Tuesday briefing: Three scenarios for the British economy after the pound slumps
In today's newsletter: The Guardian's special correspondent Heather Stewart talks us through the best, worst and most likely result of another chaotic day in the money markets
Good morning. As of yesterday, we're in a new phase of economic crisis: the one where you wake up and anxiously check whether the Asian markets have given the pound a pummeling while you were asleep. If you preferred it when you could just think about a cup of coffee and whether you have any clean pants at 7 in the morning, I empathise very deeply.
So the first thing to tell you is that a short while ago, the pound was worth $1.08, a slight recovery from yesterday's nadir of $1.03. That came after Kwasi Kwarteng tried to calm investors by promising a debt reduction strategy, but not until the end of November - and the Bank of England said it would not make an emergency increase to interest rates.
Labour | Keir Starmer will attempt to take on the mantle of Tony Blair on Tuesday by describing Labour as the political wing of the British people". In his speech at Labour conference, he will accuse the Tories of losing control of the economy and ceding the political centre.
Italy | Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy's far-right League, has promised that his alliance with Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy will deliver a lasting coalition, as Italians prepare for their most rightwing government since the end of the second world war.
Iran | The EU and the US are considering further sanctions against Iran over the attempt to suppress demonstrations in response to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in a police detention centre. More than 75 people have been killed in the crackdown, a rights group said yesterday.
Edward Snowden | Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday granting Russian citizenship to US whistleblower Edward Snowden. Snowden fled to Russia in 2013 to escape prosecution after leaking secret files, published by the Guardian, that revealed the US National Security Agency's surveillance operations.
Nasa | A multimillion-dollar spacecraft collided head-on with an asteroid the size of a football stadium on Monday in an unprecedented test of Nasa's capacity to defend Earth from a doomsday scenario. The craft successfully crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos 6.8m miles from Earth.
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