Argo Blockchain's (ARB) said a deal to raise 24 million British pounds ($27 million) from a strategic investor has fallen through, sending the bitcoin mining company's shares tumbling as much as 72%, CoinDesk.com reported. The London-based firm, which earlier this month signed a letter of intent to sell 87 million shares to the investor as it looked to ease liquidity pressures, didn't say why the agreement had been called off. It is working to secure other deals to provide working capital for the next 12 months.

UK consumers and businesses cut back on borrowing after a jump in interest rates, adding to headwinds for the economy, Bloomberg News reported. New mortgage approvals fell 10%, the sharpest pace since February 2021, and credit card borrowing along with loans taken out by businesses also declined, according to Bank of England figures Monday. The data indicate that the central bank’s interest-rate increases to quell inflation are starting to rein in activity in the economy. Analysts say the UK may already be in a recession that could last until the middle of 2024.

The Bank of England looks set to raise borrowing costs by the most since 1989 next week even as it prepares for a recession that could be deepened by spending cuts under new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Reuters reported. As well as raising interest rates on Thursday for an eighth meeting in a row to tame inflation above 10% - this time by three-quarters of a percentage point according to most analysts - the BoE is also due to become the world's first big central bank to start selling bonds from its stimulus stockpile on Tuesday.

Both corporate and personal insolvencies in Scotland have risen compared to last year as inflation and the cost-of-living crisis affect businesses and individuals, according to new analysis, the Independent reported. There were 270 corporate insolvencies in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022/23, a 28% increase on the same period the previous year when there were 211, official Scottish Government statistics show. Personal insolvency numbers rose to 2,069 in Q2 of 2022/23, a 7.7% increase on Q2 last year when there were 1,921.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has taken on the unenviable task of restoring Britain’s credibility in international markets, said on Wednesday that he would delay the announcement of a major economic plan by two and a half weeks as he seeks more time to make the “right decisions,” the New York Times reported. Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor of the Exchequer, will deliver the fiscal statement on Nov. 17, instead of Monday. The statement is set to lay out spending and tax policies in line with lowering Britain’s debt burden.

The UK government is close to a deal that will see Octopus Energy Ltd. acquire Bulb Energy Ltd., which went bust last November, as soon this week, Bloomberg News reported. Octopus, which already has more than 2 million customers, will become the UK’s third largest energy supplier after adding Bulb’s roughly 1.5 million households. The combined numbers could see it rival the market share of Centrica Plc’s British Gas and EON SE. Bulb collapsed when wholesale prices spiked above the regulator’s price cap, forcing it to sell energy at a loss. The government stepped in and appointed Teneo Inc.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt is seeking to fill a fiscal shortfall of £35 billion ($41 billion) when he sets out the government’s tax and spending plans next month, officials familiar with the matter said, Bloomberg News reported. The government has drawn up a menu of 104 options to cut spending to get public finances back onto a sustainable track, according to the officials, who cited Treasury and Office for Budget Responsibility data from this week.

Despite the increasingly pessimistic economic outlook, numbers of businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber experiencing insolvency-related activity saw a decrease last month, falling by 13.1% in September compared with August 2022 – the second largest drop of any of the regions and nations in the UK, Bdaily.co.uk reported.

UKCloud and its parent Virtual Infrastructure Group have been forced into liquidation, potentially bringing an end to the ailing business, The Register reported. As a British public-sector IT provider, UKCloud had central and local governments, the police, the Ministry of Defence, the NHS, Genomics England, the University of Manchester, and more as clients.

Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who warned that Liz Truss’ economic plans for Britain were a “fairy tale,” won the contest to succeed her as prime minister on Monday, taking over the world’s sixth-biggest economy at a time of deep financial and political turbulence, the Wall Street Journal reported. Mr. Sunak will formally enter Downing Street after his only remaining rival for the job, former defense minister Penny Mordaunt, said on Twitter she would drop out of the contest. “Rishi has my full support,” she wrote. Mr.