action is heating up. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) isn't grabbing headlines today, but its peers are moving fast. Meta's (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg is going all-in on artificial general intelligence, quietly assembling a powerhouse team to build out the next big wave in AI. Boeing (NYSE:BA) just secured its biggest monthly order tally in over a yearmuch of it inked during President Trump's trip to the Middle East. Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) is rolling out new AI-powered upgrades across its networking portfolio to stay competitive in the enterprise race. Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) posted a 40% revenue surge in May as chipmakers rushed to build inventory ahead of potential trade roadblocks. Not everything was rosyMcDonald's (NYSE:MCD) was slapped with a rare sell rating from Redburn Atlantic, and Citigroup (NYSE:C) is preparing to book hundreds of millions more in loan loss provisions, signaling early cracks in consumer credit health. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Big Take: Bessent Emerges as Contender for Fed Chair
Big Take: Bessent Emerges as Contender for Fed Chair

Bloomberg

time36 minutes ago

  • Bloomberg

Big Take: Bessent Emerges as Contender for Fed Chair

President Trump says his decision on who will succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell 'is coming out very soon.' And according to new reporting from Bloomberg's Nancy Cook and Saleha Mohsin, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is a contender for the job. On today's Big Take podcast, Nancy and Saleha join host David Gura to discuss the president's Apprentice-style approach to selecting a Fed Chair, what he wants in Powell's replacement and how that might impact Fed independence.

Bessent says report he called Musk ‘a fraud' is ‘fake news'
Bessent says report he called Musk ‘a fraud' is ‘fake news'

The Hill

time41 minutes ago

  • The Hill

Bessent says report he called Musk ‘a fraud' is ‘fake news'

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addressed his reported clashes with Elon Musk during a congressional hearing on Wednesday, rejecting claims that he called Musk a 'fraud' as 'fake news.' After Musk's explosive fallout with President Trump last week, longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon told The Washington Post that the tech billionaire and Bessent had a physical altercation, which the White House denied, and that Bessent called Musk 'a total fraud' in a heated exchange about the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)'s efforts to cut government spending. Bannon helmed the conservative outlet Breitbart News for several years until his ouster from the site in 2018, following a brief stint in Trump's first administration. 'I know Elon Musk body checked you at the White House,' Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) said to Bessent during Ways & Means hearing on the Treasury Department. 'You know that?' Bessent shot back. 'You believe what you read on Breitbart, that's what you are telling this Congress.' Coincidentally, Bessent recently quoted a Breitbart article on the social platform X in response to mass protests in Los Angeles against Trump's immigration crackdown. Gomez continued in the hearing, 'If it's too sensitive for you, I won't ask that question,' prompting a retort from the South Carolina native with an apparent strike at South African-born Musk. 'I'll take South Carolina over South Africa any day,' Bessent said. Trump confirmed that Musk and Bessent had 'a little bit of a shouting match' but denied it turned violent. 'They did have an argument, but I didn't see a lot of physicality there,' the president told reporters at the White House on Monday.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store