Forward guidance in the UK is likely to fail as the Fed taper approaches | City A.M. July 15, 2013 BANK of England governor Mark Carney’s colours are firmly attached to the forward guidance mast. Following broad hints on 4 July, next month the Bank is expected to formally adopt the practice of signalling the future path of monetary policy. Forward guidance, however, is likely to fail. In a speech entitled Monetary Policy After The [...]
Political parties should not be financed with taxpayers’ money July 15, 2013 BRITAIN is sleep-walking towards the state financing of political parties. Some will welcome this: they believe that reducing parties’ reliance on trade union money (in Labour’s case) or City donors (in the Tories’) would be a good thing, as it would also diminish their influence. Yet state funding would be disastrous, even worse than the [...]
ECB’s Juncker can not exclude third loan for Greece July 13, 2013 The European Central Bank’s Jean-Claude Juncker, in an interview with MNI, has said that a third Greek loan can not be ruled out. He added that Greece was very close to a Eurozone exit in May/June 2012, but said that “Grexit” is an awful word and has disappeared.
Single resolution mechanism a positive for sovereign credit says Fitch | City A.M. July 12, 2013 Ratings agency Fitch has said that the European Commission’s proposal for a single resolution mechanism (SRM) to wind down struggling banks would be a good thing for sovereign credit, as it would reduce the costs to a single sovereign of bank failure (release). A single resolution board making “objective and balanced” decisions, it says, could [...]
The economics and culture of Murray’s Wimbledon triumph July 12, 2013 HE DID it, he did it – and a euphoric nation roared with delight, celebrating a moment many of us feared would never happen and a new, 26-year old national hero. A Brit is Wimbledon champion, and this is real life, not a Hollywood rom-com. Needless to say, Andy Murray’s triumph is about much more [...]
Morning, governor: Mark Carney takes charge at the Bank of England July 8, 2013 MARK Carney will today become the first foreign governor of the Bank of England in its 319-year history as he takes responsibility for turning Britain’s tepid economic growth into a fully fledged recovery. The Alberta-raised 48-year-old – dubbed “the outstanding central banker of his generation” by George Osborne – will celebrate Canada Day by starting [...]
Dovish Carney stuns markets July 7, 2013 EQUITY markets jumped yesterday after the Bank of England shocked investors by indicating that rates would stay at historic lows in the near future, despite recent signs that the British economy is starting to strengthen. At new Bank governor Mark Carney’s first meeting, the monetary policy committee (MPC) took the unusual step of releasing a [...]
Bitcoin exchanges ask UK regulator for approval July 7, 2013 LEADING Bitcoin exchanges are campaigning for the City regulator to bring the fast-growing virtual currency within its remit, City A.M. has learnt. The companies want the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to give them the same approved status as other firms in the financial services sector – a move which the exchanges believe will help them build trust [...]
Shale gas has given Britain a lifeline if we can take on the vested interests July 5, 2013 WITH the recent suggestion by the electricity network that factories and businesses could be asked to ration power use to prevent blackouts, the announcement of UK shale gas reserves that – if recoverable – would be the largest in the world comes in the nick of time. We must take on the unholy alliance of [...]
The Carlyle Group buys British packaging supplier Chesapeake July 4, 2013 GLOBAL asset manager The Carlyle Group yesterday announced that it has acquired UK-headquartered packaging supplier Chesapeake from private equity house Irving Place Capital and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management. The deal value is understood to be near £500m, with debt already in place. Financing was provided by Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, UBS and Barclays. [...]