STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 24 January 2012

[Ghost Dog]

9. UK public sector net debt excluding financial interventions record £1.004 trillion in December

(Reuters) - British public borrowing was lower than expected in December, thanks to stronger tax receipts, but total outstanding debt rose above the 1 trillion pound mark for the first time on record, official data showed on Tuesday.

The Office for National Statistics said that public sector net borrowing excluding public sector interventions - the government's preferred measure - fell to 13.708 billion pounds last month from 15.912 billion pounds in December 2010. This was below economists' average forecast in a Reuters poll of 14.9 billion pounds and took borrowing in the fiscal year to date to 103.289 billion pounds, down from 114.604 billion in 2010/11.

The ONS said government tax receipts had been boosted by the bank levy imposed on financial institutions to recoup some of the costs of the financial crisis, while spending fell modestly.

However, public sector net debt excluding financial interventions rose to 1.004 trillion pounds in December, the highest since records began in 1993.

/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/01/24/uk-britain-economy-idUKTRE80N0KE20120124