PM: British assets to be sold off

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office said he will announce a sale of government assets aimed at raising $4.8 billion.

Assets to be sold over the next two years include the Channel Tunnel rail link, betting company the Tote, and the government's 33 percent stake in European uranium consortium Urenco.

Brown is due to make the announcement in a speech today.

Britain is suffering its worst recession in decades and the budget deficit is soaring.

But Brown has recently sounded cautiously optimistic about the economy.

In an interview published Saturday he said the economy would grow by 1.5 percent next year, more than many economists have foreseen.