and outgoing shells, every 30 seconds or so. it really doesn t stop. and science fiction made reality as nasa plans to try to divert an asteroid by crashing a rocket into it. we start in the uk where the bank of england says it won t hesitate to take action to control inflation, after the pound slumped to an all time low against the dollar. take a look at this chart from this morning s asia trading. at one point sterling fell to $1.03 the lowest since 1971 though it s since recovered slightly. there s been speculation that the bank of england may announce an emergency hike in rates to control rising prices. for the moment, that hasn t happened. well there s lots to unpack. first to understand what s happening today we must go back to friday and to this annoucement in parliament. i can announce today that we will catch the basic rate of income tax to 19p, in april 2020 three, one year early. that means a tax cut for over 31 million people injust a few months time. t
it s tearing our margins to shreds, we are trying our best to absorb . what cost increases we can. but ultimately, because - the pressure the business is under, we expect to have to put prices up as a result. at the labour conference, the party outlines its own plans for the economy, including cancelling the tax cut for top earners. with a labour government, those at the top will pay theirfair share. the 45p top rate of income tax is coming back. we ll have the latest on the uncertainty over the government s approach to managing the economy. also tonight: in eastern ukraine, we report from the city of bakhmut the latest target of constant russian shelling. in the last few minutes we have been hearing incoming and outgoing shells every 30 seconds or so. it really doesn t stop. and england and germany play out a six goal thriller. and england and germany play out a six goalthriller. but and england and germany play out a six goal thriller. but still no win for the three lions
you will see it like never before. tonight with the context, the former mayor of baltimore, stephanie rawlings blake, and the former uk ambassador to paris and national security advisor, lord peter ricketts. hello, welcome to the programme. it s hard to overstate how poorly the british government s fiscal event on friday has been received by financial markets. nothing in recent history compares with the price moves we have seen since. not brexit, not covid, 9/11 not even the uk s ejection from the exchange rate mechanism. the pound has slumped to its lowest ever level against the dollar. and the rate on short term gilts is now higher than italy or greece. 0rdinarily, tax cuts to promote growth might be welcomed by the city, when they are properly costed. but the government s critics would say that if there s no framework for the size of borrowing, nor any timeframe established to deliver the growth the treasury is chasing, then don t be surprised if markets are spooked. s
welcome to hardtalk. i m stephen sackur. in three weeks time, italians vote in a general election. now, if the opinion polls are to be believed, the country is about to embrace a political movement with its roots in post war fascism. what would that mean for italy and for europe? well, my guest today, here at the ambrosetti forum a sort of italy style davos gathering is enrico letta, a former italian prime minister and leader of the centre left democratic party. is his effort to keep the far right out of power doomed to fail? enrico letta, welcome to hardtalk. thank you so much for the invitation. we appreciate your time, particularly because you are in the middle of a fiercely fought election campaign. would you accept that right now, you in the centre left look as though you are going to lose? no, i think we will win. how can you think that, when the raw mathematics of this election look so bad for you? and i say that because the right has coordinated, it has organised