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Bank of England to cut interest rates in December and again in Q1 2026: Reuters poll

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The Monetary Policy Committee voted 5-4 to leave rates unchanged earlier this month, with BoE Governor Andrew Bailey casting the deciding vote

International News via Reuters:

The Bank of England will cut interest rates in December and again early next year as inflation cools over coming months, according to a majority of economists in a Reuters poll who last month expected borrowing costs to remain unchanged for the remainder of this year.

Next month’s meeting will follow British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget on November 26 where she is no longer expected to raise income tax but will make up an expected shortfall through smaller tax rises from other sources.

The Monetary Policy Committee voted 5-4 to leave rates unchanged earlier this month, with BoE Governor Andrew Bailey casting the deciding vote, wanting to wait for evidence of declining inflation before committing to a cut. 

Nearly 80% of economists, 48 of 61, expect the BoE will cut Bank Rate by 25 basis points to 3.75% on December 18, according to a Reuters poll taken November 13-18. The rest forecast no move.

That compares with 54% who expected unchanged rates for the remainder of the year in an October survey. Around that proportion now expect a follow-up cut to 3.50% in Q1 2026. 

“We see a December rate cut as the default action, absent any wildly hawkish surprises in the next two inflation prints,” said Gabriella Willis, UK economist at Santander CIB.

“We expect Governor Bailey to remain the swing voter. The October and November inflation prints, alongside signs of a softening jobs market, will be the final green light to a cut.” 

Interest rate futures have almost completely priced in a December cut. 

Inflation has been stuck at 3.8%, nearly double the BoE’s 2% target, since July. Data due to be released on Wednesday are likely to show a cooling to 3.6% in October. 

Median forecasts predicted inflation averaging 3.0% and 2.5%, respectively, in the following two quarters. 

Growth is expected to average 1.4% this year, slowing to 1.1% next year, according to poll medians.

“We are still expecting the Budget to be disinflationary, but less so than our original base case which included a larger hit to demand from lifting income tax,” said Willis. 

(Other stories from the Reuters global economic poll)

Reporting by Anant ChandakPolling by Sarupya Ganguly and Debrah GomesEditing by Ross Finley and Frances Kerry

Police raid Portugal’s TAP airline in corruption probe

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The searches stem from a 2023 investigation into TAP’s leasing deal for 53 Airbus aircraft

International News via Reuters:

Portuguese police searched the headquarters of flag carrier TAP and other companies on Tuesday as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected corruption in a complex aircraft leasing deal in 2015, the prosecutor general’s office said.

The searches stem from a 2023 investigation into TAP’s leasing deal for 53 Airbus aircraft, struck soon after it was first privatised and placed under the control of a joint venture between American-Brazilian aviation entrepreneur David Neeleman and Portuguese Barraqueiro Group, owned by Humberto Pedrosa.

Both Neeleman and Pedrosa have denied any wrongdoing.

TAP has since returned to full state ownership and entered a new privatisation process.

The Infrastructure Ministry said in a statement that the legal proceedings should be viewed “as normal”. It promised full cooperation with the judicial authorities, and said it expected no impact on the privatisation process ahead of the November 22 deadline for potential bidders to manifest their interest.

The prosecutor’s office said it suspects that the leasing contract was part of an illegal scheme in which Airbus helped finance the acquisition of TAP in 2015, resulting in losses for the airline.

“The facts in question are likely to constitute the crimes of harmful administration, passive corruption in the private sector, aggravated tax fraud, and aggravated Social Security fraud,” it said in a statement.

An Airbus spokesman said the company “does not comment on situations involving its client companies”.

Airbus’ historic business dealings have been the target of several investigations, resulting in a record $4 billion corruption settlement with French, British and U.S. authorities in 2020, and a related $14 million French settlement in 2022.

Airbus says it has undergone sweeping changes including a new system of compliance.

A TAP spokesperson said the airline “does not comment on legal proceedings and fully cooperates with authorities in all investigations”.

Searches were underway at 25 locations, including companies, law firms and auditing firms, prosecutors said.

Barraqueiro Group said it was also searched, but remained confident it committed no illegalities in the TAP privatisation. It said it was cooperating and had “no cause for concern regarding the ongoing investigations”.

Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Additional reporting by Inti Landauro; editing by Andrei Khalip, Conor Humphries and Jan Harvey

Government explores ways to lower import costs

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Ministers meet with U.S. Consul and business leader from Florida to explore ways of diversifying trade and advancing the Affordable Bermuda Agenda

As part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to advancing affordability and driving sustainable economic growth, the Minister of Home Affairs, the Hon. Alexa Lightbourne, JP, MP, and the Minister of Economy and Labour, the Hon. Jason Hayward, JP, MP, recently engaged in a series of meetings with US Consul General Antoinette Hurtado and Mr. Matt Swanson, Interim President of Select Florida and Chief Operating Officer of Florida Commerce.

Select Florida, established in 2023, promotes economic development by facilitating exports, attracting foreign direct investment, and fostering strategic international partnerships. Minister Lightbourne welcomed the opportunity to explore synergies that align with the Government’s recently launched Affordable Bermuda Agenda.

With the support of the US Consul General, the introduction advanced Bermuda’s Affordable Bermuda Agenda by focusing on strategic partnerships that lower import costs, diversify trade, and increase opportunity for Bermudians.

Minister Lightbourne said, “Our discussions focused on the Ministry’s central responsibility, affordability. The next step is a detailed review of data-driven options that can produce measurable reductions in Bermuda’s cost structure. Even modest improvements in how we import goods, or in the partners we engage, can produce long-term benefits. These are the types of strategic relationships that deliver real value to our people.”

Reflecting on the meetings, Minister Hayward emphasized the critical value of deepening international economic connections.

Minister Hayward said, “Our meeting reinforced the value of deepening Bermuda’s international economic partnerships. We discussed the mutual desire to strengthen economic trade and technical co-operation between Bermuda and the State of Florida. Collectively recognising the overall importance of enhanced trade, sustainable growth, increasing investment and embracing innovation.”

The discussions with Select Florida reaffirmed mutual interests in exploring future collaboration across areas such as supply chain resilience, green shipping, food imports, and innovation-driven economic development.

Back-to-back glory: Undefeated Taft clinch NEPSAC title

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November 16, 2025- NEPSAC Championship game. Boys’ Varsity Soccer v Nobles. (Photo by Robert Falcetti/Taft)

Taft School boys’ soccer team has capped a flawless, undefeated season by securing their second consecutive New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class A Championship, defeating Nobles 4-1 in the final.

The championship match, held at Brooks, provided an immediate test for the favourites, as they found themselves trailing early after Nobles struck within the opening minutes.

However, Taft’s composure and quality soon shone through. James Cooper wasted no time finding the equaliser, settling his side’s nerves.

The key turning point arrived courtesy of Alex Calabro. After Brooks briefly made it 1-1, Calabro restored the lead with his first goal before securing his brace early in the second half.

Fields DeShaw added the final goal late on, confirming the 4-1 victory.

The commanding win confirms Taft’s status as one of the most dominant squads in recent memory, celebrating both an unbeaten season and the prestigious back-to-back Class A Championship titles.

BBC Radio News: Tuesday Noon – 18 November 2025

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BBC Radio News: Tuesday Noon – 18 November 2025
Bermuda BroadcastingBBC Radio News: Tuesday Noon – 18 November 2025
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9:41
  1. BBC Radio News: Tuesday Noon – 18 November 20259:41
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Garth Bell recognised for public service excellence

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In his role as Network Engineer, Mr Bell ensures the stability and resilience of the Government’s network infrastructure

Images supplied.

Government press release:

The Government of Bermuda is pleased to recognize Mr. Garth Bell, of the Cabinet Office and Digital Innovation, Ministry Headquarters, as the recipient of the October Public Service Excellence Award (PSEA).

Mr. Bell, in his role as Network Engineer, is recognised for his exceptional commitment, technical leadership, and service excellence in ensuring the stability and resilience of the Government’s network infrastructure. His experience in the field has enabled him to expertly balance departmental needs with a keen sense of urgency.

Following recent hurricanes, Mr. Bell worked tirelessly to restore connectivity to multiple government sites, allowing critical services to resume operations quickly and securely.

Beyond recovery efforts, Mr. Bell has led several key optimisation initiatives that significantly improved the speed, reliability, and performance of network systems across key government locations. His calm leadership under pressure, paired with deep technical expertise, has had a measurable impact on operational continuity and service delivery.

Mr. Bell’s excellence extends across multiple projects. He successfully completed major network and security upgrades for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Quarry facility, which have since become the design standard for future infrastructure improvements. He also played a critical role in the network switch upgrades at the Government Administration Building, General Post Office, and Department of Labour, enhancing network performance in these high-demand environments.

The Acting Premier, the Hon. Zane Desilva, JP, MP, offered his congratulations, saying, “I commend Mr. Bell for his commitment to keeping our critical systems running, even under the most challenging conditions. His efforts not only ensure the continuity of public services, but also contributes to ‘digital innovation’ in public service. Mr. Bell’s work reflects the professionalism, resilience, and forward-thinking approach that benefits the people of Bermuda in a big way.”

Head of the Public Service, Cherie-lynn Whitter, also praised Mr. Bell’s achievements, noting, “Garth’s tireless efforts and sense of duty exemplify what public service excellence is all about. His ability to deliver under pressure while driving lasting improvements is commendable. It is noted that he and his team have identified a new configuration that will save money and provide a higher quality service. I’m pleased to recognize his leadership and extend thanks for his service.”

Cloudflare outage cuts access to X, ChatGPT and other web platforms for thousands

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Cloudflare, whose network handles around a fifth of web traffic, said it started to investigate the internal service degradation around 6:40 a.m. ET

International News via Reuters:

Major internet platforms, including X and ChatGPT, were inaccessible for thousands of users globally on Tuesday as web-infrastructure firm Cloudflare was hit by an outage, disrupting internet services.

Cloudflare, whose network handles around a fifth of web traffic, said it started to investigate the internal service degradation around 6:40 a.m. ET. It has deployed a fix but some customers might still be impacted as it recovers service.

The incident seemingly prevented thousands of users from accessing platforms such as Canva, X, Grindr and ChatGPT as users logged reports with Downdetector. Reports about issues with Cloudflare had, however, come down to about 600 by 8 a.m. ET from a peak of nearly 5,000, the outage-tracking tool showed.

Downdetector tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources. Since the numbers are based on user-submitted reports, the actual number of affected users may vary.

“We saw a spike in unusual traffic to one of Cloudflare’s services beginning at 11:20 UTC. That caused some traffic passing through Cloudflare’s network to experience errors,” the company said in an emailed statement. “We are all hands on deck to make sure all traffic is served without errors.”

X and ChatGPT-creator OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The outage is the latest to hit internet services. Microsoft’s Azure had also faced an issue last month, while disruption at Amazon AWS caused global turmoil among thousands of websites and some of the most popular apps, such as Snapchat and Reddit earlier in October.

Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Anil D’Silva

Ireland’s Donohoe resigns as finance minister and Eurogroup chief to join World Bank

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Donohoe has held one of the two main budget ministries for almost a decade and first became finance chief in 2017

International News via Reuters:

Paschal Donohoe resigned as Irish finance minister and Eurogroup president on Tuesday to take up a senior World Bank role, a surprise move that will leave the coalition government without one of its most experienced members.

Donohoe has held one of the two main budget ministries for almost a decade and first became finance chief in 2017. He was only re-appointed to the role in January following an election, having helped guide the public finances to become one of the healthiest in Europe.

He was re-elected as chair of the group of euro zone finance ministers for a third time in July, in a term that was due to last two-and-a-half years.

“My aim has been to build a better and fairer Ireland through careful management of our economy and public finances,” said Donohoe, who will move to the World Bank as one of its managing directors and chief knowledge officer later this month.

“I want to now do the same in the work of the globally vital institution that I will join, at a time of great change in our world,” he told reporters.

ESCHEWED CALLS FOR BIGGER TAX CUTS

Fine Gael leader Simon Harris said he will announce “a number of changes” to his party’s ministerial team later on Tuesday. Irish media speculated that Harris could move to the role of finance minister from foreign affairs.

Under the terms of the coalition deal with fellow centre-right partners Fianna Fail, Fine Gael is due to hold the finance brief until late 2027. Only one of Fine Gael’s other members of cabinet has been a senior minister for more than two years.

Dubbed “Prudent Paschal” by some local media, Donohoe, 51, has often eschewed demands for spending large budget surpluses on even bigger tax cuts and increases in public spending.

He and Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers are due to publish a new medium-term economic plan shortly, having pledged to further moderate spending increases amid warnings that the corporate tax boom funding them could end suddenly.

“Paschal’s prudent management of the public finances has underpinned Ireland’s recovery and growth. He has been a voice of reason and stability,” Harris said.

Reporting by Padraic Halpin, writing by Sam Tabahriti; editing by Sarah Young, Ros Russell and Conor Humphries

Bitcoin slides below $90,000 as traders grow cautious

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The risk-sensitive cryptocurrency has lost all this year’s gains and is now nearly 30% below a peak above $126,000 in October

International News via Reuters:

Bitcoin fell below $90,000 for the first time in seven months on Tuesday in the latest sign that investor appetite for risk is drying up across financial markets.

The risk-sensitive cryptocurrency has lost all this year’s gains and is now nearly 30% below a peak above $126,000 in October. It was down 0.5% at $91,338.47 during European trading hours, after slipping as low as $89,286.75.

About $1.2 trillion has been wiped off the total market value of all cryptocurrencies in the past six weeks, according to market tracker CoinGecko.

Market participants said that a combination of doubts around future U.S. interest rate cuts and the risk-averse mood in broader markets, which have wobbled after a long rally, was dragging down crypto.

‘CONFIDENCE CAN ERODE WITH REMARKABLE SPEED’

“The cascading selloff is amplified by listed companies and institutions exiting their positions after piling in during the rally, compounding contagion risks across the market,” said Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association.

“When support thins and macro uncertainty rises, confidence can erode with remarkable speed.”

Speculators who had put money into crypto in the hopes of supportive U.S. regulation have started to pull back, causing steady outflows from ETFs and similar instruments in recent weeks, said Joseph Edwards at Enigma Securities.

“The sell pressure here isn’t extraordinary, but it’s coming at a relative weak point on the buy side … a lot of retail buyers were stung during the flash crash last month,” he said, referring to an October crash in which there were $19 billion in liquidations across leveraged positions.

Crypto stockpilers such as Strategy, miners such Riot Platforms and Mara Holdings, and exchange Coinbase have all slid with the souring mood.

There has been a boom in public crypto treasury companies this year, with small companies in unrelated sectors becoming crypto-proxies by announcing plans to buy and hold cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets.

But Standard Chartered has estimated that a drop below $90,000 for bitcoin could leave half of these companies’ bitcoin holdings “underwater” – a term which typically refers to holding assets worth less than what was paid for them.

Listed companies collectively hold 4% of all the bitcoin in circulation, and 3.1% of the ether, Standard Chartered said.

European equities markets opened lower on Monday, with traders worried about an overvalued tech sector.

Cryptocurrency ether has also been under pressure for months and has lost nearly 40% of its value from an August peak above $4,955.

“All in all sentiment is pretty low in crypto and has been since the leverage wipeout of October,” said Matthew Dibb, chief investment officer at Astronaut Capital. 

Writing and additional reporting by Tom Westbrook; Additional reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Amanda Cooper, David Goodman and Jan Harvey

COP30 presidency draws up early draft of deal text

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The document, seen by Reuters, contained a line urging all parties to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies

International News via Reuters:

Brazil’s COP30 presidency has drawn up a draft of a possible deal.

The document, seen by Reuters, contained a line urging all parties to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.

Another section set out a range of wording options, one of which called for a process to help countries overcome their dependency on fossil fuels.

Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu, writing by William James

NGO accuses Nestle of higher added sugar in baby products sold in Africa

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Public Eye found that the average serving analysed contained nearly six grams of added sugar, twice the amount detected in key Cerelac market India

International News via Reuters:

Swiss NGO Public Eye on Tuesday accused Nestle of double standards by alleging that the company sells infant cereal in Africa with higher sugar content than in more developed markets, claims that Nestle labelled as misleading and unfounded. 

Working with civil society organisations in Africa, Public Eye collected nearly 100 products from Nestle’s instant infant cereal Cerelac range and said it found after laboratory analysis that, unlike in European markets, more than 90% of the products contained high quantities of added sugar. 

Public Eye found that the average serving analysed contained nearly six grams of added sugar, twice the amount detected in key Cerelac market India. 

Reuters could not immediately verify the findings. Nestle said the levels of all types of added sugars in its infant cereals were well below those set by the international food standards body, Codex Alimentarius.

“It is misleading and scientifically inaccurate to refer to the sugars coming from the cereals and naturally present in fruits as refined sugars added to the products,” a Nestle spokesperson said.

“If we exclude sugars coming from ingredients like milk, cereals and fruit, our Cerelac infant cereals do not contain the levels of added refined sugars mentioned in the report.”

In April 2024, Public Eye reported that Nestle added sugar to its baby foods sold in low-income countries including India, but not in European markets, which led to an enquiry from the Indian food regulator. Tuesday’s report repeated that claim, focusing on Africa. 

In an open letter dated November 17, the International Babyfood Action Network (IBFAN) and 19 civil society organisations in 13 African countries as dispersed as Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa urged Nestle CEO Philipp Navratil to end what it called a double standard over added sugar in baby foods sold in Africa.

“We do not have double standards, our approach to nutrition is consistent across all countries,” Nestle said in a statement. “We treat all children equally, regardless of where they are.”

Nestle said it was accelerating the global rollout of no-added-sugars variants that are already present in 97% of the company’s markets.

“We aim to reach 100% by end of 2025,” Nestle said.

Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Aidan Lewis

Dollar hits fresh 9-1/2-month high versus yen, Japan fiscal policy, US data in focus

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European shares fell on Tuesday alongside U.S. stock index futures amid concerns over stretched equity valuations, yet the greenback’s reaction in the forex market has so far remained muted

International News via Reuters:

The dollar touched a fresh 9-1/2-month high against the yen and edged up versus the euro on Tuesday, as investors worried about Japan’s fiscal stance and awaited U.S. data for signals on the Federal Reserve’s next move.

European shares fell on Tuesday alongside U.S. stock index futures amid concerns over stretched equity valuations, yet the greenback’s reaction in the forex market has so far remained muted.

The dollar index, a measure of the U.S. currency against major rivals, was last up 0.05% at 99.59, after snapping a four-day losing streak on Monday. 

The safe-haven Swiss franc was roughly unchanged against the dollar and the euro. 

The yen was last at 155.42, up 0.10%. Earlier in the session it hit 155.445, its lowest level since February 4.

While Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda has signalled the chance of raising interest rates as soon as next month, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has voiced displeasure over the idea and urged the BoJ to cooperate with government efforts to reflate the economy.

Barclays advised staying long on the U.S. dollar against the yen, saying Takaichi’s Abenomics-style policies are likely to keep pressure on the Japanese currency.

It lifted its target to 158.8, arguing that additional fiscal spending will swell Japan’s debt and raise the premium investors demand to hold yen.

Analysts also flagged a growing risk of foreign-exchange intervention, which could slow the dollar’s climb, though they noted that recent verbal warnings from authorities do not point to imminent action.

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama on Tuesday expressed concern over recent foreign exchange movements. 

Japan must compile a stimulus of around 23 trillion yen, Goushi Kataoka, a private-sector member of a key government panel, told Reuters on Monday. That would far exceed the 17-trillion-yen package previously reported by the Nikkei newspaper, stoking fresh market anxiety over the supply of new government debt that bond markets would have to digest.

The yield curve for Japanese government bonds steepened further on concerns about the size of Takaichi’s stimulus package, with 20-year yields reaching a 26-year high.

Japan on Monday moved to ease an escalating dispute with China over Taiwan after Takaichi said a Chinese attack on the island could trigger a military response.

“That is so far enough to cast more doubts about the ability of the Bank of Japan to hike rates in December,” said Francesco Pesole, forex strategist at ING, after acknowledging that risks of escalation do not seem too high.

Investors awaited U.S. economic data after the longest government shutdown on record, with the September jobs report expected on Thursday.

“This data is backward looking but remains very relevant,” said Paul Mackel, global head of forex research at HSBC.

“It captures the period when the FOMC resumed its easing cycle and follows the time when Chair Powell sounded dovish at Jackson Hole about U.S. labour market conditions,” he argued.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller continued to build the case for further rate cuts amid a broad policy dispute at the U.S. central bank, while Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said the U.S. central bank needs to “proceed slowly”. 

Money markets have in recent days priced the chance of a 25-bp rate cut next month at around 50%, according to CME Group FedWatch tool. Chances on Monday were 45% from around 60% last week.

The euro was down 0.05% at $1.1590. Concerns over France’s fiscal trajectory, which had weighed on the euro, eased after Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes in parliament last month. The finance ministry said on Monday companies have pledged to invest 9.2 billion euros in France.

The Australian dollar was up 0.10% at $0.65 after minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s November 3-4 policy meeting showed the central bank judged the current cash rate of 3.6% as being slightly restrictive, but said it was possible this was no longer the case, citing a jump in housing credit to investors.

Reporting by Stefano Rebaudo, additional reporting by Gregor Stuart Hunter; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Alexandra Hudson

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