CHANCELLOR TO DELIVER AUTUMN STATEMENT TODAY 

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to cut national insurance (NI) and unveil tax cuts for businesses in his Autumn Statement today (The Times). 

Hunt is expected to reduce the headline rates of NI for employees and the self-employed, as well as make permanent a £10 billion-a-year tax break for companies that invest in equipment and technology. In total, the chancellor is expected to announce 110 different growth measures for businesses, including removing red tape and speeding up access to the national grid (Sky News). 

NEWS IN BRIEF

Christine Lagarde has said it is too early to “start declaring victory” in the European Central Bank’s efforts to tame inflation (Financial Times). 

The green finance targets of European banks are falling well short of what is needed, according to a study of the 20 biggest lenders across the EU, UK, Switzerland and Norway by ShareAction (Bloomberg). 

UK women aged 40 and over will not experience the closure of the gender pay gap until after they reach state pension age, according to a report by the Fawcett Society (The Guardian). 

A cyber-attack on the British Library has raised concerns from security experts about the vulnerability of public sector IT infrastructure (Financial Times).