Littlewood: gilt demand may dry up if debt fears continue

Newly appointed Artemis Strategic Assets manager expresses gilt demand concern

Gilt demand could soon be wiped out through fear of public sector debt levels, according to Artemis' William Littlewood. The group's new Strategic Assets fund manager also claims the country could be heading for double-digit inflation, with the recession potentially lasting another three or four years. He says concerns over government borrowing, set to increase by £700bn over the next five years, according to last week's Budget, could panic the market into rejecting gilts. In addition, further quantitative easing will also see demand dry up from foreign governments, he adds. "The yi...