Time is running out to save the British steel sector, steelmakers and unions warned on Friday following news of hundreds more possible job cuts, Reuters reported. Tata Steel, the biggest steelmaker in the country, is expected to cut around 1,200 jobs at its Scunthorpe plant in northern England, a union source said earlier. The firm has already cut thousands of UK jobs since it entered the sector in 2007. A Tata spokesman said it continued to review the performance of its business, without addressing reports of job losses.

British banks may be forced to increase the capital they keep on hand by as much as $5 billion to comply with new rules intended to protect their British retail banking businesses in a financial crisis, the Bank of England said on Thursday, the International New York Times reported. The central bank is requiring British lenders with more than 25 billion pounds, or about $38 billion, to wall off their retail banking operations in the country by 2019, a practice known as ring-fencing.

The chairman of an influential committee of British lawmakers has asked the country's financial regulator for assurance that a new banking tax will not damage competition within the industry, Reuters reported. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced plans to introduce an 8 percent surcharge on banks' profits above 25 million pounds from next year in his annual budget in July, but the move has been criticised by so-called challenger banks which say it will hit them disproportionately.

British regulators said on Friday that they may soon set a deadline for consumers to seek compensation for the improper selling of a contentious insurance product that has cost the banking industry billions of dollars in refunds, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported.

Britain's steel sector crisis intensified on Friday as its second-largest steelmaker, SSI UK, went into liquidation after mothballing its Redcar plant in northeast England earlier this week and axing 1,700 jobs, Reuters reported. The decision to liquidate the Thai-owned company, confirmed by unions and sources close to the matter, puts another 300 jobs at risk as the company employs 2,000 people directly. SSI UK has been hit by cheap imports, especially from the world's top steel producer China, and a slump in steel prices, which it expected would continue in the short term.

Britain's second-biggest steelmaker SSI UK said on Monday it plans to mothball its Redcar plant in northeast England and axe about 1,700 jobs, calling its future into question and deepening a crisis in the British steel sector. The loss-making company, a unit of Thailand's biggest steelmaker Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI), has been hit by a slump in steel prices this year ST-CRU-IDX, which it expects will continue in the short term. The Redcar plant, SSI's only British operation, employs 2,000 people directly, meaning it plans to axe nearly its entire workforce.

The Bank of England is likely to keep interest rates on hold until the middle of next year rather than raising them sooner, following a gloomier outlook for the global economy, according to the economic forecaster CEBR, The Guardian reported. The Centre for Economics and Business Research now believes a rise in May or August 2016 is more likely than one in February, its previous prediction. Signs of a global economic slowdown have been growing in recent weeks, especially in the world’s second-largest economy China and emerging markets.

Britain’s steelmakers are urging the government to rescue the industry from a “perfect storm” that has pushed one of the UK’s largest steelworks to the edge of closure, The Guardian reported. UK Steel, the industry lobby group, said its members were facing their most difficult situation since privatisation 27 years ago after battling cheap imports, which are pushing down prices to unsustainable levels. The threatened closure of the largest steelworks on Teesside has sent shockwaves through the industry, leading unions and employers to call on the government for extra support.

Britain's second-largest steelmaker, SSI UK, said on Friday it was halting operations at its Redcar plant in northeast England, calling into question the future of its business and putting 2,000 jobs at risk. The company, a unit of Thailand's largest steelmaker Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI), said a sharp decline in steel prices had hurt its business. Thai banking sources told Reuters that SSI has debts of about 47-48 billion baht ($1.3 bln) related to its UK business and was negotiating with creditors on a debt restructuring, with talks expected to conclude next week.

U.K. inflation edged down to zero in August amid a renewed fall in fuel costs and subdued price rises on the high street, the Telegraph reported today. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the drop in consumer prices inflation to zero from 0.1pc in the year to July was mainly driven by falling transport costs, as well as smaller increases in clothing and footwear prices than a year ago. This more than offset a slight rise in the cost of household goods and steadier food prices, which have been falling in recent months.