The number of companies in England and Wales declared insolvent jumped by 43% in August, according to government data, which adds to concerns for the health of the UK economy, The Guardian reported. There were 1,933 insolvencies in August, compared with 1,348 in the same month last year, the Insolvency Service said. It was 42% above the level in August 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Economists are concerned that businesses will increasingly struggle as consumers cut back spending amid high inflation.

Much of the outward business of government in Britain is grinding to a halt during 10 days of national mourning until the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II, when schools, doctors offices and many shops will close. But through it all, the financial markets have been grumbling with an unease about Britain’s economic outlook, the New York Times reported. High inflation and low economic growth are expected to continue, joined by vast borrowing to finance the new government’s plan to freeze energy bills while it cuts taxes.

Consumer prices in Britain rose 9.9 percent in August from a year earlier, a slight easing of the inflation rate and the first decline in nearly a year, signaling that inflation may have reached its peak, or be very near it, the New York Times reported. While this sign of a turnaround in the trajectory of inflation is likely to bring some relief to lawmakers and policymakers, it will provide only limited comfort to consumers.

Claimant groups planning multi-million pound lawsuits over a collapsed fund run by former star stock picker Neil Woodford said on Tuesday any redress of around 306 million pounds ($359 million) ordered by Britain's regulator would be too paltry, Reuters reported. Law firm Leigh Day, which represents around 13,000 clients in a lawsuit against Link Fund Solutions (LFS), the administrator of the flagship LF Woodford Equity Income Fund, said the figure was "nowhere near enough" to compensate thousands who had suffered financial losses.

Britain's jobless rate hit its lowest since 1974 but the drop was due mostly to a fall in the size of the workforce and there were other signs that the country's jobs boom is petering out, adding to the Bank of England's inflation headache, Reuters reported. The unemployment rate sank to 3.6% in the three months to July, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists polled by Reuters had expected it to hold at 3.8%. However, the fall was not a sign of health in Britain's economy which is at risk of a recession.

Link Fund Solutions, which managed the collapsed LF Woodford Equity Income Fund, could be forced to pay up to 306 million pounds ($358 million) in redress, Britain's Financial Conduct Authority said on Monday, Reuters reported. The FCA was responding to news that Dye and Durham is proposing to take over LFS and six other companies in the Australian share registry firm Link Group, all authorised by the UK financial watchdog.

Britain's economy grew by less than expected in July, raising the risk that it is already in a recession, with the sharp climb in energy tariffs hurting demand for electricity and a leap in the cost of materials hitting the construction sector, Reuters reported. With inflation at a 40-year high of more 10%, gross domestic product expanded by 0.2% from June, official data showed on Monday, weaker than a median forecast of 0.4%. In the three months to July, GDP was flat compared with the previous three-month period.

Newly installed U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss told Parliament on Wednesday that she would tackle Britain’s “very serious” energy crisis while still slashing taxes, ruling out imposing a windfall levy on oil companies to pay for her plans to offset the soaring cost of heating and electricity, the Associated Press reported. Truss rebuffed opposition calls for a new windfall tax, even as she refrained from explaining how she would fund a plan meant to help the public pay energy bills skyrocketing because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the economic aftershocks of COVID-19 and Brexit.

Cineworld Group Plc filed for bankruptcy in Texas in an effort to tame its $5 billion debt pile, Bloomberg News reported. The UK-based movie theater chain, which draws most of its revenues from the U.S. after the acquisition of Regal Cinemas in 2018, yesterday filed for chapter 11 protection. Cineworld has commitments for $1.94 billion of bankruptcy financing lined up from existing secured lenders, the company said in a statement. The company’s management and board of directors will remain in control of the business.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and other top officials from the British central bank spoke to lawmakers on Wednesday about last month's decision to raise interest rates to their highest since 2008 in the face of double-digit inflation, Reuters reported. "The inflation target ... has proved to be very successful," Bailey said. "In 25 years since this regime came into existence ... inflation has averaged pretty much exactly on target." He said that increasing effects from energy prices, "and as the actuality and the expectation of headline inflation have gone up so much ...