The U.K labor market may be “alarmingly tight” and could stoke wage pressures, Office for Budget Responsibility member Charlie Bean told lawmakers, Bloomberg News reported. In testimony to the House of Commons Treasury Committee, Bean said the Bank of England would have little choice but to raise interest rates if the end of the furlough scheme does not bring more workers into the jobs market. Bean is a former deputy governor and chief economist of the U.K. central bank. The BOE will release its verdict on the labor market on Thursday, when it announces its interest-rate decision.

A troubling post-Brexit fishing spat between Britain and France showed few signs of abating Monday, a day before a threatened French blockade of British boats and trucks, the Associated Press reported. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss warned France that the U.K. will “not roll over” in the face of what she termed “unreasonable” threats from Paris. French fishing crews stood their ground, demanding a political solution to a local dispute that has become the latest battleground between Britain and the European Union.

England and Wales have seen a surge in company directors winding up businesses that are unable to pay their debts, taking so-called voluntary liquidations to their highest level since 2009 in the depths of the global financial crisis, Reuters reported. Total company insolvencies in England and Wales jumped in the three months to the end of September to their highest since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic at 3,765, up 43% on a year earlier, government data showed on Friday.

The U.K. Insolvency Service says that creditors of Pazhar Zvezdy Ltd, previously known as ASA UK Development Limited, may not be aware that the company is now in compulsory liquidation, the Construction Index reported. Pazhar Zvezdy Ltd traded as a residential and commercial construction company. Following complaints it was investigated by the Insolvency Service. It was finally wound up in the public interest in the High Court on 7th September 2021 and the official receiver, Catherine Hudson, was appointed as the liquidator.

A U.K. energy supplier to tens of thousands of small businesses is on the brink of becoming the 14th provider to collapse in the last three months, further underlining the scale of the crisis gripping the sector, Sky News reported. CNG Energy's retail arm - which only supplies commercial customers - is close to falling into the Supplier of Last Resort (SOLR) system operated by Ofgem, the industry regulator.

Britain’s top finance official laid out a vision for the country’s post-pandemic economy on Wednesday as he announced plans to spend on education, the National Health Service and job skills. But his plans risk being overshadowed by the recent rise in inflation and supply chain disruptions that are weighing on the pandemic recovery, the New York Times reported. “Today’s budget does not draw a line under Covid; we have challenging months ahead,” Rishi Sunak, the chancellor of the Exchequer, told lawmakers in Parliament on Wednesday.

Offshore driller Seadrill Ltd on Tuesday obtained court approval for its reorganization plan, clearing the way for it to emerge from bankruptcy, Reuters reported. Offshore driller Seadrill Ltd yesterday obtained court approval for its reorganization plan, clearing the way for it to emerge from bankruptcy. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones in Houston signed off on the plan during a virtual hearing. Under the plan, creditors will exchange $4.9 billion in debt for equity in the company. Seadrill will also raise $350 million in new financing.

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak unleashed 75 billion pounds ($103 billion) of giveaways in a budget that defied predictions for fiscal restraint, pinning the path of future spending to predictions for a rapid economic growth, Bloomberg News reported. Sunak slashed taxes for pubs and restaurants, cut duties on alcohol and handed more income to some of the nation’s poorest families in a statement to Parliament on Wednesday. He also earmarked billions of pounds more for infrastructure, education and worker skills, boosting the budget for every government department.

France announced Wednesday that it will bar British fishing boats from some French ports starting next week if no deal is reached with the U.K. in a dispute over fishing licenses — and suggested it may restrict energy supplies to the Channel Islands as well, the Associated Press reported. Since the U.K. left the economic orbit of the European Union at the start of the year, relations between London and Paris have become increasingly frayed. France vehemently protested the decision last month by the U.K.

The British government said on Tuesday that it would introduce legislation enabling a form of financing for nuclear power stations that it hopes will attract investors willing to put up billions of pounds to build new facilities, the New York Times reported. The government’s move, which would require consumers to help pay for these plants as they are being built, is expected to provide a green light for a long-delayed new nuclear station northeast of London, estimated to cost £20 billion ($27.5 billion).