Bank of England minutes: Strong pound risks exacerbating deflation March 18, 2015 Bank of England policymakers think the strong pound could exacerbate the current period of low inflation. Minutes released today showed the monetary policy committee believes divergent monetary policy trends, and a strengthening economy, could cause the pound to appreciate further. "This has the potential to prolong the period for which consumer price inflation would remain [...]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney says global deflation forces, strong sterling could delay rate hike March 12, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said that low inflation outside of the UK, as well as a strong sterling, could cause the central bank to push back a rate hike. "It may be appropriate to take into account persistent external deflationary forces arising from the combination of continued foreign low inflation and the [...]
Self-employment is not bad, says Bank of England March 11, 2015 Self-employment has boomed in recent years because of changes in technology making it easier for people to set up on their own, a Bank of England analysis showed today. Its report came as the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said GDP growth is growing at a strong and steady pace. Self-employment accounts for [...]
Bank of England’s Martin Weale: Interest rate hike remains “finely balanced” March 11, 2015 The eventual interest rate hike remains "a finely balanced tug of war" and "pulls in both directions have intensified", a member of the Bank of England's rate-setting committee said in a speech made today. Weale said the bank must weigh the fact rising wages without a corresponding pick-up in productivity will strengthen the case for [...]
Bitreserve and CNET founder Halsey Minor talks dot-commers, virtual currencies and the Bank of England’s open-mindedness March 8, 2015 You might not have heard of Halsey Minor, but it’s likely that you’ve indirectly benefited from one of his many achievements. He’s one half of the brains behind CNET, the technology media website which, founded in 1994, was in the vanguard of internet firms, and is still one of the most-visited tech information resources in [...]
Bank of England tight lipped on liquidity market probe March 5, 2015 Threadneedle Street was on lockdown yesterday, as Bank of England officials declined to give any details of potential fraud around its liquidity operations in the crisis years. A spokesperson for the Bank said it would not answer questions on speculation over which of the Bank’s schemes the alleged fraud relates to. “We are not getting [...]
Bank of England interest rate decision: MPC holds at record low for sixth year March 5, 2015 The Bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) voted not to touch interest rates for what's now the 72nd month. This means interest rates have been held at a record low 0.5 per cent for six years. If you're struggling to think back this far, this time in 2009, Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno" was gracing cinema screens. [...]
Serious Fraud Office to probe Bank of England’s liquidity auction March 4, 2015 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is investigating Bank of England liquidity auctions held during the financial crisis in 2007 and 2008. The central bank confirmed last night that it had handed over the findings of an independent inquiry conducted by Lord Grabiner QC into whether any bank officials knew of, or took part in, attempts [...]
Bank of England liquidity auctions under investigation by Serious Fraud Office March 4, 2015 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is investigating the Bank of England's (BoE) money-market auctions in late 2007 and early 2008 for possible fraud. The Bank said it had referred information relevant to the auctions to the SFO in November. This is the first time the Bank's auctions has been put under investigation by the SFO. [...]
Bank of England currency chief sacked for “at least 20 breaches” of protocol March 3, 2015 The Bank of England's chief currency dealer Martin Mallett was sacked for "at least 20 breaches of protocol" – some of which were unearthed during a parliamentary grilling into how much the bank had known about this. "We discovered a series of misjudgements that Mr Mallett had made unrelated to the Grabiner inquiry," Carney told [...]