UK's Reeves painted bleak economic picture despite having better news, OBR letter shows

MANCHESTER, England () -British finance minister Rachel Reeves painted a bleak picture of the economy this month while she was in possession of forecasts that showed ​better-than-expected news for the public finances, a letter from the fiscal watchdog showed ‌on Friday. Reeves appeared to lay the groundwork in a speech early on November 4 to break a political promise and raise income ‌tax rates, citing a "weaker than previously thought" productivity performance.