LONDON (Reuters) – Gilts edged up on Thursday after Standard & Poor’s cut Spain’s credit rating to near junk, while Britain sold a new index-linked government bond at a record low yield.

The auction of 1.5 billion pounds of new 0.125 percent linkers due 2024 was covered 2.56 times, the highest cover for any auction this year, with a yield of -0.441 percent – the lowest on record for any auction.

LONDON (Reuters) – British government bonds lagged Bunds on Wednesday as traders, lost for direction, re-focused on a relaxation of capital and liquidity rules for British banks, dampening demand for gilts.

At 1129 GMT the December gilt future was 37 ticks down at 120.00, while the equivalent Bund was 22 ticks lower.

LONDON (Reuters) – British gilts were unchanged on Tuesday after a session that lacked a clear direction, as investors waited for what most saw as an inevitable eventual request from Spain for a bailout.

After trading modestly in the red for most of the session, the December gilt future staged a late recovery following German Bunds, as U.S. shares fell on concerns about the outlook for corporate earnings.

LONDON (Reuters) – Gilts rose on Monday, after what dealers saw as an excessive slide in the previous session, with the possibility of further public spending cuts in Britain and uncertainty about Spain also underpinning the market.

The December gilt future settled 43 ticks higher at 120.37, while the equivalent Bund was 52 ticks up.

LONDON (Reuters) – A near-record number of Britons are in work despite a shrinking economy, but new employment has come at the expense of pay and job security, capping any boost to vital consumer spending.

Britain’s economic output is now 4 percent lower than in the first quarter of 2008, just before the slump that followed the global financial crisis, while the number of people in work has risen to 29.56 million, close to an all-time high.

LONDON (Reuters) – A near-record number of Britons are in work despite a shrinking economy, but new employment has come at the expense of pay and job security, capping any boost to vital consumer spending.

Britain’s economic output is now 4 percent lower than in the first quarter of 2008, just before the slump that followed the global financial crisis, while the number of people in work has risen to 29.56 million, close to an all-time high.

LONDON (Reuters) – Lending to British consumers fell in August and manufacturing activity shrank in September, weighing on prospects of a sustainable economic recovery in the coming months.

Many economists reckon Britain exited recession in the third quarter, rebounding after an extra national holiday in the previous quarter and helped by sales of tickets for the London Olympics and Paralympics.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s retailers performed better than feared during the Olympics in August and manufacturers’ order books improved this month, bolstering hopes that the economy is creeping out of recession even though dangers still loom large.

Retail sales dipped 0.2 percent in August as Britons abandoned online shopping to watch the Olympics on television, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday. That was better than a 0.4 percent drop forecast by a Reuters poll.

LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) – Britain’s retailers performed
better than feared during the Olympics in August and
manufacturers’ order books improved this month, bolstering hopes
that the economy is creeping out of recession even though
dangers still loom large.

Retail sales dipped 0.2 percent in August as Britons
abandoned online shopping to watch the Olympics on television,
the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Thursday. That
was better than a 0.4 percent drop forecast by a Reuters poll.

LONDON (Reuters) – More Bank of England asset purchases to boost Britain’s weak economy are likely, even in the face of a worse short-term inflation outlook, a number of central bank officials said in policy minutes published on Wednesday.

The central bank said short-term inflation pressures were likely to squeeze consumers’ disposable income, and that a global slowdown and euro zone tensions were hurting business confidence in an economy that entered recession late last year.