Pre-Budget Report

Chancellor George Osborne is considering dropping the Pre-Budget Report from the coalition Government's roster of economic events.

In the first week of December, Investment Week reported that M&G's Jim Leaviss believed there was a substantial chance there would be a downgrade by ratings agencies of UK government debt if there was no attempt to tackle the budget deficit.

London's financial community feels it is fighting a war on two fronts: the prospect of being hamstrung by pending EU measures and suffering targeted attacks from the government at home.

Everyone earning over £20,000 a year faces a tax rise from 2011.

The Government has made it clear in its Pre-Budget Report and accompanying draft legislation it will no longer tolerate firms abusing the Enterprise Investment Scheme for tax purposes.

The government has missed an opportunity to revisit the 10% tax credit on equity ISAs, Neptune Investment Management says.

Schroders' Richard Buxton believes the chances of a UK sovereign credit rating downgrade has increased following today's Pre-Budget Report.

Schroders European economist Azad Zangana believes the measures proposed by Chancellor Alistair Darling in the Pre-Budget Report will do little to bring public finances back under control.

The Government says it will explore ways of encouraging a more 'sustainable, transparent and standardised' mortgage-backed securities market in the UK.

The FTSE 100 crept up slightly immediately following this afternoon's Pre-Budget Report, despite confirmation the UK's debt will hit 78% within the next five years and the announcement of measures to tax banker bonuses.