UK Autumn Statement preview: Will Hammond stand up to scrutiny?

The keenly anticipated Autumn Statement will be delivered at 12.30 GMT

UK fin min Hammond will stand up in Parliament but will his tinkering with the country"s finances stand up to closer inspection?

Much of what he will deliver has been leaked and there"s not exactly going to be a lot to cheer about. Basically he"ll say the UK is hugely in debt, blame it on someone/something else and make excuses for not being able to help those that need it most.

There"s been lots of media hype/frenzy about help for the JAMs ( Just About Managing) as coined by PM May but we can anticipate a small dose of reality laced with a large splash of political spin.

To that end we"ve been seeing the gloss coming off the pound since the GBPJPY -inspired rally of Monday. So we can reasonably summize that there will be little to surprise us today and the bearish/reality-check tones may well have been factored in already.

We"ll need to keep an ear out though for the rhetoric re Brexit and all related matters. The UK Budget and Autumn Statement are normally non-events for markets but in these fragile and thin trading conditions robots and humans will be feeding off every scrap. I still expect it to largely be a non-event though.

Hammond was very much a part of the Remain scaremongering campaign in his previous role as Foreign Sec. He previously has been Chief Sec to the Treasury so he has some background for his current role but who is the real Philip Hammond?

The BBC has been chatting to a few friends of his including Nina Stratford, one of his pub lunch partners from college days:

"I remember going round to his house once. We got hold of half a bottle of sherry and proceeded to drink it, and very randomly we ended up having a bit of a cheeky snog," she says. "Who"d have thought that Philip Hammond was such a good kisser?"

Who indeed.

The BBC concludes thus :

"Britain is having its first proper introduction to the two Philip Hammonds. Spreadsheet Philip may be the man for the moment as the public finances enter a bumpy phase.

But Phil, the confident charmer, will need all his political wiles to survive the choppy Brexit waters ahead."

Read more here and watch the whole sleep-inducing statement  live here

         UK fin min Hammond - Can youthful ambition steer Britain through Brexit?
UK Autumn Statement preview: Will Hammond stand up to scrutiny?
UK Autumn Statement preview: Will Hammond stand up to scrutiny?
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