UK's new PM Truss under fire for economic storm

The government of new British Prime Minister Liz Truss came under pressure after the pound hit a record low against the dollar and to reverse announced tax cuts that are fuelling a financial crisis in an already struggling economy.

According to Bloomberg, UK’s stock and bond markets have lost at least $500 billion in combined value since Liz Truss took over as Prime Minister, with investor confidence shattered by a shock tax-cutting budget.

Taking the helm at a time when the UK economy was already grappling with the specter of recession, the Truss government’s new fiscal policies fueled concerns that inflation and borrowing would surge at a time of rapidly rising interest rates. That triggered a cross-asset selloff so severe that it sent the pound to a record low and sparked chatter about emergency action by the Bank of England.

Truss, a champion of low-tax, free-market conservatism who cites 1980s political icons Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan as inspirations, promised during her campaign to slash taxes and red tape in order to energize Britain's sluggish economy.