Something to cheer us all with charges set be slashed on each side of the Atlantic: ALEX BRUMMER

Coming hot on the heels of two momentous events – and I don’t mean Halloween and Guy Fawkes – scant attention is being paid to interest rates.

Irrespective of what happened in Labour’s first Budget and the US Presidential election, tomorrow is going to be an important day for all borrowers.

Both the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve are odds on to cut official interest rates.

The American central bank has delayed for a day to avoid clashing with US voting. It is projected to cut the federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point from its current range of 4.75 per cent to 5 per cent.

Prediction: Both the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve are odds on to cut official interest rates 

It had been expected to go again in December. But even an independent central bank with a mandate to target unemployment as well as inflation will want to see how the political and economic land lies before taking the next step.

The Fed will want to avert a further cooling in the American jobs market. It will also be concerned about the strength of the US economy in the third quarter and the impact on prices.

The known unknowns could dampen hopes of a further cut in December amid uncertainty about the future scale of fiscal expansion. 

Similarly, the Bank of England is seen as nailed on to cut rates this week having eschewed a reduction from 5 per cent last month. 

There is speculation of a 7-1 vote in favour of a cut, with only hardliner Catherine Mann holding out. British monetary policy is out of line with other G7 central banks.

The big question for Bank interest rate setters is whether the significant loosening of the fiscal stance in Rachel Reeves’ Budget will mean normalisation of rates in the UK will have to wait even though consumer price inflation is below the 2 per cent mark. 

The Office for Budget Responsibility is forecasting above target cost-of-living increases. 

The priority should be getting behind growth by making life easier for consumer, mortgage and business borrowers. But the interest rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee is not famed for audacious moves.

China syndrome

AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot has bet heavily on China. It is among the UK pharma giant’s largest and fastest growing territories, accounting for some 13pc or £4.5billion of its global sales.

Soriot, who has a home in Sydney, has taken a special interest in bringing AZ’s suite of cancer compounds to the People’s Republic. 

He often has provided assurance that unlike UK competitor GSK, which ran into difficulty a decade ago, AZ has nothing to fear from Beijing.

Investors are starting to question that. Reports from a Chinese news source Yicai suggest that dozens of AZ executives are under investigation for alleged insurance fraud following an announced probe into the company’s China president Leon Wang. 

Shares plummeted by 8.4 per cent, making it a tricky year for what was the UK’s largest company. It has shed 5 per cent of its value this year.

There is little transparency about corporate wrongdoing in China so it is impossible to know how serious the current regulatory scrutiny will prove. 

What we do know is that breaches with the Beijing authorities can be very damaging and take time to heal.

Right ingredients

Few UK companies make the case for family control better than Associated British Foods. Latest results show the benefits of investment and modernisation for the long-term. 

Food enterprises show the benefit which comes from innovation and increased automation at Twinings, Patak’s and across the piece. 

Overall profits climbed 43 per cent to a shade under the £2billion mark.

In a period of strain for the High Street – under pressure from the minimum wage, national insurance hikes and unfair business rates – Primark continues to thrive.

There are some 70 store openings in the pipeline and ‘click and collect’ is a huge bonus. Expansion in the often tricky American market is a feature with a store opening in the US-Mexico borderlands.

Closer to home, chief executive George Weston, who sources food from its UK farms, worries about confusing signals from Whitehall on boosting domestic production vis-a-vis a more sustainable agenda. 

He also is unimpressed by the IHT change for land holders. Early days for Labour, but hopefully someone is listening.