Eating crow - the Treasury won the big one

"Britain’s borrowing costs have dropped to the lowest in a generation, falling below those of Germany, Europe’s biggest and strongest economy, reflecting in part investor confidence that the government can bring the deficit under control", reports the pay-walled FT. "George Osborne, the chancellor, vowed on Thursday that he would not retreat on his plans to rein in the deficit, the most ambitious effort to cut public spending announced by any major economy."

"The spending cuts outlined by George Osborne have won international backing and leading global economists said the plans were 'tough, necessary and courageous'," reports the Daily Mail. "The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) praised the Coalition for producing a 'concrete and far-reaching plan' to tackle the £155billion annual deficit left by Labour."