Bank of England holds interest rates at record low of 0.5 per cent and keeps £375bn quantitative easing programme in February February 5, 2015 There are no surprises from the Bank of England, again. The central bank held its benchmark interest rate a record low of 0.5 per cent for the 71st month in a row. It also kept its quantitative easing programme steady at £375bn at the monetary policy committee's (MPC) February meeting. While the UK economy has [...]
Bank of England fears a public backlash on mortgage controls February 3, 2015 The Bank of England must educate the public on its new powers over mortgage lending or risk harm to its reputation, top official Donald Kohn told MPs yesterday. Officials can limit loan to income ratios and debt to income ratios if they fear the housing market is becoming a risk to financial stability. But that [...]
Bank of England group of grandees to seek new face for £20 note January 29, 2015 Who knew it would be so difficult to choose the next face to adorne the £20 note? From hereon, Bank of England deputy governor Ben Broadbent will head a group of grandees, with outgoing National Portrait Gallery boss Sandy Nairne and author Baroness Lola Young. They will pick a topic to focus on and choose [...]
Bank of England chief economist Andrew Haldane: There’s “no rush” to raise interest rates January 28, 2015 The Bank of England is in "no rush" to raise interest rates, and eventual increases will be by small increments, according to the central bank's chief economist Andy Haldane. "We are in no rush to raise rates, the recovery is taking hold nicely," Haldane told the Daily Post. "The last thing we want to do is [...]
Forex probe could stop Bank of England access to market data January 21, 2015 The Bank of England risks losing access to vital sources of market data thanks to banks cracking down on traders gossiping, Lord Grabiner warned yesterday. Top barrister Grabiner was hired to investigate what Bank of England staff might have known about foreign exchange manipulation. He found an informal relationship between Bank officials and traders, with [...]
As Bank of England minutes reveal a unanimous vote to hold interest rates, should its first hike wait until 2016? January 21, 2015 John Longworth, director general at the British Chambers of Commerce, says Yes The latest MPC minutes make it clear that even the hawks don’t believe there is a convincing case for near-term rises in interest rates, something that UK businesses will applaud. Falling global oil prices, Eurozone uncertainty, sluggishness in emerging markets, and the near [...]
Bank of England minutes: Pound drops as MPC returns to agreement on interest rate rises January 21, 2015 The pound fell against both the euro and the dollar today, after Bank of England policymakers returned to agreement on the importance of keeping interest rates low. Minutes published this morning showed the Bank's monetary policy committee (MPC), which sets interest rates, voted unanimously against raising rates from their historic low of 0.5 per cent. [...]
Bank of England keeps interest rates at 0.5 per cent for 70th month in a row January 8, 2015 The Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) kicked off 2015 by keeping the base rate at 0.5 per cent. It's the 70th consecutive month rates have been held at historic lows, and the last rise was way back in March 2009. We'll have to wait until January 21 to find out who voted for [...]
Bank of England financial crisis files: Crash pushed regulators to the brink January 6, 2015 The Bank of England was pushed close to breaking point during the financial crisis, according to previously unseen documents published today, with staff exhausted and bosses struggling to keep up with the pace of events. Officials repeatedly underestimated the scale of the crash, hoping the steps taken to address each problem – such as the [...]
Bank of England minutes: New documents reveal flaws in financial crisis response January 6, 2015 The former directors of the Bank of England (BoE) have come under heavy fire after minutes of meetings from the time of the financial crisis released today revealed it suffered from a lack of transparency as well as “groupthink”. “The Bank appears to have been a very hierarchical organisation, with clear signs of ‘groupthink’ among [...]