U.K. remains in borrowing mode

— The British government continued to borrow more than planned in October as corporation tax collections fell sharply in the wake of a nine-month recession, official figures showed Wednesday.

The Office for National Statistics said borrowing in October was $13.7 billion, up from $9.6 billion a year earlier. Corporation tax revenue was down 10 percent, a sign that businesses continue to struggle - Britain only emerged from its latest recession in the third quarter of the year, with growth up a quarterly rate of 1 percent, largely on the back of a boost from the Olympic Games.

For the first six months of the fiscal year through October, the agency said the government’s borrowing stood at $116.9 billion, nearly $8 billion more than a year earlier. The increase comes despite a tough debt-reduction program which is the centerpiece of the government’s economic strategy.

Treasury chief George Osborne will give Parliament an update on his budget plans on Dec. 5 and investors will be keen to see if he revises up his borrowing projections.

So far the Bank of England has plowed $597 billion into the purchase of bonds from financial institutions. The program, known as quantitative easing, is intended to push up the supply of money in the economy and raise lending.

Business, Pages 12 on 11/22/2012

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