Friday newspaper round-up: English councils, OBR, M&G

(Sharecast News) - Many more councils in England are at risk of bankruptcy, town hall leaders have warned, as unprecedented financial pressures force local authorities to prepare drastic cuts to services to cope with a collective £4bn deficit. The bleak message, set out in a letter to the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, said council budgets were "under pressure like never before" because of the rapid deterioration in their finances caused by inflation and soaring demand for social care. - Guardian Rail workers at English train operating companies have voted overwhelming for another six months of potential strikes, the RMT union announced. More than 20,000 union members were balloted across the 14 companies contracted to the Department for Transport, with 90% voting to give the union a continued mandate for strikes, on a 64% turnout. - Guardian

The Government's financial watchdog has admitted it made "genuine errors" in its economic forecasts as it underestimated the inflation shock from Covid and the war in Ukraine. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said its forecasts in March 2021 and March 2022 missed a large part of the spike in prices and the subsequent state support schemes, which led to ramifications for its predictions of tax revenues, spending and interest rates. - Telegraph

M&G plans to close its main UK property fund, citing the waning popularity of open-ended funds among "mom and pop" investors. The 25 buildings left in the M&G Property Portfolio, last valued at £565 million, will be sold off over the next 18 months, with the proceeds being returned to investors. While the fund is being wound down, M&G will cut its fees by 30 per cent. - The Times

Blackstone fell short of expectations in the third quarter amid a decline in profits from asset sales and amid investors' caution over committing money to private equity funds. The alternative asset manager said that its net profit from the sale of assets had fallen by 36 per cent to $259.4 million in the three months to the end of September. - The Times